Born To Be Blue is the latest release from Sound Liaison. It highlights the sound of the vibraphone in DSD and features the REF Trio – Rob van Kreeveld (piano), Edwin Corzilius (double bass), and Frits Landesbergen (vibraphone). (The name REF Trio comes from the first letter of each member’s name). This is a DSD Exclusive, Not Available on SACD release.
The album was recorded live at MCO Studios in The Netherlands in front of a live audience. It includes performances of A Child Is Born (written by Thad Jones), Emily (written by Johnny Mandel), The Girl Next Door (written by Hugh Martin), Born To Be Blue (co-written by Mel Torme and Robert Wells) and a Medley of Duke Ellington favorites (Sophisticated Lady, Prelude To A Kiss and In A Sentimental Mood).
“I had been toying with the idea for a long time. I wanted to create a recording showing that the vibes can have a big warm sound and that it is possible to play ‘beautiful music’ on the instrument. The vibes is an instrument which lends itself for virtuoso music. Examples enough, Lionel Hampton, Terry Gibbs…but how about the melancholy side of the instrument, has that ever been fully explored?
A chamber ensemble seemed to me to be the best setting for realizing the sound I had in mind. I contacted master pianist Rob van Kreeveld and long time friend and superb bassist Edwin Corzilius to help me with the project. It turned out to be a dream team. The music came to us so easily. The ballads and waltzes turned out exactly as how I had pictured it; warm and relaxed, keeping the song central.
As a musician one always has wishes. One hopes to get to play in certain places, or play with one’s musical heroes… I have been most fortunate in my career, as many of the things I wished for when I was young, actually did happen. And now this new “mature” wish has been made possible by Peter Bjørnild and Frans de Rond, two producers with an incredible big heart for music and sound.
Thank you Rob, Edwin, Peter and Frans, I am so very happy with the result, I believe we have created some beautiful music.”
— Frits Landesbergen, Vibraphonist
“When creating the sound stage, Frans spent a great deal of time getting the balance of the REF Trio as optimal as possible using the ambient microphone stereo pair placed in the ‘sweet spot’ in Studio 2, before adding the spot microphones. We wanted to create a sound field that was intimate but also had enough depth to reflect a visual representation of the instruments. We wanted the melodic part of each instrument to stand out without overshadowing the whole.
Thus the piano and the vibes have been given a position in the sound field, instead of the more common, radio friendly approach, with the instruments piled on top of each other with no placement. The benefit of this approach is that you can actually see the trio in front of you between the speakers.
In a sense we are old fashioned, maybe we listened to too many old jazz recordings, but on the other hand…….this is what we believe a high-resolution recording should be about.”
— Peter Bjørnild and Frans de Rond, Producer and Recording Engineer at Sound Liaison
Tracklist
Please note that the below previews are loaded as 44.1 kHz / 16 bit.Total time: 00:47:31
Additional information
Label | |
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SKU | SL1033A |
Qualities | |
Channels | |
Artists | |
Composers | Duke Ellington, Frits Landesbergen, Hugh Martin, Johhny Mandel, Mel Torme, Phil Markowitz, Rob van Kreefeld, Robert Wells, Thad Jones |
Genres | |
Amplifier | Moon 760A |
Cables | AudioQuest Microphone and Power Cables |
Digital Converters | Horus, Merging Technologies |
Editing Software | Pyramix, Merging Technologies |
Headphones | Sennheiser HD800, AKG 702 |
Mastering Engineer | Frans de Rond |
Microphones | Main system AB – Schoeps MK5 (2x), Piano – Sonodore RCM-402 (2x), Double Bass – Josephson C700, Vibraphone – Josephson C617 (2x) |
Instruments | |
Original Recording Format | |
Piano Technicians | Charles Rademaker & Naomi van Schoot |
Power Conditioners | AudioQuest |
Producer | Peter Bjørnild |
Recording Engineer | Frans de Rond |
Recording Location | MCO, Studio 2, Hilversum, The Netherlands, on the 12th of November 2017 |
Recording Software | Pyramix, Merging Technologies |
Recording Type & Bit Rate | DXD |
Speakers | TAD Compact Evolution |
Release Date | June 18, 2019 |
Press reviews
Jazzenzo
Pianist Rob van Kreeveld, double bass player Edwin Corzilius, and vibraphonist Frits Landesbergen meet in the REF Trio.
The starting point is the statement by the great Bobby Hutcherson: “The whole thing about being in music is not to control it but to be swept away by it ….”
Without a percussionist, the ensemble makes a kind of chamber jazz with well-known pieces such as ‘A Child Is Born’, ‘Emily’, ‘Born To Be Blue’ and ‘The Girl Next Door’.
The musicians give each other space and rarely has a vibraphone, with its typical complex sound, been recorded better.
Native DSD Senior Reviewer
I love this album!
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