Roger, I did play alto for years, and may return to it once I have time to begin playing again hopefully in the next year. I have been a member of this board for seven years, since its inception, and you are the first person to ever ask me about the avatar! Did your Dad record? Who was he? In addition to my music studies in school, I studied with another great altoist, Lee Konitz, a contemporary of Bird. Yes, I am a big fan of "Birds"! It is sad that few people even know who Charlie Yardbird Parker was anymore. Ted.

Ted, I remember my dad telling us that he played in a well-known big band from the L.A area before he married and started a family. For the life of me I just can't remember the name of the band leader he played for.

My father was Music Supervisor for the Bakersfield City School District for over 30 years. I remember him always having a ton of private music students at his music studio in our home, studying sax, clarinet, and flute. I do remember that David Benoit was one of his outstanding students who made the big time. Also, he led his own dance band combo for many years. Unfortunately, he never recorded to my knowledge, with the exception of one religious album.

Roger

Thanks for filling me in. i also came from a musical family, both parents sang, played instruments and were active in musical theatre. I've always been grateful for having that background, because my life has been richer for it. Ted.

Ted, about Charlie Parker: My dad told us about "Bird," that he was a genius and that he and many other musicians looked up to Parker's awesome technique, improvising creativity, and important innovations in Jazz.

Dad also told us stories about how Parker was always pawning his horn and that he saw Parker perform once in L.A. Dad said Bird was very late coming out on stage. Everyone was calling his name, and when Bird finally came out, he blew a flurry of very fast notes for a few seconds, then passed out on stage to everyone's disappointment. Tragic that Parker struggled with addiction and died at age 34. Miles Davis said something like, You can summarize Jazz in four words, "Louis Armstrong Charlie Parker." I think Miles meant that these are the two guys who were the innovators in Jazz and who taught other musicians how to play Jazz music.

Also, in correction to my other post, it was Bob Benoit, David Benoit father, that played guitar in my Dad's combo. I don't know if David ever studied music with my father.

Roger

Wow. I think I need to try Stillpoints in my system. :scratch2:

What's the most critical component? Speakers?

Speakers first. :yes:

Roger, yes, Satchmo and Bird were probably the two most important players in jazz, overall. Its not to say, though, when you appreciate how personal and individual the art of jazz improvising is, that two guys said it all. There have been many great jazz artists, of course. But you could certainly say that, more than most, they were responsible for laying the "foundation" for much of what followed them at their respective times. Then there were the modal and atonal players who came later; Coltrane and Coleman being two key players or founding members of those schools. We live in a time when there is still a lot of good music coming from the world of jazz, just not much of anything really ground-breaking. But there is always tomorrow, isn't there? Ted.

Carlos, with your beautiful system, and enjoyment of classical music, I would certainly encourage you to audition Stillpoints under your speakers, first, then your sources. Let me know what you think! Ted.

Sounds good, Ted. Thanks for the tip (and the compliment).

In terms of greatest impact, Stillpoints suggests speakers, then amps followed by power conditioner and front-end electronics.

I'm thinking an active power conditioner reaps greater benefit than a passive one.

I remember AA user audiot servant speaking v. highly of Ultra5s under his 20.7s. I suspect Stillpoints could have an adapter to fit with your Mye stands. Yes, the Ultra5s are pricey but become a permanent investment that you can keep across component changes. You might be able 'to get away with' Ultra5s under the panels with UltraSS on the back braces, but I don't know anyone who has tried that approach. It would be worth a quick e-mail to John or Paul at SP to discuss.

After that four UltraSS under your Pass mono-blocks. You could do these first; I found the impact under my amps almost as great as that under the speakers. But I suspect that may be somewhat component dependent. Of course amp stands designed for isolation are another option.

Different components and systems will respond accordingly but it is rare that proper isolation fails to bring positive gains.