Jazz Classics: 1960s from the Tom Amend Quintet is a follow-up to Jazz Classics: 1950s, one of Octave’s most popular albums, and features Amend and his quintet taking a deep dive into jazz classics and pop standards like “The Girl From Ipanema”, “My Favorite Things”, “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat,” “The Look of Love” and others. It’s one of Octave Records’ finest Pure DSD 256 Stereo recordings.

Jazz Classics: 1960s features Tom Amend on piano and Hammond B3 organ, along with Nate Miller on trumpet, Taylor Clay playing tenor sax, Gonzalo Teppa on bass, and Braxton Kahn at the drums. The quintet imparts depth to songs they’re intimately familiar with, and like any great group of jazz players, they honor the material while offering a fresh perspective. The sound matches the music perfectly, with remarkable clarity, dynamic shadings, and presence. Jazz Classics: 1960s is recorded with a warmth that hearkens back to the iconic sound of 1960s recordings, yet with modern-day spaciousness, detail, and refinement.

The Pure DSD 256 recording captures the rich textures of each instrument, utilizing a Gefell UM 930 and AKG C214 condenser mics, along with Beyer Dynamic mics for the snare and kick drum and the Hapi Analog to DSD 256 Converter from Merging Technologies. The album was recorded with Octave Records’ custom-built Pyramix-based 16-channel DSD 256 setup. Jazz Classics: 1960s was recorded, mixed, and produced by Paul McGowan, with Terri McGowan and Jessica Carson assisting in the recording and production duties, and mastered by Gus Skinas.

Tom Amend Quintet
Tom Amend, Piano
Nate Miller, Trumpet
Taylor Clay, Tenor Sax
Gonzalo Teppa, Bass
Braxton Kahn, Drums