Press release | PS Audio’s Octave Records label has released its first jazz album, Say Somethin’ by trumpet player Gabriel Mervine. The album of originals and standards was recorded live with no overdubbing on the Sonoma pure DSD recording system by Mervine and his quartet, to capture the spontaneity and interplay between the musicians with stunning fidelity and realism. Say Somethin’ is available as a hybrid stereo SACD disc that is playable on any SACD, CD, DVD, or Blu-ray player. It also has a high-resolution DSD layer that is accessible only using a PS Audio SACD transport, or by copying the DSD tracks on the included DVD data discs. In addition, the master DSD and PCM files are available for purchase and download from this link.
Gabriel Mervine began his professional career at age 13. He’s a member of the Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra and has worked with Natalie Cole, Christian McBride, Terence Blanchard, the Temptations, the Who, Fred Wesley and many others. On Say Somethin’ he’s joined by Tom Amend - piano, Seth Lewis - upright bass and Alejandro Castaño - drums. The music ranges from the upbeat grooves of the title track, 1964 and Furor to more contemplative songs like Friends and the quartet’s cover of A Foggy Day.
Gabriel noted, “In light of the fact that we haven’t been able to play live for a while, it just felt so good to be in a room, playing music with other musicians. It’s been such a trying year and our goal in making Say Somethin’ was to play music that would bring people some peace of mind, while striking a good balance between simple and complex.”
Say Somethin’ was recorded at Animal Lane in Lyons, Colorado, one of the world’s few 32-track Sonoma recording studios. The sessions were done live with no overdubs on the Sonoma pure DSD system and mixed using a vintage Euphonix analog console, then brought back into the Sonoma system. The album was produced and engineered by Steve Vidaic.
Gabe’s trumpet was recorded using Neumann M49 cardioid and Royer 122 ribbon mics to capture all nuance and warmth of his playing. The piano, bass and drums where recorded using the most suitable and highest-fidelity mics for each instrument, from a vintage RCA 44BX ribbon and DPA 4009 omnidirectional mics for the piano to a rare Tim De Paravicini-modified AKG C24 stereo microphone used as the overhead drum mic. The result is a recording of remarkable clarity, presence, spaciousness and wide dynamic range, all captured live as it happened.
Say Somethin’ is available as a limited-edition release of 1,000 hybrid SACD discs, or as a download bundle including DSD64, DSDDirect Mastered 192kHz/24-bit, 96kHz/24-bit and 44.1kHz/24-bit PCM formats.
About Octave Records
Octave Records was founded in 2019 to offer the finest-quality high-resolution recordings and compensate musicians fairly for their work using a business model where all production costs are paid for up front, allowing the musicians to directly share in sales revenues and retain ownership of their music. Chief engineer Gus Skinas has hundreds of recording credits and helped develop the state-of-the-art Sonoma pure-DSD recording system used exclusively by Octave Records.
About PS Audio
Founded in 1973, PS Audio has earned a worldwide reputation for excellence in manufacturing innovative, high-value, leading-edge audio products. Located in Boulder, Colorado at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, PS Audio’s staff of talented designers, engineers, production and support people build each product to deliver extraordinary performance and musical satisfaction. The company’s wide range of award-winning products include the all-in-one Sprout100 integrated amplifier, audio components, power regenerators and power conditioners.
For further info:
to the Octave Records website
to the PS Audio website
