My late father adored bossa nova. He was lucky enough to see his favorite musicians, alto/flutist Bud Shank and Brazilian acoustic guitarist Laurindo Almeida, join forces with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Jeff Hamilton (who was eventually replaced by Shelly Manne) to form what was to be the LA4 in 1974. Unfortunately, it was a year after my father died when the four musical geniuses recorded their greatest album, “Just Friends,†in 1978.
Shank and Almeida were inseparable in the ‘50s, creating sounds that predated but strongly hinted at bossa nova. But together with Brown and Hamilton and, much later, Manne, they harmonized highly-engaging sounds that traversed many boundaries. From bop to Brazilian, classical melodies to Ellington themes, the LA4 was a sterling success. What a pity my father did not live long enough to hear LA4’s soul-uplifting music!
Originally recorded as a direct-to-disc 45 rpm LP, “Just Friends†is also available in SACD (super audio CD), a Concord Jazz reissue from Groove Note. To record this album on an ordinary CD would not do justice to LA4’s music. Perhaps Concord Jazz wanted to test the mettle of the SACD format, which some reviewers claim to be close to vinyl in terms of sound reproduction.
I compared my SACD copy to the supposedly high-resolution 24-bit/192kHz format, which I downloaded and ripped onto a recordable CD. This later day format is touted to be of “high-fidelity studio quality†— but was definitely lacking. I was more captivated by the LA4 music played back by the SACD from my Prestige CD/SACD Player with a PCM 24/192 digital to analog converter (DAC). The “file type†24/192 refers to the uncompressed bitrate and bit depth 24 bits for volume instead of 16 in a CD, and 192kbps instead of 44.1 in a CD.
Although a “file type†can mean several things, only an uncompressed file will be full-sized. A lossless compressed 24/192 file such as a FLAC or ALAC will still have 24/192 of musical information once expanded, though it won’t have that that much data in compacted form. Of course, an MP3 or other lossy compression method will produce a file that cuts off all of the extra information above 20 kHz. You can’t really rip 24/192, if you’re talking about ripping CDs, since CDs are 16/44.1 by definition. You can upconvert to 24/192, but it won’t change a thing except for adding storage space.
The comparison only makes me realize that this supposed high-resolution format isn’t even on the level of vinyl when it comes to faithful sound reproduction. It doesn’t make any sense at all. You may even be better off with a lossless format if you have a decent pair of headphones, rather than with 24/192 recordings. In my opinion, it’s a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.
At least, the SACD comes close to vinyl playback. No doubt about it: it will carry you to dreamland. Once LA4’s version of Nouveau Bach (track 1) starts spinning on your SACD player, you will be transfixed. It will be like reading a good book that you cannot put down, as it engages you from the first page, and fills you with anticipation and excitement as you near its end. You will feel like a silent but admiring witness to an unfolding courtship in Cariñoso (track 2), thrilling to the warmth of the saxophone and the sensuality of the guitar.
The carrying title Just Friends (track 3) is just as captivating as a prelude to the fun and festivities in Love Medley (Love for Sale and Love Walked In, track 4) and Spain (track 5), popularized by Al Jarreau. Such is the virtuosity of this group that one wonders how they can combine their musical instruments into one harmonious sound that most often leads to a much sought-after encore.
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