"This release is just an absolute musical and sonic treat—a wonderful combination not often found in the various folk and traditional music recordings that have found their way to my listening room.
"This is an album of imagination, minimalist restraint, and the deep musical synergy of longtime collaborators... Absence and her sister shines with creativity, compassion, and the gentle humor of two musicians who clearly love playing together...
"Recording engineer and producer Barry Diament captures Eriksen and Irvine with the three-dimensional immediacy of live performance. With minimal miking, no overdubs, and no post-processing, this recording has an authenticity that is rare in this genre, so often burdened by studio manipulation. This is a recording to celebrate."
"...an absolute musical and sonic treat... This is a recording to celebrate." - Rushton Paul at posi+ive feedback
"This is a highly recommended recording of fine musicians making an original contribution to the great American songbook." - Mark Wheeler at TNT-Audio
"Kay Sa is filled with music of verve, spirit and flow… Diament’s production lets all this soulful music breathe: the music projects without any artificial hindrances to dynamics and flowing textures, making for a genre-busting feast of delights." - Nelson Bill at Boston Concert Reviews (Music of Global Reach and Openness)
"Halperin... is a treasure to behold: his gift for grabbing a pop curve is infinite and his best songs will remain in your head long after their last refrain… There is no one like Diament and his ability to light up a musical performance to joyful, transfixing results." - Nelson Brill at Boston Concert Reviews (Soundkeeper Recordings: Wonderment in the Music)
"The overall sonic image is entirely different from most jazz albums—more open and realistic... Americas is an engrossing, euphoric jazz album with topnotch audiophile credentials." - John Sunier at Audiophile Audition
"This album is a lovely mix of sweet, caressing ballads and lively, rough and rugged rock tracks... The illusion of being there is literally breath-taking..." - Lucio Cadeddu at TNT-Audio
"While the technical info is impressive, and the peerless sound is gloriously unaffected and real, the compelling and exotic blend of music on Equinox is equal to the technology–a balance of art and craft that all recordings, audiophile or not, should aspire to." - Robert Baird in Stereophile (Recording of the Month)
"The material is freshly imaginative and simmered in talent; the sound is spacious and superbly mastered." - Hector C. Chrest at The Audiophile Voice
The sonic story in two sentences:
In our experience, once the signals are leaving the microphones the recording's ultimate quality ceiling has already been determined.
Everything after the microphones*merely determines how much of what was captured gets to the listener.
* mic cables, AC mains power, AC mains cables, mic preamps, recording format, recording device, mix (if any), mastering, playback format, playback device, interconnecting cables, amplification, speaker cables, speakers, speaker positioning, vibration isolation, room acoustics, etc.
