Olu Sonuga
Handmade cables. Listening rooms. Forty years of records.
OPENING NOTE
A confident system doesn’t flinch.
A well-designed system should present itself as a blank canvas — low noise, low distortion, with enough power and composure to render everything the music throws at it. Not just the obvious things. The subtle shadings. The sudden shifts. The moments when a recording demands that the system respond instantly and without hesitation.
Confidence in a system isn’t about volume or weight. It’s about accuracy of timbre, precision of timing, and the ability to track dynamic swings — from the quietest whisper to the most violent outburst — without losing composure. A system that can do this makes music feel alive. One that can’t flattens everything into a single, polite plane.
This issue is about one of the most dynamically demanding recordings I’ve heard. It will not be polite about what it finds.
“The micro and macro dynamic shadings launch at the speed of light — and the system has no choice but to keep up.”
LISTENING NOTES — ISSUE 003
McCoy Tyner — “Afro Blue” Listen on Spotify or on Tidal
MCCOY TYNER PLAYS JOHN COLTRANE · LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD · IMPULSE RECORDS 314 589 183-2
Recorded direct to 2-track analog tape, this live performance doesn’t disappoint. The instrumental timbres are spot on, each instrument authentic within its own space. The soundstage width is contained within the bounds of the speakers — as expected from a live recording — with good depth for the format. At first the instruments appear stacked mid-stage, the piano enjoying the widest spread. Turn the volume up slightly higher than you normally would. Then wait. The space between instruments opens, and the performance begins to unfold.
The track starts innocuously enough — a piano ruminating, settling into the chorus, the upright bass and drums joining in. Don’t be deceived. This is not a recording that builds gently toward a climax. The micro and macro dynamic shadings are present throughout, launching at the speed of light, forcing the system to keep pace before braking sharply — like taking a hard twisting turn after a brief straightaway. This track is a serious test of a system’s dynamic agility. Most will struggle. A few will fly.
THE PIANO
McCoy Tyner’s piano doesn’t dominate the way lesser recordings demand it should. It is part of the whole — interacting with the other instruments on equal footing, tracking across the full width of the stage, tinkering and ruminating until it suddenly sends shockwaves through the lower registers with a power that pianos are capable of but rarely asked to deliver. The playing is superb throughout: laid back when the music calls for it, and ferocious when it doesn’t. A thoroughly enjoyable performance from one of the great pianists of any era.
THE UPRIGHT BASS
The bass stays relevant without ever demanding attention — except during its solo, which arrives early in the track and earns every second of the spotlight. It sits slightly behind the piano in the soundstage, upfront and tuneful, rendered with the kind of clarity that reveals exactly what a properly set-up system can do with a live instrument. It keeps pace with the marauding piano and drums without breaking a sweat. That’s harder than it sounds.
THE PIANO
The piano owns the outside right front of the soundstage — tinkly in tone, making major contributions to the color and gestalt of the track. Its brief solo is simply fabulous: clear, nimble, emotionally precise. A system that places it correctly will show you an instrument with distinct physical location and presence. One that doesn’t will bury it in the mid-stage density. Find the piano. It’s worth finding.
THE DRUMS
Al Foster is the highlight of this recording — insistent, shimmering, driving the track like a race car’s undulating exhaust notes ebbing and flowing with rapidity. Most recordings try to contain the drums, to soften their edges and manage their power. Not here. Foster is unfettered, delivering an electrifying performance that demands a system with real dynamic authority to render correctly. The cymbal work is state-of-the-art: ethereal, lighting the venue’s acoustics with a shimmer that reveals the room itself.
His solo — on par with what he delivers on Dave Brubeck’s Time Out — is nothing short of instructive. Stunning in delivery, tasteful in execution, it never rambles. There should be no sense of a back wall in the soundstage here. The kick drum, while somewhat lightweight in the mix, carries occasional subterranean notes that emanate well beyond the soundstage boundaries. As Fela Anikulapo Kuti would say: a real power show.
SYSTEM TRUTH
Dynamic agility isn’t a luxury. It’s the difference between music and sound.
A system that can’t track sudden dynamic swings with speed and accuracy will smooth everything into a polite, compressed version of what was recorded. You won’t hear the braking. You won’t feel the launch. You’ll hear a jazz trio playing nicely. What’s on this recording is something else entirely — and your system either gets you there or it doesn’t.
Until then — find the chair.