Superb playback that doesn't break the bank

IF YOU'RE a music enthusiast, audiophile, or both, you would know that although digital downloads and music streaming dominate the playback landscape today, vinyl has managed an impressive comeback over the past decade. Such is the strength of this revival that in June this year Sony Music announced that by March 2018 it would be producing vinyl records in-house for the first time since ceasing their production in 1989.

The rebirth of vinyl has seen a host of companies start manufacturing turntables that, like CD players which preceded them but are now largely a thing of the past, suit every price point.

One fine example is the S$1,990 B-Sharp turntable from EAT (European Audio Team) that the company says gives "uncompromising performance and mechanical integrity, providing vinyl enthusiasts with a superb playback option at a more affordable price''.

Using technology trickled down from EAT's higher C-Major model, the B-Sharp uses a high tech TPE (thermoplastic elastomers) suspension system that works in tandem with adjustable feet for levelling.

The "crown jewel'' of the B-Sharp is said to be the B-Note carbon fibre alloy tonearm that is light yet rigid with a black anodised aluminum headshell. The company says the anti-skate mechanism has been engineered for more intuitive calibration, making set-up notably easier than competitive products.

A proprietary low noise motor, floating chassis, aluminum platter and a high-density MDF low profile base are included as standard features and are all said to enable the B-Sharp to provide listeners with performance that's comparable to much more expensive competitors.

Available at Modular Audio, 1 Coleman Street, #03-04, The Adelphi.

THERE are only two trumpet players in jazz today who can legitimately lay claim to filling the void left behind by the departure of the great Miles Davis 26 years ago. Chris Botti is one and Christian Scott is the other.

Hailing from New Orleans, the 33-year old Scott's current project is The Centennial Trilogy to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the release of the first jazz record in 1917, and is a three-album series intended to confront a range of societal issues, especially as they relate to the African-American population. As far as Scott is concerned, nothing much has changed in a century.

"A lot of what was going on when those guys were making those documents, it's happening right here, right now," said Scott in an interview with The New York Times in February, referring to the 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band.

"If you're honest, it's very hard to differentiate between what was going on then socially, and what's going on now socially."

Scott extended his name in 2011 by adding two Ghanaian appellations, aTunde and Adjuah, as an acknowledgment of suppressed histories, and an act of self-definition in line with jazz's ethos.

However, although his tone is very reminiscent of jazz great Davis, Ruler Rebel - which is the first of the Centennial trilogy - bears Scott's unmistakeable stamp, using a blend of trap music (Southern hip-hop), New Orleans jazz-funk and native American influences.

There's no traditional bebop jazz or fusion in the conventional sense here; instead, if stretched for a comparison, one would have to say Scott is delving into musical avenues very much along the lines of Davis in the early 1970s when his explorations produced his classic Bitches Brew,In a Silent Way and Jack Johnson albums.

That was a legendary experimental triumvirate; Ruler Rebel promises to be the first of a modern equivalent.