Copper

All of us at Copper wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season and new year, and peace on Earth in these difficult times.

Beginning with this issue you’ll see some changes to Copper, including more coverage of industry news, and new music releases. Things will continue to evolve over the next few months.

A Copper reader asked if I could create a Qobuz playlist for the “200 of Your Editor's All-Time Favorite Songs” article in Issue 200. I misplaced his e-mail – if you're reading this, please contact me and I’ll give a shout out in the next issue. Click here for a link to the playlist. Seven songs aren’t on Qobuz, so I added replacements at the end of the playlist.

In this issue: Well-known audio luminary Michael Fremer has produced his first album, Rufus Reid Presents Caelan Cardello, and I interview him about the debut from the legendary bassist and up-and-coming jazz piano sensation. We talk with Charlie Calv and Bruce Pucciarello of Deko Entertainment about the future of the music business. AES New York 2023 show reports are here from yours truly, John Seetoo, and Harris Fogel. Octave Records has not one but two holiday albums, the jazz-tinged Charlie Brown Goes to the Nutcracker by the Ron LeGault quintet, and virtuoso guitarist Alfredo Muro’s The Spirit of Christmas.

The Kinks have released The Journey – Part 2 career retrospective collection, and it’s sure to delight Kinks fanatics as well as newcomers to the band. Anne E. Johnson looks back at the career of German composer and opera singer Johann Adolph Hasse. B. Jan Montana ponders an audio comedy of errors. We host a look at Tokyo jazz joints from FIDELITY magazine. I pay a visit to Long Island retailer the Audio Den and check out an impressive loudspeaker. PS Audio has received some recent accolades. The issue concludes with rockin’ the holidays, a high-end audio guide, and a winter wonderland.

Contributors to this issue: John Seetoo, Harris Fogel, B. Jan Montana, James Schrimpf, Anne E. Johnson, Peter Xeni, Hans von Draminski

Editor:
Frank Doris

Publisher:
Paul McGowan

Logo Design:
Susan Schwartz-Christian, from a concept by Bob D’Amico

Advertising Sales:
No one. We are free from advertising and subscribing to Copper is free.

Copper’s Comments Policy:

Copper’s comments sections are moderated. While we encourage thoughtful and spirited discussion, please be civil.

The editor and Copper’s editorial staff reserve the right to delete comments according to our discretion. This includes: political commentary; posts that are abusive, insulting, demeaning or defamatory; posts that are in violation of someone’s privacy; comments that violate the use of copyrighted information; posts that contain personal information; and comments that contain links to suspect websites (phishing sites or those that contain viruses and so on). Spam will be blocked or deleted.

Copper is a place to be enthusiastic about music, audio and other topics. It is most especially not a forum for political discussion, trolling, or rude behavior. Thanks for your consideration.

 – FD

It’s Copper’s 200^th issue! We’ve had a fantastic run of more than seven years of publishing every two weeks. It’s happened thanks to the incredible talents and efforts of our writers, contributors, artists, and past editorial people. I cannot begin to thank everyone enough.

But after 200 issues, it’s time for a change. Beginning with Issue 201, Copper will become a monthly publication. It will also go in a somewhat different direction, becoming more involved in industry news, interviews with audio industry people, and articles of that nature. 

Because of a variety of personal and professional factors, I need to back off the frenetic pace of the last four years. (Have I really been editor for four years? And that doesn’t count all the other stuff I’ve been doing.) The new Copper format will be less demanding on my time, while enabling me to still oversee the magazine, and remain an all-around goodwill ambassador for the audio industry.

I thank every reader of this publication with the deepest and most heartfelt feeling. Your participation with Copper means a great deal to me, and to all of us.

In this issue: Russ Welton interviews composer/musician Steve Thompson of 1201_Alarm, a band whose album is about to be the first-ever sent to the Moon. I list 200 of my favorite songs, and cover Octave Records’ latest, The Art of Hi-Fi Volume 03: Percussion. Wayne Robins reviews the recently published Steely Dan book, Quantum Criminals. Tom Lane asks: can one year in music change your life? Ray Chelstowski talks with music and entertainment pioneers Deko Entertainment. Jay Jay French finds an audio bargain in the Vanatoo Transparent Encore One+ desktop speaker system.

