Jazz pianist Tsuyoshi Yamamoto and engineer Yoshihiko Kannari are renowned for their work in the 1970s with the legendary Japanese jazz label Three Blind Mice, which produced many world-renowned recordings, such as Midnight Sugar and Misty.
The album was recorded live in a studio, in front of an audience, at ONKIO HAUS in Tokyo, where TBM and the previous album SWEET FOR K were also captured.
This album perfectly reflects the essence of a live performance by Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, sublimated by Kannari’s mastery of studio sound. What’s more, it makes every music fan’s dream come true, with a selection of songs based on requests submitted in advance by fans.
The album is available on CD, SACD and as a two-part vinyl edition. The first part, comprising the first 6 tracks, is already available, while the other tracks will be available on vinyl part2 in May.

Update of the test with the second vinyl disc, allowing you to purchase the entire album in a vinyl edition.

Other albums reviewed :

For this review, you will find 4 versions tested: SACD, vinyl record part1 and part2, and Amazon UltraHD 24/96.

Below you will find the description of the different editions, as well as the measurements of each edition in the following chapters.

The album is composed of 14 tracks:

1. Alice in Wonderland*
2. Fools Rush In*
3. Milestones*
4. Charade*
5. Doxy*
6. The Way We Were*
7. For Once in My Life**
8. Gentle Blues**
9. Jealous Guy**
10. Misty**
11. The Third Man Theme**
12. All the Things You Are**
13. Blues**
14. Danny Boy**

The vinyl record part1 *, The vinyl record part2 **

Summary, scoring and Samples

Ed 1: SACD – 2025

Presentation

The SACD version is a non-hybrid disc (without the CD layer) with the reference SCOL-1074. Te SACD conains the track of the vinyl record part1 and part2.

Waveform and Spectrum: DR14

The waveform of the SACD shows a high dynamic range confirmed with DR14. The waveform reveals remarkable dynamics, testifying to high sound quality. It also reveals the use of a limiter that intervenes on three tracks, maintaining a dynamic range at a level of DR11/DR12, which remains quite satisfactory. This result is all the more impressive in that one of the tracks reaches DR19, a sign of mastery of audio processing and a notable respect for the recording’s natural dynamics.

The spectrogram below represents the SACD. The yellow arrow shows that the signal rises well above 20 kHz. We also find the characteristic noise of DSD64 beyond 30 kHz (white arrow).

Synthesis and listening

The SACD version offers a remarkably natural sound experience, highlighting each instrument with great finesse. Spatialization is faithful to the microphone layout used during recording, allowing total immersion in the work. The sound rendering is homogeneous and perfectly balances the different nuances of Tsuyoshi Yamamoto’s piano playing, which is distinguished by its vibrancy and expressiveness. Every note resonates with clarity and depth, making this version a reference for this recording.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●o (4.5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Surface noise: ●●●●o (4.5)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4.5)

Sample : Fools Rush In 24 bits 176 kHz:

Sample : Doxy 24 bits 176 kHz:

Sample : Misty 24 bits 176 kHz:

Ed 2: Vinyl record Part 1- 2025

Presentation

The vinyl edition of this 180g-pressed album contains 6 first tracks from the SACD version (ref: SCLP-1075).

Waveform and Spectrum: DR15

The waveform of the vinyl record shows a high dynamic range confirmed with DR14.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises above 20 kHz (yellow arrow) with signal above this frequency (white arrow) containing musical information and distortion due to the vinyl record’s operating principle.

The graph below compares the spectrum of the Vinyl record Part 1- 2025 (white curve) with the spectrum of the SACD – 2025 (blue curve). The two spectra are very similar over the whole bandwidth up to 20 kHz, with slight variations of the order of a dB in the yellow zones. Beyond 20 kHz, the vinyl curve rises by 3 dB, before dropping below the SACD curve beyond 30 kHz. The SACD curve rises above 30 kHz due to the noise generated by DSD64 encoding.

Synthesis and listening

This vinyl record benefits from high-quality cutting and lacquer pressing, as well as mastering that restores all the nuances and subtleties of the recording. The sound rendering is exceptional, presenting a soundstage in perfect harmony with the microphone configuration used during recording (see diagram in introduction). The rendering is smoother than on the previous versions, bringing a different approach to realism, but with less detail than the digital versions. This vinyl represents the very best of this medium.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●● (5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4)

Sample : Fools Rush In 24 bits 192 kHz:

Sample : Doxy 24 bits 192 kHz:

Ed 3: Amazon Music – 2025

Presentation

The Amazon UltraHD version is presented in 24 bits 96 kHz. This edition contains the same tracks as the SACD version.

Waveform and Spectrum: DR14

The waveform of the Amazon Music shows shows a high dynamic range confirmed with DR14. The waveform reveals remarkable dynamics, testifying to high sound quality. It also reveals the use of a limiter that intervenes on three tracks, maintaining a dynamic range at a level of DR11/DR12, which remains quite satisfactory. This result is all the more impressive in that one of the tracks reaches DR19, a sign of mastery of audio processing and a notable respect for the recording’s natural dynamics.

The spectrogram shows that the signal goes beyond 20 kHz (yellow arrow) with a signal that rises to 44 kHz kHz (white arrow).

