Author: Claus Müller

The album Stand Up! was released in October 2025 on the analog tone factory label. The four musicians Jerome Sabbagh (tenor saxophone, composer, producer, and label owner), Joe Martin (bass), Nasheet Waits (drums), and Ben Monder (guitar) harmonized perfectly and recorded a sensational album.

Music

Tape 1: The first track, Lone Jack, which is between blues and jazz, gives you a taste of what to expect on the album in terms of its inventiveness. My highlight on this track is a wonderful guitar solo by Ben Monder. When Jerome Sabbagh later comes to the fore with his saxophone and the guitar playing remains in the background, it's a real treat for the ears! Michelle's Song is a pure jazz track, carried by Joe Martin's fabulously played bass. The track Lunar Cycle captivates with its strong jazz rhythms. Nasheet Waits stands out with his contribution on the drum set, including a great solo. The Break Song starts melodically and crystal clear. As the song progresses, the quartet plays itself into a frenzy of melody and rhythm. The music seems complex but is still easy to follow. The band masterfully handles the turning point, ending the song just as it began. Great Job! Tape 2: High Falls is carried by a Latino rhythm entwined with jazzy elements. The contrast between the drums and bass playing their lines and the saxophone and guitar dancing along is beautiful. The track Mosh Pit comes around the corner at full speed. I think it's great how courageous the musicians are in completely letting themselves go. This song is far-reaching jazz, including rock elements. Really strong stuff and my favorite track on the album. In contrast, Vanguard starts off calm and mysterious, remains jazzy and playful throughout, and thrives on diverse soundscapes. Unbowed follows on seamlessly and, compared to the sensational songs, seems almost ordinary as the album draws to a close. What is striking is the quartet's outstanding playing and stylistic confidence in every respect. I like the clean tone Jerome Sabbagh plays with. He has a lightness, something weightless in his approach.

Sound and panning

The sound characteristics of the recording warranted closer examination. At first, I thought the sound could be a little airier or more open. On the other hand, everything that distinguishes from top-quality recording is present. Overall, the sound is smooth and has just the right amount of directness. One minor criticism would be that I would have liked a little more finger and string sounds in the bass. As for the One-Step vinyl, which is on par with the master tape copy in terms of sound, reviewers' opinions differed. For example, Michael Fremer (Tracking Angle, November 26, 2025) gives it 11 out of 11 points, while Thomas Senft (ANALOG magazine 3/2025) gives it only 4 out of 5 points. Of course, judging sound is a matter of taste. Giving it less than 5 stars for sound quality would not be justified in my opinion.

I had lively discussions with jazz lovers who don't like the style on this album regarding the stage image (panning). The guitar appears far to the left and the drums far to the right. The saxophone and bass are in the stereo center. For me, this historical recording practice is not a problem. I enjoy following the musicians' playing and find that it adds to my listening pleasure. Jerome Sabbagh writes in response to my inquiry:

„The panning is intentional. We like the way this brings out clarity and makes the musical interactions between the instruments readable. It is indeed like a lot of early sixties records, not just on Blue Note, but also Columbia, Contemporary and other labels. In fact, most jazz records until the late sixties used this kind of hard panning. I personally prefer it to stereo drums and stereo piano (when there is a piano), which I often find too wide on modern recordings. I find the stereo drums distracting myself!“

Recording and mastering

To achieve the best possible sound, the album Stand Up! was recorded live on two tracks using ½-inch tape and 76 cm/s on an Ampex 351 tube tape recorder by sound engineer James Farber, as were the two previous albums Heart and Keepers of the Eastern Door. Bernie Grundman was responsible for the analog mastering.

Comparison between one-step vinyl and master tape copy

In recent years, I have been working on adjusting my turntable so that its sound is like that of my tape recorders. This was easy to achieve with my Telefunken M15 and Studer A807 tape recorders: when adjusted precisely, they follow a standard, a studio norm. These standards were also adhered to in analog production by analog tone factory. With turntables, it becomes more difficult. I looked at all the adjustment parameters, some of which influence each other and affect the sound character. An important prerequisite was a neutral-sounding device such as my Transrotor Apollon. Other basics for the test series were tape copies and records that were as close as possible in terms of sound. In the case of the album Stand Up!, the one-step vinyl is hardly distinguishable from the tape edition. The technicians did an impressive job in producing the LP!

Test tones

There are test tones at the end of the first tape. If you have a level meter, you can use it to check the level at 100 Hz, 1 kHz, and 10 kHz. You can find more information about the level tones and an interview with Jerome Sabbagh at this link:

https://www.audiotapereview.com/0752024jeromesabbaghheart

Artwork

Jerome Sabbagh chose images by Italian photographer Michele Palazzo, who also contributed the cover photo for the album Heart. For me, the play of colors in the photo for Stand Up! fits the musical content, which has many facets and inspires me to reflect, both as a listener and as a viewer.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)