Rich Isaacs covers the 2023 California Audio Show, and Harris Fogel has a photo essay on T.H.E. Show 2023. Howard Kneller has a look From The Listening Chair at the Synergistic Research Network Router UEF. We present the first installment in PMA Magazine’s series, Treasures from the Vinyl Vault, by Claude Lemaire. J.I. Agnew wraps up his series on how records are made. Ken Kessler revisits his reel-to-reel roots. Anne E. Johnson digs the music of Miles Davis. John Seetoo concludes his interview with June Millington of pioneering female rock group Fanny. We wrap up the issue by getting into the groove, listening to future sounds, ending the tape, and viewing a Halloween head shot.

Contributors to this issue: J.I. Agnew, Ray Chelstowski, Frank Doris, Harris Fogel, Jay Jay French, Rich Isaacs, Anne E. Johnson, Ken Kessler, Howard Kneller, Tom Lane, Claude Lemaire, Wayne Robins, James Schrimpf, John Seetoo, Russ Welton, Peter Xeni, James Whitworth

Editor:
Frank Doris

Publisher:
Paul McGowan

Advertising Sales:
No one. We are free from advertising and subscribing to Copper is free.

Copper’s Comments Policy:

Copper’s comments sections are moderated. While we encourage thoughtful and spirited discussion, please be civil.

The editor and Copper’s editorial staff reserve the right to delete comments according to our discretion. This includes: political commentary; posts that are abusive, insulting, demeaning or defamatory; posts that are in violation of someone’s privacy; comments that violate the use of copyrighted information; posts that contain personal information; and comments that contain links to suspect websites (phishing sites or those that contain viruses and so on). Spam will be blocked or deleted.

Copper is a place to be enthusiastic about music, audio and other topics. It is most especially not a forum for political discussion, trolling, or rude behavior. Thanks for your consideration.

 – FD

“The songwriter can make you laugh or cry
He’s pumping gas at night just to survive
And all he asks of you is to sing his songs
And put his name in lights where it belongs” – “Songwriter,” the Good Rats

In this issue: I ask: are imperfect audio systems a bad thing? Anne E. Johnson covers the career of jazz saxophonist Johnny Hodges, and listens to unusual madrigals. J.I. Agnew continues his examination of how records are made with a look at record plating and pressing. Our Mindful Melophile Don Kaplan enjoys a little knight music. Ken Kessler keeps spinning his reel-to-reel tales. Jay Jay French has his life changed by guitarist Mick Ronson. John Seetoo continues his interview with June Millington of pioneering female rock group Fanny.

FIDELITY magazine offers some loudspeaker crossover design basics, while PMA magazine looks at the contributions of audio pioneers Chester W. Rice and Edward W. Kellogg. Roy Hall goes on a boat trip. Russ Welton considers the effects of listening rooms and speaker performance. Ivan Berger revisits the legendary Acoustic Research AR XA turntable. We round out the issue with freedom from choice, separation anxiety, audio realism, and a free electron.

Staff Writers:
J.I. Agnew, Ray Chelstowski, Andrew Daly, Harris Fogel, Jay Jay French, Tom Gibbs, Roy Hall, Rich Isaacs, Anne E. Johnson, Don Kaplan, Ken Kessler, Don Lindich, Stuart Marvin, Tom Methans, B. Jan Montana, Rudy Radelic, Tim Riley, Wayne Robins, Alón Sagee, Ken Sander, John Seetoo, Russ Welton, Adrian Wu

Contributing Editors:
Ivan Berger, Steven Bryan Bieler, Steve Kindig, Ted Shafran, Bob Wood

Cover:
“Cartoon Bob” D’Amico

Cartoons:
James Whitworth, Peter Xeni

Parting Shots:
James Schrimpf, B. Jan Montana, Rich Isaacs (and others)

Audio Anthropology Photos:
Howard Kneller, Frank Doris

Editor:
Frank Doris

Publisher:
Paul McGowan

Advertising Sales:
No one. We are free from advertising and subscribing to Copper is free.

Copper’s Comments Policy:

Copper’s comments sections are moderated. While we encourage thoughtful and spirited discussion, please be civil.

The editor and Copper’s editorial staff reserve the right to delete comments according to our discretion. This includes: political commentary; posts that are abusive, insulting, demeaning or defamatory; posts that are in violation of someone’s privacy; comments that violate the use of copyrighted information; posts that contain personal information; and comments that contain links to suspect websites (phishing sites or those that contain viruses and so on). Spam will be blocked or deleted.

Copper is a place to be enthusiastic about music, audio and other topics. It is most especially not a forum for political discussion, trolling, or rude behavior. Thanks for your consideration.

 – FD