Jeff Ellwood – The Sounds Around The House – CD Review
This post contains affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure here.
Surface noise: N/A
Dynamic Range: 5-
Stereo Imaging: 5-
Image depth/perspective: 4
Overall frequency response: 5-
Please see here for my comments on reviewing albums.
Track List:
- U-R
- Agrodolche
- Old School Blues
- Provence
- The Sounds Around The House
- King Henry
- Barcelona
- The Honeymoon
- For Roger
Line Up:
- Jeff Ellwood – Tenor Sax
- Alan Pasqua – Piano
- Derek Oles – Bass
- Joe Labarbera – Drums
- Bob Shephard – Tenor Sax (track 6)
This album was recorded and mixed by Talley Sherwood at Tritone Studio, Santa Monica, LA, February 22nd & 23rd, 2020 and mixed by Talley Sherwood at the same studios. The album was mastered by Rich Breen at Dogmatic Sound, Burbank, CA. and it is to be released on November 30th, 2020.
Jeff Ellwood is the Director of Instrumental Jazz Studies at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut, CA. and adjunct professor of jazz saxophone at Cal State Fullerton, CA. He has a reputation as a consummate improviser and has performed on stage with Tony Bennett, James Moody and Stevie Wonder to name but a few. This debut album is a collection of jazz standards and original material with Jeff leading the group.
I have finally become accustomed to the lack of (surface)noise from CD’s, and its pleasing to say that rarely do I hear any electronics white noise or hum as CD tracks are faded up and out, or even during very quite passages. I am pleased to say that this CD meets all my expectations on these fronts.
Wow! Especially for a 16bit 44.1KHz sampled LPCM CD. There is virtually nothing to criticize with the technical or musical performance of this studio album. The stereo imaging was pin-point and consistently remained between my speakers, rarely appearing to come directly from either speaker. Its depth was a little restricted but it is a studio album and there are only four instruments. The kit was placed firmly at the rear occupying left of center to right of center, having a little height with its cymbals sitting just a little higher and wider but still within my speakers. The ‘lead’ tenor sax was front center with the second sax placed just left of center. The double bass remained dead center at all times just in front of the kit while the piano action was mostly noted between center and right except during solos where it managed to fill most of the space between my speakers.
At times you may get the impression that this quartet is playing just for you, as the performance exudes presence. There is no apparent restrictions to dynamics or audible signs of compression for any of the instruments. Musicianship was first rate providing a tight, very enjoyable and entertaining performance with some great extemporizations.
The entire sound field was wide open with no colorations, being filled out by bright low levels of reverb that created a pleasing atmosphere that didn’t color the overall sound. All instruments provided very realistic representations of their natural sounds. The double bass was tight and clean with a wonderfully uncolored warm and mellow tone that provided a clear image of the instrument and its plucking fingers, each plucked string presenting clearly. There were many solos like T1, T3, T6 and of course T9 that provided a very intimate feel for the instrument having excellent room presence. The kit also presented with good presence having a tight clean kick drum that was not over active, with no beater noise and a hollow dull thud. Toms were nicely spread across the central image all having a short well damped ring, while the snare was pin-point just right of center, again with a well damped ring and offering some fine detailed brush work that extended to all other parts of the kit. Hi-hat and cymbals provided excellent detail and clarity with a bright detailed edge but at no time did any part of the kit display any hardness or excessive edge.
The piano provided a full and mellow tone with excellent attack and no key noise, but with the sound of the damper appearing occasionally. At my listening levels it was as close to being in my room as possible. Most tracks had excellent breaks and solos but here are a few that I noted, T2, T5 and T8.
That leaves the sax….wow!! Open, natural and real, with presence that more often than not placed Jeff in my room providing a personal performance. A wonderfully full and mellow sound with a terrific bright edge, nice detailed reed and breath noise and enough presence to make you feel that on occasions you were looking right down the bell. Every now and again you heard key noise just adding that little extra realism to the performance. With my lights out and a totally black room T9 was just about a real as things get. Not only could you “see” the performance, but I felt that I could reach out and touch the sax and double bass. But that was just one of many tracks that provided a significant feeling of real presence in my room, not just for Jeff’s sax but all the others instruments too.
Recommended tracks, all of them. However, if I am pushed, track 9 has to be my favorite, it abounds with pristine presence and openness. All tracks are very well recorded and performed, providing accomplished performances with each track having amazing tenor sax, and excellent double bass, piano and kit solos and breaks.
As some may have read my father used to be a big band leader in the UK back in the forties and fifties. His instruments of choice were the soprano, alto and tenor saxophones and violin. Jeff Ellwood’s playing and sound brought flooding back all the memories and sounds of when my father used to play his tenor saxophone on many a Sunday morning in our home.
If you love jazz and saxophone, not to mention accomplished double bass, kit and piano performances this CD album gets my highest recommendation.
I can’t help but wonder just what an amazing audiophile performance this might have been, had it been recorded direct to vinyl by one of the legendary cutting masters?
Playback note: Reviewed using my Denon DBP A100 over Denon Link 3. Speakers; a stereo pair of Genelec 1038’s and four SVS subs.
Disclosure: This CD was supplied by Mouthpiece Music. No financial compensation is provided.
Purchase from the Jeff Ellwood web site, Bandcamp, and Amazon Music.
See my other Mouthpiece Music reviews.
