Patricia Barber Companion 1STEP

1STEP Process 180g 45RPM 2LP Set of Patricia Barber's Companion from Impex: Pressed on VR900 Vinyl at RTI, Mastered from the Original Analog Master Tapes by Bernie Grundman, Limited to 5,000 Numbered Copies

Impex 1STEP Series celebrates Patricia Barber's 1999 "return" to The Green Mill, Chicago's fabled jazz club. Conceived as a "companion" to her Grammy-winning studio album Modern Cool, Companion finds Barber and her touring band in inspired form, playfully and energetically performing hits and deep tracks from her celebrated oeuvre.

The dynamic interaction between the artist and her reverent audience adds a palpable sense of space and community. At the same time, the fans' hushed attention creates a studio-like sense of precision and detail. The snap and crackle of Barber, her grand piano, and her onstage partners practically leaps off the groove into your listening room!

Companion's fan-favorite reputation is enhanced immeasurably by Jim Anderson's jaw-dropping, lifelike recording. Eschewing the crystalline sterility of digital recordings of the time, Anderson's sound is always warm, natural, and lacking unforced "hype."

Like Anderson, Impex aims to present great recordings that are as natural as possible. This release uses Jim's analog mix-down master tapes and LPs pressed on VR900 Super Vinyl. The deep, inky black backgrounds and absence of surface noise will pull listeners right into those three evenings in 1999, capturing a seminal modern jazz artist at a creative and professional peak and reveling in a perfectly rendered and joyous audio time capsule.

The splendid packaging features a lovely outer slipcase, 16-page booklet containing a new note from Patricia, and a dazzling array of photographs from the evenings by frequent Barber collaborator Valerie Booth. Heavy paper stock with spot gloss coating and a faithfully recreated exterior design complete the release. 

Features:

• Mastered from the analog mix-down tapes (of the original digital recording) by Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering
• Two 45RPM 1STEP LPs pressed on VR900 super vinyl by RTI
• New lacquers cut after each run of 500 pressings
• Package features a deluxe 16-page booklet with exclusive concert photography by Valerie Booth, a remembrance from Patricia Barber, a heavy-stock three-sleeve Monster Pack jacket, and striking color-matched slipcase
• Strictly limited to 5,000 copies

The 1STEP Process
The Impex 1STEP process relies on short, tightly-controlled runs that require a new lacquer after each 500 pressings. This unforgiving format has the lacquer skipping the regular father-mother process, going right to a single convert and then pressing. Though this dramatically increases mastering and production costs, it also assures each run is more consistent from disc to disc, with less noise, clearer details and deeper bass. Reducing production complexity to just a single "convert" disc between the lacquer and the press greatly improves groove integrity, diminishes non-fill anomalies and increases signal integrity from the master tape to your system.