TAPE 1
EVERYTHING HAPPENS TO ME Matt Dennis/Tom Adair 5’57"
ALL OR NOTHING AT ALL Arthur Altman/Jack Lawrence 7’00"
THE GYPSY Billy Reid (fragment)
Conceived, recorded and produced by Giulio Cesare Ricci
Recorded at Hotel Il Castello - Palazzo di Scoto di Semifonte
Certaldo Alto (FI) November 2016
Recording assistant: Paola Liberato
Valve microphones: Neumann U47, U48, M49
Mike pre-amplifiers, cables (line, microphone, supply): Signoricci
Photos by Michela Del Forno
A&R and Il Castello property manager: Alfred Kramer
The protagonists of this album are Scott Hamilton - sax, Paolo Birro - piano, Aldo Zunino - bass, Alfred Kramer - drums
Ballads for Audiophiles is part of the musical projects created in Certaldo Alto (FI) in the ancient cellar of the Palazzo di Scoto di Semifonte.
To enhance the fascinating acoustics of this place, Giulio Cesare Ricci used the entirely analog and valve-based Signoricci recording system.
The songs were performed from start to finish without sound manipulation, nor equalization, nor reverb, nor compression and expansion...but natural sound with real timbre, no editing.
The "Signoricci", this is his nickname in the audiophile world, does not work with support microphones that magnify the individual instruments as if under a lens, but with his beloved Neumann valve microphones that he himself positions in order to create a natural sound field. In this recording, all this has been achieved so well that one has the sensation of participating in a live concert. The musicians position themselves on an imaginary stage maintaining a certain distance from the listener. The speakers seem to vanish. It takes a moment before one can get used to this performance relatively poor in effect compared to common recordings. But you don't have to wait long before discovering its charm, a charm that creates a living sound universe and that gives importance to the whole instead of clearly separating the instruments from each other.
Even the sound of the saxophone, despite being decisive, is always velvety and never tends to be too loud. The volume rises spontaneously, but it doesn't annoy or seem invasive.
This album will make many listeners happy, both musically and timbrically.
As announced, a calm pace was expected for the ballad. Fast rhythms or high-pitched sounds were not on the agenda.
Hamilton's sounds are refined, soft and his accompanists follow him discreetly, with the exception of a few small solos. Thus standards such as "Moon River", "All Or Nothing" or "The Shadow Of Your Smile" spread a relaxed club atmosphere.
The Master was made with the Ampex ATR 102 (Electronic Tube Ampex Model 351 - 1965) 2 tracks, 1/2" 30 ips modified by David Manley.
The Mastering was made by Giulio Cesare Ricci using the entirely analog and tube Signoricci system.
