The 1st Pure DSD 256 Album from Sound Liaison!
In Essence is a welcome return to subtlety, depth, and direct communication. This new album from Iman Spaargaren (clarinet & saxophone) and Peter Bjørnild (double bass) was made using just one carefully placed Josephson Engineering C700S (3-capsule) Stereo Microphone. The entire performance was captured live in the room and recorded directly to Pure DSD 256. It’s an old-school method in a high-tech frame, a reminder that sometimes the most advanced thing you can do is keep it simple.
In Essence is an intimate, thoughtful exploration of the Great American Songbook, featuring songs like ‘My Funny Valentine’, ‘In a Sentimental Mood’, and ‘Stolen Moments’. But unlike most modern jazz albums, these are not elaborate reworkings or long improvisations.
The duo has chosen to keep each track short, distilled down to its melodic and emotional core. It’s as if the goal wasn’t to impress with complexity, but to offer a clear, focused experience of each tune, each one a small, self-contained meditation, a kind of musical haiku, concise, almost fragile in its clarity, capturing the essence of melody and melodic improvisation. The result is music that doesn’t explain itself, it simply is.
Iman Spaargaren, Saxophone & Clarinet
Peter Bjørnild, Double Bass
Tracklist
Please note that the below previews are loaded as 44.1 kHz / 16 bit.Total time: 00:36:25
Additional information
| Label | |
|---|---|
| SKU | SL1078A |
| Qualities | DSD 512 fs, DSD 256 fs, DSD 128 fs, DSD 64 fs, DXD 24 Bit, FLAC 192 kHz, FLAC 96 kHz |
| Channels | |
| Artists | |
| Composers | Bonfa, Chase, Churchill, Davis, Ellington, Gershwin, Nelson, Ramirez, Rodgers, Ronell, Styne, van Heusen, Whiting, Wood |
| Genres | |
| Original Recording Format | |
| Recording Location | Studio 2, MCO Hilversum, Netherlands |
| Recording Engineer | Frans de Rond |
| Producers | Peter Bjørnild & Iman Spaargaren |
| Digital Mastering | Tom Caulfield at NativeDSD Mastering Lab |
| Mastering Engineer | Frans de Rond |
| Microphones | Josephson Engineering C700S |
| Speakers | Linkwitz LX521.4 & TAD Compact Evolution |
| Power Amplifier | Moon 760A |
| Analog to Digital Converter | Horus, Merging Technologies |
| Mastering Headphones | Hifiman HE1000se & Sennheiser HD800S |
| Network Switch | SOtM |
| Release Date | July 4, 2025 |
Press reviews
Audiophile Style
The end result on In Essence is a wonderful selection of songs, played exquisitely, captured impeccably, and delivered to our listening rooms pristinely. Right from the opening double bass notes of track one, My One and Only You, I was sucked into the album. (…) In Essence is a very enjoyable album, that I’ve probably played fifteen times over the last week. The album shouldn’t be mistaken as an audiophile adventure in technology from old to new, but rather as the work of art that it is.
The Absolute Sound
Positive Feedback
… a stunning new Pure DSD256 album. This is their first album in Pure DSD256 and the results are simply incredible, with all the transparency, timbral accuracy, and resolution for which we love Pure DSD256… We should all celebrate and say thank you!
Iman Spaargaren and Peter Bjørnild play brilliantly together. There is a warm shared spirit in the room that is completely evident from the music-making. These two artists simply “get” each other. They play with a soft, subtle, interchange of ideas, emotion, and shared sense of how the music should flow. And flow it does—in all the best ways possible. I listened to the entire album without a stop, finding it completely engaging, musically captivating, and simply delightful.
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