Southwest Audio Fest — SWAF 2025

SWAF — Set 5A – part 1 of 5*

Curated Playlist:
Top Genre: Jazz / Sub-Genre: Latin
45 min / Tempo: 117 bpm
Overall Rating: 4.3

01. The Cat Walk - Donald Byrd
02. Love For Sale - Dexter Gordon
03. Love Is Here To Stay - Bill Evans Trio
04. Perfidia - Julie London
05. Witchcraft - Donald Byrd
06. Só Danço Samba - Stan Getz, João Gilberto, Antônio Carlos Jobim
07. But Not For Me - Vocal Version - Chet Baker
08. Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd

SWAF — Set 5B – part 2 of 5*

A series of audiophile tracks to showcase HiFi sound. This set features cool jazz horns with limited pop vocals. Drumming alongside are piano & upright bass keeping the pace at hard bop.

Curated Playlist:
Top Genre: Jazz / Sub-Genre: Hard Bop
70 min / Tempo: 117 bpm
Overall Rating: 4.3

01. If I Were A Bell - Miles Davis Quintet
02. Tin Tin Deo - Art Pepper
03. El Sino - Donald Byrd
04. Rainy Blues - Jackie McLean
05. La javanaise - Juliette Gréco
06. Shu Shu - Ike Quebec
07. I Wish You Love - Grant Green
08. Blue Train - John Coltrane
09. Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye - Roberta Flack
10. So What - Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans

SWAF — Set 5C – part 3 of 5*

Curated Playlist:
Top Genre: Jazz / Sub-Genre: Latin
52 min / Tempo: 111 bpm
Overall Rating: 4.8

01. Idle Moments - Grant Green
02. Duke's Place - Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington
03. Voodoo - Sonny Clark
04. Syeeda's Song Flute - Art Taylor
05. Blue Spring Shuffle - Kenny Dorham
06. Up In Cynthia's Room - Horace Parlan Quintet
07. I'll See You Again - Bill Evans

SWAF — Set 5D – part 4 of 5*

A series of audiophile tracks to showcase sound quality. This set features vocal arrangements, acoustic folk, blues, and art rock. All selections are available on vinyl.

Curated Playlist:
Top Genre: Jazz / Sub-Genre: Rock
57 min / Tempo: 109 bpm
Overall Rating: 4.5

01. Ella - Jose Alfredo Jimenez
02. Lonely Woman - Sarah Vaughan
03. O Marie - Daniel Lanois
04. Hill's Edge Set 2 Live From Cafe Bohemia 1956 - Kenny Dorham
05. Lush Life - John Coltrane, Johnny Hartman
06. Call Me - Blondie
07. Cool Struttin' - Sonny Clark
08. Three Card Molly - Elvin Jones
09. Fare You Well Blues - Mississippi Joe Callicott
10. Hidden Place - Björk
11. The Great Gig in the Sky - Pink Floyd

Commentary:

By Sunday morning the room had 504 visits. Traffic for the today is expected to be slow. We play the unlikely tunes. Fun for collectors. A vinyl spinning refuge. The analog system sounded smooth.

Yesterdays rising mid-bass tamed.

The sweet-spot was open.

Two-chairs second row.

All music, less refraction.

The classic exitos from Jose Alferdo Jimenez now playing. "Ella" has vocal presence in traditional mariachi folk music style. Vocals take center stage with guitarrón. We are entertaining family & friends. Expecting clients to enter at will or revisit for inquiry.

We present a listening room the Jazz Kissa trade show experience. Vendors for Southwest Audio Fest increased this year. The household brands have arrived. SWAF 2025 requires potential consumers to be intentional. Our products are bespoke. A select beverage for those visiting with us today will be crisp in nature brewed with grounding medical root. I will share farmhouse styled beer with those interested. Saison Sunday. Beers from my cellar. Well aged. Crafted for eclectic talks & tastings.

We are back from the hacienda with a fast swinging straight ahead jazz tune. Cosmic Healer a light medium body saison brewed with ginger hits high notes refreshingly while maintaining an earthy baseline.

The beer.

The music.

We are going somewhere distant.

The equipment at an exposition becomes a blur when you have seen too much. By the end you need an equilibrium check from the show lights and a footing clear of snake oil. May we care enough to heal the blues. Music is healing. The modernized Hi-Fi systems may fill the highs with electronic sparkles. Crashing cymbals cascading on rock tunes. A preference for gear may overlook a lush middle. "The Maker" by Daniel Lanois is an example. I played it for a client. The recording divided the room. The music is missing its center. The sound seemingly compressed with an added halo. High frequency echo behind the lead singer. Our analog-only room is empty. I prefer the next track "O Marie" a love in waiting song. Canadian acoustic rural music sang in French. Hi-Fi playback crafted for a full audio spectrum is "Lush Life" for the lonely. The escapist within is showing.

Defined by calling upon siren sultry vibes as cure for the blues. Remain next level. We are talking about music. Blondie's "Call Me" is cued in high-fashion. Audio shows are seeking big spenders. The hobby for some is about ego. Confidence is needed for this life. The rush of epinephrin. A slow strut. Swagged chest up for attention. Landing on the blues. Life is short. Toys are fun.

The room has potential clients. We are back to spinning the Blue Notes. Records remastered sound mighty fine. The SemradAudio.com system pairs front-loaded field coil divers with tube amplification. myEMiA.com electronics in single-ended-triode output has set us free.

Handcrafted exceptional.

The dynamic texture of hard bop piano is not lost.

Sonny Clark lives on in the recording. Have you heard free jazz? The experimental stuff can be haunting. An artist like Björk is unexpected in a room made for vintage loving mad men. The recording of "Hidden Place" captured well the belly of a rave. Very electronica.

Let's sip MVP Saison while listening to Pink Floyd. The beer is simple but this wild crafted saison is deeply rooted. The beer with age has depth of character crisp herbal lemon with a peppery bright finish. The sound stage is deep we are revisiting "The Great Gig In The Sky". Hear Clare Torry bare in full departing spirit.

I shall live now. Dance with strangers.

Sample Beverage:

Cosmic Healer — 2018.07.25 - well aged ginger saison earthy spice with crisp medium finish.

MVP Saison — 2018.06.14 - well aged classic saison finished with wild yeast at bottling.