Explore with us in depth the "Jazz At The Pawnshop" reel-to-reel session tapes edition along with other releases and technical/production aspects of the Italian publisher AudioNautes Recordings. 

Jazz At The Pawnshop with Jazz legends Arne Domnerus and his friends - Bengt Hallberg, Lars Erstrand, Georg Riedel and Egil Johansen, recorded at Stampen Jazz Club in Stockholm on December 14-15, 1976, has been regarded as “The Best Jazz Recording of the Century!“

Most audiophiles all over the world should already have at least one version of it. The recording’s musical artistry and sonic excellence have few peers. With the blessing of the latest mastering technology, this recording has come out in its unprecedented musical glory!

This album, recorded in 1976, is known as one of the most famous audiophile records in music. These sessions, recorded at club Stampen (Pawnshop) in Stockholm on December 6-7, 1976, by Gert Palmcrantz, have an extraordinary presence and a genuine live feeling. Known as one of the most famous audiophile records in music.

In the liner notes, album producer Jacob Boethius says, “When recording engineer Gert Palmcrantz was loading his car with equipment outside Europa Film Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, on December 6th, 1976, it was only to make one of many recordings. No one really knew then that this was to become a cult recording among audiophiles and one of the most famous and respected jazz recordings ever made. The mere fact that a single jazz recording has been released in so many formats over a very long period of time (30 years) tells us that this recording must really be unique.

The two recording nights at the Pawnshop jazz club were exceptional indeed. The crowd lifted the musicians to the peak of their abilities, and I sat together with two Nagra recorders and engineer Gert Palmcrantz in the small bar kitchen and listened to the result of a microphone set-up of a lifetime, surrounded by five musicians playing in some kind of trance. Total sales of the recording now exceed 500,000 copies, a tremendously good sales figure for classic jazz. And the records still sell at the rate of 3,000 – 4,000 copies per year today, some 40+ years after release.”

Their repertoire includes a few breakouts. Paul Desmond’s “Take Five” underlined in quintuple time, is one of them, and the African folk tune “High Life” is another. Otherwise, we find ourselves at home with the old ones and the big ones. At home with [Louis] Armstrong in “Struttin’ With Some Barbecue”, with [Coleman] Hawkins in “Stuffy”, with [Benny] Goodman in “Limehouse Blues”, with [Charlie] Parker in “Barbados”, with [Johnny] Hodges in “Jeep’s Blues”. And with all of them in a couple of evergreens like “Lady Be Good” and “How High The Moon”. And a piece like “I’m Confessin'” has been played by every single jazz musician with a normal degree of self-respect ever since the partners Doc Dougherty and Ellis Reynolds agreed on it in the 1930s.

What is worth saying about the remaining ballads? One thing: give a soloist a ballad, and he will show his innermost capability. Through his manner of telling a story, conveying an experience, with his very own pauses and subordinate clauses, reservations, and emphasis, ballads are remorseless. They will have no truck with the tawdry.

Arne Domnerus and his friends - Bengt Hallberg, Lars Erstrand, Georg Riedel and Egil Johansen – had some long stories to tell at Stampen in December 1976. Stories we could do well to listen to.” – Jurgen Schildt

Perfect Sound: Jazz At The Pawnshop - Sweden - Give yourself a justifiable treat.

A few words and corrections by Fabio Camorani on the Master Reel Tape releases he has published:

When we got the tapes, we investigated a bit. The tapes have splices like session reel tapes. And Naxos confirmed they are the only ones, no one else has ever seen anything different. We then asked Plamcrantz (directly), confirming he never saw anything else, no memory of this. But he also checked the four reel tapes personally and said that the 4 tapes are a safety copy of the session tapes done in 1986, without any editing, as is. The session tapes are lost and were done in Dolby A. AudioNautes Recordings also got Jazz At The Jazz At Pawnshop - Volume 2 and the remaining small 7" reels, and they all are A. So these are the ONLY "masters" available, and they are a 1:1 safety copy of the session tapes, done just reading A and recording SR. Palmcrantz confirmed, and any other info is lost with Boethius. The tapes, too, probably (this is not the only case...).

...and on his team:

There is a point that I want to highlight here, because it is not very clear in the video. AudioNautes Recordings (and any other brand) is made of people. AudioNautes Recordings is a TEAM, it's not me. The Team is mentioned in all booklets and also somewhere else.

Fabio Fornari, owner of a vineyard in Italy and owner also of a great pair of ears, is helping the team hear deep detail in recordings with his monitor-type system.

