LATEST ADDITIONS

As the jazz world celebrates Miles Davis’ centenary, Ken Kessler brings you 20 recent vinyl releases that showcase him at his best – and the artists that he influenced

It will not go unnoticed by the jazz community nor the record industry that 2026 marks Miles Davis’ centenary. Leading up to it, Mobile Fidelity, Craft and other labels have been rewarding audiophiles with beautifully remastered LPs from all points in his career, among them stunning box sets from 1950s sessions, major albums reissued in One Step form, live recordings, Davis’ forays into rock/fusion and much more. He produced – according to the best sources – over 60 studio albums and at least 35 live albums. The actual amount of his output is a conundrum, like the man himself.

According to an eminent cellist (perhaps you can guess which one...), pianist Martha Argerich’s favourite concerto is this one – not any landmark piece of the piano literature, but the Cello Concerto which Robert Schumann wrote, in a typically inspired frenzy, during two weeks of October 1850.

Onkyo has carved a name for itself as a leading maker of AV receivers, but the Japanese company has never lost sight of its two-channel roots, and neither have its fans. Onkyo’s M series power amps, including the M-504 from 1987, still trade for hefty prices on the secondhand market. Aside from its sonic capabilities, that model is valued for its large VU meters, a trend not lost on Onkyo when it came to setting the aesthetic for its new M-80 power amplifier. Paired with the P-80 streaming preamplifier, the system delivers the convenience demanded in 2026.

Trust me on this: Quad is definitely on a roll. In rapid order, it has delivered the reborn 33/303 pre/power [HFN Jan ’25] and Quad 3 entry-level integrated [HFN Sep ’25], the ESL 2912X electrostatic speaker [HFN Feb ’26], and now this absolute honey of an integrated amplifier. The Platina is billed by Quad as the best integrated amp it’s ever delivered, a claim certainly justified.