Translation of the German review:

New York, the city with a global reputation for art and culture: around 200 museums, 500 galleries and over 150 theaters. It has 8.8 million inhabitants, around 50 million visitors a year and more than 18,000 restaurants. New York is considered the world's most important city for jazz culture. In July 2024, I met with jazz saxophonist Jerome Sabbagh in Manhattan for an interview. As a souvenir, I brought home the master tape copy of his album Heart (the second photo shows Jerome Sabbagh on July 3, 2024 on 8th Avenue, New York and was taken shortly after the interview).

Claus: You were born in Paris in 1973 and moved to the USA in 1993 at the age of 20. What happened to you musically before that time? How did you come to play the saxophone?

Jerome: I started playing the saxophone when I was about 15 years old. That was in Paris. In high school there was an orchestra and a jazz class. It's not common in France, but it is common in the USA. I had a great music teacher, and I was lucky enough that she started an orchestra. In that orchestra, I saw someone playing the saxophone and decided I wanted to try it out. My parents bought me one and that's how I started playing. I didn't have much musical training beforehand. There was music in my house, but nobody played an instrument. My parents mainly listened to classical music. There was no jazz around me, I discovered it myself later. I got into it and discovered the music of saxophonists John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins and Stan Getz, but also Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, Thelonious Monk and Keith Jarrett.

Claus: What was the motivation to go to America, to New York?

Jerome: I first went to Berklee College of Music in Boston. I spent two years there, from 1993 to 1995, and then moved to New York, where I still live.

Claus: Was the legendary music and jazz scene a decisive factor in your decision to live in New York?

Jerome: Yes, very much so. That was - and still is - the main reason why I live here. There is still no comparison with any place in the world, be it Europe or Asia, or other cities in America.

Claus: Heart is your eleventh album. What significant musical milestones can you tell us about?

Jerome: I have a broad interest in music and enjoy listening to different genres. I also like to play different music in different bands. On Heart we mainly play standards, but also one of my compositions. I particularly like playing standards in a trio with saxophone, bass and drums, like on this album. It gives you a lot of freedom, it creates a musical conversation with the drummer and the bassist. It's about creating and developing something together, and I was privileged to have someone as legendary as Al Foster on drums to play with. In all my bands, I adapt to the people I play with, but I also strive to always have my own voice come through. I aim to play and communicate with everyone, and remain myself, nonetheless. My style has developed over the years, but I always try to convey something personal and remain recognizable when I play. As musicians, we are always learning. We discover new things, we are always growing, it never ends. Above all, jazz gives us the chance to improvise and do something different every night. You don't always have to play the same way. Most of the music is not written down, it's improvised. So, you can experiment and find something new. That's what makes this music so exciting for me.

Claus: How did you come to record the album Heart?

Jerome: My main reason to do this album was to play with Al Foster. I made this trio record because I wanted to play with him. Al is my favorite living drummer and playing trio is one of the things he does best. I like all of Al’s work, with Joe Henderson, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, John Scofield and many others, and I really loved playing with him. I met Al about twelve years ago and have often heard him play live. A few times, I sat in with his band. After I finally got him on one of my own gigs, he was open to recording. This whole album is about playing with him. I wouldn't have made this record with anyone else.

Claus: The cover is very memorable: a boy falling over a box on a sandy sidewalk. I've thought several times about the deeper meaning behind it. Is there an explanation for this?

Jerome: My interpretation of the image is that the boy is using the box as a starting block for a race. For me, it's about the fact that you can make something out of nothing. That you can do something even when you don't have much, which I find inspiring. The picture was taken by Italian photographer Michele Palazzo. I like his work. He lives here in New York. He took the cover picture in South Africa, the picture on the back was taken in New York. He sent me a portfolio with some photos. I chose them because I felt they fit the title of the album, and the music.

Claus: Why did you decide to make an analog recording with a tape recorder?

