Olu Sonuga
Handmade cables. Listening rooms. Fifty years of records.
A note on Issue 003: Al Foster’s drum solo was compared to the one on Dave Brubeck’s Time Out. That solo was played by Joe Morello — one of the finest drummers ever recorded. The comparison in spirit stands. The attribution did not. We regret the error.
OPENING NOTE
Some music doesn’t ask permission.
There is a category of recording that tests a system differently from most. Not through the complexity of its soundstage, or the delicacy of its timbres, but through sheer musical force — power tracks that demand a system capable of tracking and delivering complex music with subtlety and power while maintaining musicality with confidence.
The ability to track speedy attack and decay demands a system that’s light on its feet, so complex music doesn’t devolve into mush. Add demanding power passages to the equation and you’re testing a system’s effectiveness at keeping its cool when the pace picks up — through frenetic undulations of calm and cresting peaks — without losing its footing.
Wayne Shorter’s quartet on this recording doesn’t ask your system for permission. It simply plays. Whether your system keeps up is the question.
“Only the better systems will bring it home — and leave your pulse racing slightly.”
LISTENING NOTES — ISSUE 004
Wayne Shorter Quartet — “Over Shadow Hill Way” Listen on Spotify or on Tidal
BEYOND THE SOUND BARRIER · VERVE RECORDS B0004518-02
It’s quite stunning that this is a live recording. The instruments are clearly positioned within the soundstage — while this is not a soundstage champion track, the recording maintains proper instrumental placement when things get hot. It will challenge any system. Only the better ones will bring it home and leave your pulse racing slightly. The timbres are spot-on and should clearly render the dynamic agility and shadings of the instruments as they intermingle like a well-oiled oneness.
SOPRANO SAXOPHONE
Wayne’s saxophone opens things up softly — tonally warm, centered at the very front of the soundstage. It should have a presence that is almost holographic, and should stay that way through all the undulations of the track. His micro dynamic shifts should be easy to follow, setting up the band’s mood with warm tones rising to the piercing pitch of the saxophone and predicting the onset of pure power segments. If the saxophone loses its center or its holographic presence as the intensity rises, the system is already struggling.
PIANO
Danilo Perez’s piano is excellently recorded and positioned in the left front of the stage with plenty of space around it. The dynamic shadings are well presented, with many excursions into the lower left-hand registers of the instrument. Its ever-present melodic influence lends the track a steady foundation — the anchor that holds the whole thing together when the intensity crests.
UPRIGHT BASS
John Patitucci’s bass work highlights something that is easy to forget: the upright bass is a power instrument when called upon. Centered slightly behind Wayne, the bass is tuneful but delivered with outright powerful, heart-pounding bursts. At the proper system volume it should cause the room to shudder on peaks. John wasn’t being coy about his intentions — his bass is delivered with so much growling that it causes you to grip the arms of your armchair a little tighter during the heights of events. The bass is a major highlight of this track, and it’s even more remarkable that it was captured with such ferocity at a live event.
DRUMS
Brian Blade’s drumming strikes me as pure aggression on many recordings — and this is no exception. Centered at the rear of an intimate but clearly defined stage, there’s no feeble cymbal strikes or brush work here. Just flat-out power drumming at its finest. Brian drives this track energetically with pace and power; even during soft passages the drum kit crackles with tension, only to be unleashed with fury on crescendos. He should remain clearly positioned slightly behind the bass regardless of volume. Brian’s artful mastery of his instrument is unquestionable.
SYSTEM TRUTH
A system that’s light on its feet doesn’t panic. Everything else does.
Power tracks expose a specific failure mode: the system that handles quiet passages well but loses composure under pressure. Attack smears. Decay blurs. The bass overwhelms rather than grounds. If your system can track this recording from its soft opening through its most ferocious peaks — and return to stillness without residual blur — you have something worth keeping.
Until then — find the chair.