Ray Brown Trio - Some of My Best Friends Are...Singers

Features Performances from Diana Krall and More!

Limited Run of Only 2,000 First Edition Pressings Available for Optimal Sound Quality!!!

Ultra High Definition 32-Bit Mastering Produced Using PureFlection Process! This Ultra HD 32-Bit Mastering CD will play on ALL CD players!

Bassist Ray Brown spent 15 years in the Oscar Peterson trio. Since then, he's never fallen off the jazz map, becoming a mainstay in the mainstream with his own swinging, bop-smart trio. His "Best Friends" series has also elevated the dialogue of collective ensembles, integrating seasoned elders and neophytes into his expanding band. With this release, Brown brings singers on board; from the savvy old-world swing of Etta Jones to the hip postbop of Dee Dee Bridgewater, he moves both smoothly and solidly. There are also particularly strong surprises, from Kevin Mahogany's deep blues tracks to Nancy King's underheralded excellence.

A Better CD Production Process - The Pure Reflection (PureFlection) Process:
FIM UHD CDs now sound undeniably better than ever! FIM's first priority is to locate a factory that at offers the latest technologies throughout its entire production chain, from the best A-grade polycarbonate materials, to testing and accurate quality control tools. The factory must produce a detailed specification sheet which ensures the discs produced demonstrate the same quality as the original recording.

To assure us of the best results, FIM has enlisted the help of one of the most experienced mastering engineers in the industry to craft the glass disc for the final replication process. Winston Ma continually maintains close rapport with him, as well as the original recording engineers, the mastering engineers and the manufacturer to achieve consensus regarding musicality and the sound spectrum.

FIM's glass mastering-disc engineer maintains expertise in the latest technologies: he currently uses a special blu-ray recordable mastering thermal process technique to create small smooth grooves which result in precision fidelity. He is meticulous in ensuring the best track pitch and the distance between the spiral of the pits, to reduce the amount of noise the tracking servo in the drive picks up from adjacent tracks, thus ensuring the best parameters on Cross Talk (XT) by minimizing the servo noise of the Drive during playback of the replica results.

To further ensure the best quality, FIM stipulates the most extensive test specification requirements. Pure Reflection (PureFlection) discs show in every CD booklet the full spectrum of specification of a given CD in the following categories:

BLER (17 items)
BERL (9 items)
Physical (6 items)
Jitter (6 items)
E22 Graph and
BLER Graph

The concept of UHD 32-Bit PureFlection is the transformation of a superior sound into something truly exceptional, enhancing the experience without interfering in it. Sit back, relax and listen to the new sound of a UHD 32-Bit PureFlection CD!

Ultra High Definition 32-Bit Mastering!
Ultra High Definition 32-Bit Mastering is a proprietary ultra-high-quality mastering system. This leading-edge system has achieved unprecedented sonority and musicality, reproducing as closely as possible the sound of the original master tape! This format employs what is currently the highest attainable resolution bit depth (word length) in the professional audio field, i.e. 32-bit. 32-bit resolution makes possible maximized, undistorted dynamics, and the lowest noise floor, allowing even the quietest musical information to be heard more clearly. This breakthrough results from the development, through years of experience and application of advanced digital technology, of a sophisticated A/D and D/A processing system.

Ultra HD 32-Bit Mastering does not specify a sampling rate; this allows flexibility in meticulously choosing the appropriate bandwidth for a particular recording. The higher the sampling rate -- for example, 192 kHz -- the greater the bandwidth. However, merely employing the greatest bandwidth may not guarantee the ultimate sound. With some recordings, a lower sampling rate -- 96 or 176 kHz -- may offer better musicality and more homogeneous harmonics. This determination requires careful and discerning auditioning and professional judgment. In the end, the human being’s hearing and emotions should be the final arbiter, rather than the print-out of testing equipment or technical measurements.

Recognizing these variables, FIM nevertheless tries to use 32-bit depth and 192 kHz bandwidth whenever the original analog master is at hand. Alternatively, if the original recording is on 24/96, the 32/96 may eventually be used to maintain the integrity of the sonority particular to that recording. With this flexibility, First Impression Music believes that preeminent sound is only achievable when the chemistry of the recording, mastering, glass-stamper making, replication, and quality control is right. As always, listening is believing.

This recording has been mastered by the new Ultra High Definition 32-Bit Mastering process, which creates an unbelievable sound surpassing other formats!

The benefits of Ultra HD 32-Bit Mastering:
• Ambience of Analogue Sound
• Higher Resolution
• Undistorted Dynamics
• The Lowest Noise Floor, allowing even the quietest musical information to be heard more clearly!
• Richer Sound Field
• Master-Tape Quality Sound!!!
• Delivers what musicians originally intended!

Features:
• Limited Run of Only 2,000 First Edition Pressings Available!
• Produced using PureFlection (Pure Reflection) Process
• Ultra HD Mastering
• Beautifully packaged
• Playable on ALL CD Players!

Musicians:
Dee Dee Bridgewater, vocals
Etta Jones, vocals
Nancy King, vocals
Diana Krall, vocals
Kevin Mahogany, vocals
Marlena Shaw, vocals

Ray Brown, bass
Geoff Keezer, piano
Gregory Hutchinson, drums
Antonio Hart, alto saxophone
Russell Malone, guitar
Ralph Moore, tenor saxophone

Selections:
1. More Than You Know - feat. Dee Dee Bridgewater
2. I Thought About You - feat. Diana Krall
3. Poor Butterfly - feat. Etta Jones
4. But Beautiful - feat. Nancy King, Antonio Hart
5. Skylark - feat. Kevin Mahogany, Russell Malone
6. Little Boy - feat. Diana Krall
7. At Long Last Love - feat. Marlena Shaw
8. Cherokee - feat. Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ralph Moore
9. (There Is) No Greater Love - feat. Etta Jones, Russell Malone
10. Imagination - feat. Marlena Shaw
11. The Party's Over - feat. Kevin Mahogany
12. Perfect Blues - feat. Nancy King, Antonio Hart