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A piano giant of the New York jazz scene for 40 years, John could break your heart with a ballad, sweep you off your feet with an anthem, or boot you into boogeyin’ with one of his cookers. And he had the rare gift of inspiring his sidemen to play beyond themselves. Passion Flower pairs his two trio sessions for Mapleshade—including nine of Hicks’ most enduring compositions, breathtaking Ellington, Gershwin and Strayhorn ballads, and brilliantly swinging versions of Thad Jones, Charlie Mingus, and Wayne Shorter pieces (all of whom Hicks played with). (#12832) |
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The original 1974 double LP was Clifford’s most legendary session. “...one of those very special dates on which every player strutted high fire and high polish, so much so that the record achieved classic status upon release,” recalls Stanley Crouch. “This is brilliant music-making...maybe the most significant saxophone performance on record since Coltrane...and the most deeply satisfying,” is All About Jazz’s summing up. (#HS2006) |
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“Limpidly and absolutely beautiful, this is a wonderful recording that seems tailor-made for late-night listening...” according to Cadence. Chris takes six standards that everyone knows and re-creates them as stunningly original and profoundly moving compositions—a must for anyone who loves piano, whether classical or jazz. (#AS0197) |
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One listen and you’ll know why Charlie Parker just had to play with Chris—and why Herbie Hancock still cops licks from Chris’ harmonies to this day. Rudy van Gelder did the recording; the piano sound is by far the best he’s ever done. Fred Kaplan agrees, “Should satisfy the most demanding sonic purists...” (#AS0198) |
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When Chris Anderson played, you were always in good hands. You could always just sit back, relax, and enjoy his authenticity--the rich phrasing and feeling of the original bebop, the sounds of contemporary music, and Chris' own amalgam of voicing and harmony that made his music such an enriching, metaphysical experience. Chris' wonderful trio performed at Bradley's, one of New York's best known jazz spots for pianists since 1969, for one thrilling week in May of 1994.
(#AS0195) |
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“The fact that one of the best acoustic blues albums of the year comes from three white boys from Maryland might surprise you—that is, until you realize that it’s the return of the Blue Rider Trio, who kicked up a lot of shit out of nowhere with their 1992 release Preachin’ the Blues...” raves Blues Revue. That out-of-print debut became a treasure among both hard-core blues fans and audiophile connoisseurs. Early Morning Blues joins this collectors’ jewel with the Trio’s final and arguably best album. (#12132)
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The Ref 3s are my studio monitor because I’m knocked out by their fast and transparent midrange, endless top end, and warm, powerfully extended lower registers—well beyond the best electrostatics. Simply stated, I know of no $20,000 speakers I prefer. That’s why I’m offering both the speakers and, as a giant first-step enhancement that’s crucial for optimal performance, our Upgrade Stands. 30-day money back. |
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For the last 15 years a genius cartridge designer in upstate NY has been quietly turning out world-class cartridges. The first one I heard, the $580 SMMC-2, thoroughly trounced my beloved $2500 Lyra. I’ve spent the year since then evaluating the rest of Peter Lederman’s line. Same results: both at the low end and at the high end, his SoundSmith cartridges typically beat superb cartridges costing 3 to 5 times as much.
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Micropoint Heavyfeet
& Megafeet
Micropoint Heavyhats |
Our very best sounding footers all incorporate a three-point top, our unique cure for the major weakness of conventional cone-point design—the flat top. Mapleshade’s three-point contact eliminates the micro-rattles between a flat top footer and the imperfectly flat bottom of the supported equipment. Adding the three points on top yields surprisingly more detail everywhere—from the deep thunder of the tympani to the silvery treble of triangles.
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If you can’t stand leaving dings on your valuable furniture and wood floors, we offer the radiused bottom option for our Heavyfeet, Triplepoints, and Megafeet. Though it preserves single point contact, rounding doesn’t sound quite as good as sharp points, costing you 5% to 10% of the footer’s sonic upgrade—but this option sounds way better than the widely-used flat brass (or lead) discs that degrade the footer’s effect by at least 50%. We also offer a Low version for use in cramped spaces where the full 2" footer won’t fit.
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For years we've got calls from audiophiles who want to use our superb interconnects to play iPods, laptops, PCs and Walkmen through their main system. All the available mini-to-RCA Y-cable interconnects sound terrible, so we've been searching everywhere for a sonically transparent adapter. Standard Radio Shack fare doesn't meet our sonic standards: bad-sounding plastic dielectric and thick internal conductors made of an inadequate alloy. But we recently hit paydirt: the first listen was head-and-shoulders better than any of the dozens we've tested. To improve these gems further, each Purist Adapter has also been cyroed and given an anti-static coating.
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Whenever you’re listening or downloading to your laptop, just lay it on the Isobase Cradle’s rounded brass support footers. Play your favorite MP3, WAV, DVD, or even streaming audio and hear bass punch, treble air and warm detail you would never have expected. And for videos, see startling new color and detail. When you plug your laptop or iPod into your big rig, you’ll really be impressed. If you want to go another big step, use our Purist Mini-To-RCA Adapter and Clearview Ribbon Interconnects.
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The infamous Mapleshade Manifesto emblazed on 100% ultrasoft cotton, full-zip hooded sweatshirts. Worn proudly by great jazz and blues musicians across the country—often used to drive studio engineers crazy.
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