August 2008
This is an interesting performance in a number of ways. Zenph calls it a "re-performance." The company's process "analyzes a recorded piano performance and separates its musical attributes (pitch and duration of notes, velocity of key strikes, key releases, etc.) from the surrounding noise, then encodes those attributes digitally to allow the performance to be replayed on a high-resolution computer-controlled piano [such as the Yamaha Disklavier] Pro." While we cant hear Tatum live (he passed away in 1956), this disc brings us as close to this as possible. How do the final results sound? Wonderful. The piano, which was recorded in the Shrine Theater (where part of this recording initially took place), is spread out between the speakers, so you get a real sense of the full size of the piano and how Tatum played it. There is even a good sense of hall space. Both the CD and SACD stereo layers are excellent, but the multichannel tracks are especially noteworthy for their sense of realism. This is also a binaural track especially for listening with headphones. Its all quite a treat, let me tell you. GO BACK TO: |