Leslie Pintchik – So
Glad To Be Here (SACD)
PCM 2.0: B DSD
5.1: A- Music: B+
Though the record labels have wanted either DVD-Audio or
Super Audio CD to succeed the CD, the lack of Pop, Rock, Soul and film
soundtrack titles suggests they are not trying enough. The proliferation of the Classical and Jazz
genres further prove their lack of commercial push, yet those genres are the
kind that can really show off the formats, especially SACD. Leslie Pintchik’s So Glad To Be Here
(2003) is a Jazz album and the kind that could easily spark greater interest in
both Jazz and SACD.
The vivid performances are consistently impressive, played
with a grace and skill we rarely hear in most of the many Jazz DVD-Video titles
we have experienced to date. Pintchik
herself writes most of the compositions, but some covers give away her love of
the old school in the genre. Yet, the
music never tries to be “retro” or “homage” of any kind, feeling as lively and
vital as any recording we have heard recently.
The tracks include:
1) All The
Things You Are (Jerome Kern & Oscar Hammerstein)
2) You Keep
Coming Back Like A Song (Irving Berlin)
3) Scamba (Scott
Hardy)
4) Hopperesque
5) Let’s
Get Lucky
6) Happy
Dog
7) Mortal
8) Terse
Tune
9) Luscious
10) Something Lost
11) We See (Thelonious Monk)
Hardy, who wrote track three, plays bass for the album,
while Pintchik plays piano and Satoshi Takeishi plays percussion. They have amazing chemistry together and the
joy in their play is more than matched by their skill and proficiency. The music is constantly surprising and at
first, deceptively simple. This is from
the Ambient Records label and you can read more about it at either www.ambientrecords.com or www.lesliepintchik.com to learn more
about this impressive disc, one I strongly recommend you obtain just to hear
the music.
The PCM 2.0 CD tracks are good, with a nice clarity and
fullness for the old 16bit/44.1kHz format, but the 5.1 DSD (Direct Stream
Digital) Super Audio CD mix has a wonderful feel and amazing openness that
makes this one of the best and most interesting 5.1 mixes we have heard
anywhere to date. The music was
recorded directly into the DSD format, and it certainly sounds like it. That is not because it is tricky or fancy,
but because of its exceptional detail and clarity in all the basic and very
well played instruments throughout. It
is just terrific and separate instruments are recorded with the same care and
consideration, making this one of the ace SACD releases so far. It may not be the most bass-heavy mix, but
it is heavy enough to match the level of balance and excellence the recording
possesses. This is one of those demo
SACDs that actually has strong content.
Imagine that! It is actually a
pleasure to hear these tracks and when you add the incredible DSD playback, So
Glad To Be Here is an SACD you will want to hear over and over again.
- Nicholas Sheffo
