Jerome Sabbagh : The Turn

 

96kHz/24-bit FLAC, Bee Jazz BEE 064 (www.supplied by www.hdtracks.co.uk)

Born in Paris, saxophonist and composer Jérôme Sabbagh moved to the US in 1993 to further his musical studies at Berklee, and has since become much admired on the New York jazz scene for his inventive and lyrical style. The Turn sees him partnered with longstanding accompanists Ben Monder (guitar), Joe Martin (bass) and Ted Poor (drums) in ‘live take’ performances of seven new compositions, plus a tribute cover of ‘Once Around The Park’ written by jazz drummer Paul Motian, recorded in Manhattan’s Sear Sound studio. It’s a mellow-sounding analogue recording, a little soft around the edges but nicely balanced with a natural image perspective. From the riffy jazz-rock feeling of ‘Banshee’ to the more free-form experimentalism of ‘Cult’, this set shows increasing maturity from an accomplished quartet that refuses to rest on previous musical laurels. JB

Sound Quality: 80%

Hi-Fi News Lab Report

Recorded live to two-track analogue tape and subsequently sampled at 96kHz, the bandwidth and dynamic range of this file is limited more by the former than the latter. It’s an ‘honest’ recording, but note the spurious 32kHz tone. PM

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