Jerome: The short version is because it sounds much better. Most of my albums were recorded to analog tape. Out of the eleven records, there are maybe only two that weren't done to tape. Most of these albums, unfortunately, didn't make it onto vinyl and aren't available on tape. They are available on CDs and as digital streams. To me, high-resolution formats such as 96/24 and 192/24 certainly sound better than CDs, but analog still sounds best. One interesting thing about Heart was that we recorded it three different ways simultaneously. It was a live two-track mix. That means we recorded everything directly and the mix was done live through the board, by James Farber at Power Station. So, we were able to route the signal from the mixing board to three different storage media. One was 96/24 digital, one was a Studer A820 tape recorder and the third was an Ampex 351 tube tape recorder. Both tape recorders were running half-inch tape at 30 ips. The three versions sound different. As good as it is, the straight digital recording doesn't come close to the tape recordings to my ears. Of the two tape recorders, I preferred the Ampex. I felt it was the most faithful to the sound of our band playing live in the room. This particular Ampex 351 is a very special tape machine. We converted it to half-inch, 30 ips, with the help of some high-level engineers here in America. This gives us a lower noise floor and the best sound quality, and we still get the beautiful sound of the tube electronics of this machine. It sounds really great. I also like what recording to tape means in terms of artistic choices. I like that I can't do a bunch of edits because all the musicians are in the same room, I like that we are not wearing headphones. I think this process captures the music better: the energy of the music really comes through, and the performances are better. I also think the sonics are better, it sounds more like the people playing in the room, which is how I prefer records to sound. Not manipulating and processing things endlessly just because you can, which digital makes easy while tape does not, makes for a better result across the board in my opinion. And finally, recording to tape allows me to release master tape copies and all analog vinyl, and those sound better to me than the digital versions.

Claus: Does analog production have financial advantages?

Jerome: Yes, some, even though recording to tape is very expensive, because, if the end result is really high quality, I can sell vinyl and tapes, and, thankfully, there are people interested in that! The people buying vinyl or tape support us musicians in a much deeper way than the people who just stream, it’s just the reality of the business. Streaming pays next to nothing, and we can't finance a recording if nobody buys it. Basically, in a niche market such as jazz, streaming is not sustainable. I'm really grateful when people buy my music on physical media, because that's the only way I can keep recording the way I want to. In fact, the support of listeners who bought my records is what decided me to create a new record label, Analog Tone Factory, which will record to analog tape exclusively (although the music will be available in digital formats as well). I have some support from hi-fi brands darTZeel (amplifiers) and Stenheim (speakers) for this record label, which I also find very encouraging. There's synergy between people making high-end equipment, those who appreciate it, music lovers all over the world and musicians like me, who are trying to make the best sounding recordings we can. That’s a really positive thing.

Claus: You had the album mastered by Bernie Grundman. I assume that you were looking for uncompromisingly good quality.

Jerome: Absolutely, even though your tape was not mastered by Bernie. Jason Smith, of Grey Matter Audio, is now making tapes for me. He made the tape copy directly from the studio master tape, without EQ. So, the tapes are a 1:1 copy of the original master, not a copy of a copy. You can't get any closer than that. As far as working with Bernie, he is one of the best in the business and his reputation is well deserved. His equipment is first class. I generally ask him for a flat transfer and an EQ version on a test track, and then I choose the one I like better. Sometimes I prefer the flat transfer and sometimes the version with EQ wins. His EQs are always judicious, and he does a great job with the cutting of the record. This is maybe the fifth record I've worked with him on. For this record, there's no EQ at all, whether in the recording itself, or at the mastering. Bernie cut the record flat, using just his custom tube electronics from the tape machine. We were even able to bypass the mastering board because we didn't need an equalizer. That's even better for the sound! Bernie is a legend and I’m glad I get to work with him.

Claus: Thank you very much for this interview!

Jerome: Thank you, Claus!

The two standard boxes with stickers contain 39 minutes of music on two metal reels. Test tones at the end of the first tape are a special feature. The information on this follows an American standard and was given as "+4". When I asked, I was told that it was the standard "G320 with +4dB over 185nWb/m". I measured the signal strength at -2 dBu, which was confirmed as correct by Jason Smith.

Jerome Sabbagh plays his tenor saxophone with a beautiful and clear tone. Joe Martin accompanies with his double bass accurately and smoothly. Al Foster is simply unbelievably good on the drums with his sense of time and rhythm. The three musicians celebrate “their” trio jazz, which consists of standards and a composition by Jerome Sabbagh, in a rousing manner, with exemplary variability and nonchalance. It is above all the quiet moments that make you sit up and take notice; they radiate calm and strength. Listening to it gives me great pleasure. This tape copy was made directly from the master tape. It comes out of the loudspeakers in a very clear and structured way and is of the very highest quality. Heart is a thoroughly successful work. I would like to recommend it to all jazz fans, but also explicitly to all newcomers to this genre!

The text outside the interview was translated with DeepL.com (free version)