Impex - IMP60 - Hybrid SACD Stereo & 5.1
4 Bonus Tracks - Mastered by Bob Ludwig - Limited Edition -
Like most TAS readers, I first heard Patricia Barber, whose career here approaches the 40-year mark, on Café Blue, her 1994 album that made her a star in high-end audio, owing to a superb recording by her long-time engineer Jim Anderson, and also among connoisseurs of innovative, cutting-edge jazz. Layered with multiple meanings, these introspective songs require and reward repeated listening. Inventive takes on three standards from the Great American Songbook fill out the program. The contributions from Barber’s instrumental quartet are first-class. Immediate, close-up, transparent sonics Music 5/5 Sound 5/5 TAS
Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering
The First-Ever 5.1/2.0 SACD/Hybrid Release From Impex Records!
Stereo & Surround Mixed at Skywalker Sound!
Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering!
Deluxe Package Feat. Art & Photos Unique to the SACD + A New Note From Patricia Barber!
our first full collaboration with jazz royalty Patricia Barber, Impex Records is thrilled to announce our premier multichannel audio SACD/Hybrid disc of her elegant new album Higher. Recorded and mixed by long-time collaborator Jim Anderson, this spectacular set contains a unique eight jazz-interpreted art-song cycle that explore the mysteries that bind and illuminate us. Barber says of her six year creation of Higher, "I feel very much that this album is a manifestation of my hard-won harmonic evolution." She continues her blending of classical and modern idioms, both musical and lyrical, into a hybrid that plays to the best of both: classically-oriented with room to improvise and expand.
The Impex Records exclusive SACD version contains four additional tracks: jazz standards "Early Autumn", "Secret Love" and "In Your Own Sweet Way", along with an expanded version of "The Opera Song" featuring lyric soprano Katherine Werbiansky. Both 5.1 and 2.0 SACD layers were transferred directly to DSD from original DXD (352.8kHz / 32 bit) files for astonishing reproduction of every living note and subtle expression in this truly seminal work by one of America's finest jazz auteurs.
Higher bears the earmarks of an audiophile classic: music of substance in excellent sound...
-Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile Magazine Recording Of The Month
Few performers in or out of jazz are as consistently brilliant as Patricia Barber. ...Brainy. Beautiful.-Jazz Times
It's about love for music, and love as music. -Tyran Grillo, All About Jazz
If you appreciate jazz vocal artistry in the highest possible sound quality, Patricia Barber's Higher belongs in your collection. -Mark Werlin, NATIVEDSD.
...from a textual and musical point of view, Higher is a poetic gem that far surpasses Barber's previous works. And that is remarkable for an artist who has set the bar extremely high for herself for three decades. -Marc De Boer, Hi Fi NL
...it deftly demonstrates the element that has kept us Barber fans going all these years - the intricate trio that provides a setting for the sincere, humble, irresistible talent of a Chicago gem.
-Jeff Cebulski, Chicago Jazz Magazine, Mr. C's Reviews
Features
Super Audio CD
SACD Multi-Channel SACD Layer
SACD Stereo SACD Layer
This Hybrid SACD contains a 'Red Book' CD Layer which is playable on most conventional CD Players!
The first-ever 5.1/2.0 SACD/hybrid release from Impex Records
Vividly recorded & mixed by Grammy-winning engineer and long-time collaborator Jim Anderson
Technical direction by Ulrike Schwarz, Anderson Audio New York
Recorded using Merging +Clock Technologies & MusicChords Power Distribution
Stereo & Surround mixed at Skywalker Sound
Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering
Both 5.1 and 2.0 SACD layers were transferred directly to DSD from original DXD (352.8kHz / 32 bit) files
5.1 surround mix requires a multi-channel SACD player & compatible surround-sound system
5.1 mix is not available on stereo SACD or CD players
Deluxe package featuring art & photos unique to the SACD & a new note from Patricia Barber
4 additional tracks
Selections
Angels, the Birds, and I...
Muse
Surrender
Pallid Angel
The Opera Song
High Summer Season
The Albatross Song
Voyager
Higher
Early Autumn
In Your Own Sweet Way
Secret Love
The Opera Song with Katherine Werbiansky
