Anthony Wilson Nonet - Power Of Nine - Hybrid Stereo SACD

Hybrid SACD

The Anthony Wilson Nonet with very special guest vocalist Diana Krall gathered in Studio 2 of Sunset Sound in Hollywood (the quite legendary recording location for Led Zeppelin 2 and 4, almost every Doors album, Janis Joplin's Pearl, James Taylor's Sweet Baby James and many other classic rock & pop albums). Producer Joe Harley and engineer Mike Ross got things going around midday and Anthony and the Nonet had recorded 3 original Anthony Wilson tunes (featuring teenage mandolin sensation Eva Scow) by the late afternoon when Diana Krall arrived.  Ms. Krall stayed for several hours and recorded a brilliant and deeply moving performance of the tune Looking Back which was written and arranged by one of her mentors, the legendary Jimmy Rowles.  No exaggeration to say that this selection could be one of the best vocal cuts ever recorded by Groove Note and one of the audiophile highlights of 2006.

Days two and three were spent recording a further dozen songs including a fabulous Duke Pearson cover Make It Good which with it's 21st century Basie-esque sound will most likely open the album. Other standout tracks include the superbly performed and beautifully played Tokyo Vamp featuring the ultra-talented Darek Oles on bass; the dynamic and powerful original, Amalgamation, featuring drummer Mark Ferber; and the third part of a suite called Quadra 3 with a sublime samba segue. 

The album is the latest and most ambitious effort by Anthony Wilson. Following upon his two Groove Note releases (Our Gang and Savivity), Anthony, who has been playing full time with Diana Krall for the last 3-4 years is increasingly regarded as one of the most talented guitarist-composer-arrangers working in jazz today.  This album will surely cement that reputation and with its programme of original tunes and rewarding arrangements, influences ranging from Gil Evans and Charlie Mingus all the way to Weather Report and John Mclaughlin, as well as its dense and highly diverse palette of complex chords, sounds and textures, this release will provide continual listening pleasure for serious jazz fans & audiophiles alike.

Expect sound that will be punchy and dynamic with many crescendos from the horns that retain a rich and seductive sonority but also with layers of sound as well as individual instruments to be resolved.  The Diana Krall track will surely become 'the' audiophile vocal demo of choice in years to come but other tracks like Make It Good and Amalgamation will put any audiophile system through its paces, testing rhythm, dynamics and tonal balance!

The album was mixed by Joe Harley and Mike Ross at LA-FX on Jan. 19th-21st with Gus Skinas handling the direct to DSD mixdown from the 2 inch multitrack analogue masters.