Cécile McLorin Salvant: For One to Love (Mack Avenue, 2015)
You may notice I’ve gone a bit heavy on female singers for this list, but that’s for good reason—their clear, higher-pitched voices quickly reveal tuning flaws in speakers and headphones, and they provide plenty of room for lower-pitched instruments to be heard. Thus, it should come as no surprise that the recordings of jazz’s hottest new female singer are great for testing audio gear, especially when she’s performing complex arrangements with a full group. The dynamic gear shifts and full-throated vocals of “Wives and Lovers” make it the best audio test in McLorin Salvant’s catalog, especially its woofer-torturing intro.
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