Pietro Benini, owner of one of the leading studios in Italy and the person responsible for the tape transfers. He owns several high-quality Otari MTR-15 reel-to-reel tape decks; his collection also includes a Studer 820, 812 and 807 among a host of other machines.
Roberto Mengozzi, whose company does high level electronic assembly (included among his projects have also been communication systems for Formula 1 racing cars). His company also assembled our electronics. Roberto is working on this project simply for the fun of it. And he is also the owner of one of those relatively rare and highly desirable Otari MTR-15 reel-to-reel tape decks.

Stefanno Ercolani, working on all artworks.

.... and must also mention Scott and Miles, who cut all LP Records for us, following our guidelines for "the last mile" (or the last 5%...).

AudioNautes Recordings was founded in 2010 and was born with the vision of offering the ultimate versions of beloved, often forgotten recordings.

Our inaugural release, Flute de Pan et Orgue (1982), featuring Zamfir and Cellier, revitalised a remarkable yet overlooked gem. Inspired by Mr. Cellier’s passion, we embarked on this journey with unwavering confidence.

The album that Fabio wanted to start with: Vivaldi’s Le Quattro Stagioni, performed by Sonatori De La Gioiosa Marca, Giuliano Carmignola

Right now, three people plus a supplier are cooperating with the label. Pietro Benini, the studio owner, is one of the very best and very few analog audio experts remaining out there (and the art of analogue editing has almost disappeared). Roberto Mengozzi helps us with listening tests, both at the studio and at home (he was the one who assembled all my AudioNemesis devices). He also helps us with the packaging of the box sets. The supplier I mentioned is also sort of a partner, like all good suppliers: they developed the special box sets for the tapes, the ones for the LPs and also the rigid gatefold we use in double LP 1-step editions.

Scott Hull, who cuts the lacquer, is a person fully aligned with this vision. Lacquer cutting can be very cheap or very expensive. Pushing the right buttons of a Neumann lathe is very cheap. However, I always ask Scott to experiment to get the best possible results. This means several thousand euros per title – no one else does it. The cost also depends on the complexity of the music. Since it’s a mechanical process, sometimes it’s simply impossible to put everything inside the groove, which forces Scott to experiment with the settings to find the right ones. Sometimes it takes many trials (and it’s very expensive…).

I hope this clarifies who is working in AudioNautes Recordings, said Fabio.

Coming in 2026: Jazz at the Pawnshop Vol. 4 - Late Night on Two SM900 Reel Tapes. 

Give yourself a justifiable treat – Get a copy as quickly as you can!

The name Audionautes Recordings will almost certainly be familiar to trade show enthusiasts from the HIGH END in Munich: For many years, Fabio Camorani’s company (as well as Camorani’s second technology company AudioNemesis, which he runs together with Giuseppe Intorrella) has been one of the regulars at Europe’s leading hi-fi show. However, AudioNautes has long since become synonymous not only with first-class amplifiers, turntables and loudspeakers with insider tip status, but also, with its subsidiary AudioNautes Recordings (ANR), with selected records of the highest quality.

No Compromise Music Sound Reissues By AudioNautes Recordings - All Master Reel Tape On SM900 - Jazz at the Pawnshop - Late Night

AAA Analog Tape Recording – your master tape duplication copy is the handmade product in real-time, by sound engineers and studio professionals with today's technology advantages: greater dynamic range, especially at frequency extremes; minimal signal processing; and unsurpassed richness and realism - it's the closest to hearing the music on master tape copy.

The tape copy is transferred in real-time, using studio-level reel-to-reel tape recorders on the freshly made SM-900 RTM audiotape. Production of audiotapes is a very time-consuming process, so each label usually can only release a new album in batches.

Distributed by OpenReelToReel Hub openreeltoreel.com For AudioNautes Recordings

COMPATIBLE REEL TAPE RECORDERS

Below is a partial list of compatible reel-to-reel tape recorders. Other open reel tape recorders may be used as long as they can play 15ips, 2-track tape capability, CCIR or NAB curve and 10” diameter reel spool capacity.

3M • Akai • Ampex 350, 351, 354, 440, MR70 • ATR 100, 102 • Ballfinger M063H1, M063H3, M063H5, M063H1IX • Crown • Denon • Fostex • Lyrec • Magnecord • Marantz • MCI • Mitsubishi • Nagra T, Nagra IV-S/QGB • Otari • Philips PRO35, PRO36 • Pioneer RT707• Scully 280 • Shure • Sony • Stellavox • Studer B67, C37, A80, 810, A820, ReVox A77, C260, G36, PR99 • Tandberg • Teac X2000 • Tascam • Technics RS-1500 • Technics RS-1506 • Technics RS-1520 • Technics RS-10A02 • Technics RS-1800 •  Telefunken M5, M10, M12, M15 • Thorens TM1600 •  Analog Audio Design • United Home Audio • Metaxas & Sins • Sonorus ATR10 and MANY OTHERS. 

AudioNautes Recordings - AAA Tape Recording - Direct From Original Master Tapes.

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