The graph below compares the spectrum of the Amazon Music – 2025 (white curve) with the spectrum of the SACD – 2025 (blue curve).The two spectra overlap perfectly up to 20 kHz. Beyond this limit, the SACD curve rises due to the noise generated by the DSD64 process (yellow arrow), unlike the PCM coding used for Amazon, which gradually attenuates with a maximum frequency of 48 kHz (white arrow), in line with the 96 kHz sampling frequency.

Synthesis and listening

Rendering with the Amazon UltraHD 24-bit 96 kHz version is similar in terms of dynamics and smoothness to SACD. However, the result also depends on the DAC’s internal processing, which differs between PCM and DSD64 formats, which can lead to variations in rendering and listening quality.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●o (4.5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4)

Sample : Fools Rush In 24 bits 96 kHz:

Sample : Doxy 24 bits 96 kHz:

Sample : Misty24 bits 96 kHz:

Ed 4: Vinyl record Part 2- 2025

Presentation

The vinyl edition of this 180g-pressed album contains 6 first tracks from the SACD version (ref: SCLP-1076).

Waveform and Spectrum: DR17

The waveform of the vinyl record shows a high dynamic range confirmed with DR17.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises above 20 kHz (yellow arrow) with signal above this frequency (white arrow) containing musical information and distortion due to the vinyl record’s operating principle.

The graph below compares the spectrum of the Vinyl record Part 2- 2025 (white curve) with the spectrum of the SACD – 2025 (blue curve).The two spectra are very similar over the whole bandwidth up to 20 kHz, with slight variations of the order of a dB in the yellow zones. Beyond 20 kHz, the vinyl curve rises by 3 dB, before dropping below the SACD curve beyond 30 kHz. The SACD curve rises above 30 kHz due to the noise generated by DSD64 encoding.

Synthesis and listening

As with the part1 vinyl disc, this part2 edition with the following 6 tracks also benefits from high-quality cutting and lacquer pressing, as well as mastering that restores all the nuances and subtleties of the recording. The sound reproduction remains exceptional, presenting a soundstage in perfect harmony with the microphone configuration used during recording (see diagram in introduction). This vinyl represents the very best of this medium for this second part.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●● (5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4)

Sample : Misty In 24 bits 192 kHz:

Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio presents a new live recording that brings the music to life. The quality of both formats is very high, and everyone will be able to choose their favorite version. Between precision and detail for the SACD version, and a smoother touch for the vinyl version.

Update with vinyl part2, which follows in the footsteps of the first vinyl disc. It’s a shame we didn’t produce a double vinyl disc, which would certainly have reduced the price rather than having two half-albums.

Dynamic Range measurements are shown below.

Subscribe to MagicVinylDigital

If you like this review, please subscribe. You’ll receive information on new articles directly in your inbox.

Measurements

Dynamic Range comparaisons

Dynamic represents the ability to reproduce a wide range of sounds from the softest to the loudest. The target is to compare the dynamics of the music and not of the media (CD, digital files or vinyl).

For our 4 editions reviewed have obtained the following Dynamic Range (DR) :

	SACD – 2025	Vinyl record Part 1- 2025	Amazon Music – 2025	Vinyl record Part 2- 2025
Global	DR14	DR15	DR14	DR17
Min	DR11	DR14	DR11	DR15
Max	DR19	DR17	DR19	DR21
Alice in Wonderland*	DR13	DR15	DR13
Fools Rush In*	DR15	DR16	DR15
Milestones*	DR12	DR15	DR11
Charade*	DR15	DR16	DR15
Doxy*	DR13	DR14	DR13
The Way We Were*	DR16	DR17	DR16
For Once in My Life**	DR11		DR11	DR15
Gentle Blues**	DR14		DR14	DR17
Jealous Guy**	DR17		DR17	DR19
Misty**	DR15		DR15	DR17
The Third Man Theme**	DR12		DR12	DR15
All the Things You Are**	DR14		DR14	DR16
Blues**	DR13		DR13	DR16
Danny Boy**	DR19		DR19	DR21

As a reminder, the scale goes from 0 to more 20, but the dynamics are considered good from 12, quite good between 10 and 11, and deteriorate below 10.

Detail of the ratings :

• Dynamic :
  1. Significant dynamic compression, DR less than 7
  2. Compression of the present dynamics, DR between 7 and 9.
  3. Correct piece DR >=10
  4. No dynamic compression (DR >12), dynamic rendering
  5. No dynamic compression, high DR and very dynamic sound rendering
• Spectrum :
  1. Spectrum cut and less than 15 khz
  2. Spectrum cut at 15 khz
  3. Spectrum not conforming to the original and cut (not HD) or original but limited bandwidth (but less than 20 kHz)
  4. Spectrum conforming to the original (but not HD)
  5. Spectrum conforming to the original with HD resolution (higher than 24kHz)
• Surface noise (only for vinyl):
  1. Continuous audible noise
  2. Audible surface noise except on passages with a high level of noise
  3. Reduced surface noise, barely audible on low level crossings
  4. Low surface noise, very good quality
  5. Very low surface noise, no defects, almost inaudible on the quiet passages (exceptional disc)
• Spatialization :
  • Between 0 and 5 for 5.1 or 7.1 channels configuration
  • Between 0 and 10 for Atmos configuration (7.1.4)
  • For more information on spatialization, you can read the article describing this parameter here.
• Restitution :
  1. Low quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments.
  2. Average quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments.
  3. Quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Good record.
  4. High quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Very high level disc.
  5. Maximum quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Exceptional disc.

---