TRACKS

Hook, Line and Sinker

Hugging the Edges

A Carol for You

Wise Guise

Short Ballad

Tropical Depression

Gratitude in the Minor

A Blues for Donald

Nobody's Hoedown

Poise

Niche

Red Rivers and Valleys/ Appendix

Art Song

NEW YORK CITY, August 2001
Sean Smith's beautiful compositions and well seasoned quartet are captured by Sony's new Direct Stream Digital (DSD) recording technology on the composer, bassists second solo CD "Poise."

"The quartet recorded this CD live all in the same room which has a beautiful, warm, natural sound," said Smith. "It's all captured by the recording. We didn't have to wear headphones and had great sight lines to see one another. These are luxuries in the studio. There is so much air and life in the result for you to hear."

This recording is one of a few direct to DSD recordings to date, and represents a continuing commitment by Ambient Records of Stamford, Connecticut to make fine recordings of important music available to music listeners.

"I can think of no better way to showcase Sean's composing and bass playing skills than with this revolutionary new technology," said Ambient Records President Mark Conese. "Sony's DSD draws the listener into the music in the same way as a great LP played back on a good turntable used to. The resolution is far beyond that of conventional compact discs and even DVD audio discs."

The Music: Songful and melodic compositions, reminiscent of the "Cool School" of the 1950's
The Sean Smith Quartet is Sean Smith on bass, Allen Mezquida on alto saxophone, Russell Meissner on drums, with Bill Charlap on piano or Keith Ganz on guitar. The members of the quartet have played together for many years sharing a similar passion and vision for music, helping define a very distinctive group sound noted for a rare lyrical quality. With Sean's songful and melodic compositions underscoring the quartet, their unique acoustic sound, at times reminiscent of the "Cool School" of the 1950's, has developed out of a mutual respect and love for the jazz tradition and beyond.

"Poise" on the Ambient label (CD-002) is the Sean Smith Quartet's second recording. This CD documents some of the music of a very prolific composer played by a band at ease with one another. 

The Technology: A Substantial Jump Over PCM
Direct Stream Digital, the technology behind Super Audio CD, represents a significant leap over PCM, the current CD standard. The DSD system uses a 1-bit delta-sigma modulated word, sampled at 2.8224 MHz ñ thatís more than 2 million 800 thousand samples per second. It is a much simpler analog to digital and digital to analog conversion process than PCM and therefore is really more analog-like in sound.