The Sweetest Sound [Pure DSD]

The music here is relaxed, sweet jazz with Angelo Verploegen and his colleagues playing various standards they know well. Verploegen's flugelhorn, "the softer brother to the trumpet" per the liner notes, leads and blends gently with Verhoeff's guitar and van der Westen's double bass. The three performers sound like good friends gathering together and inviting us along to join them.

Did you know that many of the great Jazz trumpet recordings by Chet Baker and Miles Davis (among others) were not with a trumpet at all! The instrument used in some recordings was the Flugelhorn. To the uninitiated, the Flugelhorn and Trumpet don’t look all that different from each other. But once you see the differences and more importantly hear the differences… The Flugelhorn is mellower and warmer. By the way, the Cornet is also similar, but is more or less between the two in sound. See what you can learn when someone brings out a really great new album?

Anyway, I just got done listening (for about the 20th time!) to Angelo Verploegen’s new album, “The Sweetest Sound”, in which the trumpet player returns to his first love, the Flugelhorn. And he brings along “old-time soulmates”, guitarist Ed Verhoeff and bass player Eric van der Westen. You can tell these guys know how to play together. The jazz is light and accessible, but the music keeps drawing you in. These are more or less “standards” that you will find instantly familiar, but made young again by this trio. Verploegen’s Flugelling (I made that up) is rich, and stands with the best. Verhoeff’s guitar is very mindful of the virtuoso jazz guitarist, George Van Eps. And van der Westen’s bass is right there

Speaking of right there, the Just Listen Crew has captured these with no edits, no retakes, no compression. The sound is so good, it’s scary. Good stuff.