Mike Tucker – Collage (Jazz CD)

 

Sound: B     Music: B

 

 

Good, fast, snappy Jazz is some of my favorite in the genre and Mike Tucker’s new CD Collage was cut in April 2005 at PBS Studios in Massachusetts and it is very impressive throughout all its ten often long tracks.  The thing is, they never feel that way.  They include:

 

1)     Fanfare

2)     Cathy

3)     The Hey Man Tenor Club

4)     70’s

5)     New Orleans

6)     Bird Lives

7)     Double Mambo

8)     Space Suite

9)     Space #1

10)  Space #2

11)  Mbira

 

For all the Jazz we have covered in DVD-Video, CD and even DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD, this is a real standout effort.  So much so that I hope we get it again in one of the higher definition formats.  Peter Kontrimas recorded this, then mixed and mastered it with Tucker, who wrote all the compositions.  Matt Morin then co-produced with Tucker.  To say they all have an ear for music is an understatement.  I was impressed throughout.  Collage is not fragmented as its title might suggest, being a treat for both true jazz fans and audiophile aficionados.

 

The PCM 2.0 16Bit/44.1kHz Stereo sound is some of the best we have heard in the format or genre in a while, with exceptional articulation and detail.  There is only a foldout inside the case, but you can go to www.tuckerjazz.com for more information about this exceptional effort.  Don’t miss this one!

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo