audio_music_tech

Jazz Today - Mortally Wounded? pt.2

2008-04-25T09:18:00.006-04:00

Another leading cause of jazz fatal wounding is due in large part to jazz musicians themselves. Older cats on the scene today (at least in Ohio) do not hire and encourage younger musicians they way used to. Longtime veterans of the scene are protective and stand-offish of their gigs, and tend to use only older musicians, even when there may be an up and coming young player who can hang, but needs experience one only gets from playing with seasoned musicians. As a result, many young cats have to play with their peers all the time, never having to rise to the occasion or be pushed outside of their comfort zone, and its something like the blind leading the blind. The market has becomes flooded with young mediocre musicians who lack a personal tradition with music, and who see jazz only through the eyes of academia.

There is an even larger problem however, and it relates to all jazz musicians young and old; jazz has lost touch with people. Jazz today, especially at the local level, is lacking both in originality and its ability to relate to the common person. Now, when I say originality I do not simply mean that we have a lot of sound alikes (though we most certainly do!), but ensembles themselves are bland and disengaging. I cannot tell you how sick I am of hearing a whole set of tunes played as such: head-solo-trade-head out. This format on every tune may be fun for the players in the group, but it is boring and offers no surprises for the listener. If you're going to do a common tune, find a new angle and don't just play it the same old mediocre way.

Then there is the choice of material - the holy triumvirate of standards, be-bop, and latin tunes. This may shock some of you, but there are more types of tunes than just these 3, yet with few exceptions, when you go out to hear a "jazz" group, this is what you hear. Not only that, but the same 20 tunes from each style are played over and over and over. Musicians should keep in mind that they provide as service FOR OTHER PEOPLE - if you're playing only for yourself then invite some friends over to jam and quit complaining about how you have no gigs. If you're trying to relate to an audience in their 30-50's, you probably shouldn't play a whole set of tunes from 1942. There is a wealth of tunes from the last 3 decades that can be mined for something challenging to the musician and appealing to the listener, but it requires that you do more than bring a fake book to the gig.

Jazz Today - Mortally Wounded? pt.1

2008-04-24T11:17:00.005-04:00

The expression "jazz is dead" is thrown around a lot these days, a sentiment I happen to agree with, but how did a music once such a vibrant and living part of american culture lose its relevance, its artistry, and thus, its life?

As with all problems, the blame does not rest with one individual or one institution, but rather a combination of factors contributing to the deterioration of the whole. Let's begin with the institutionalization in universities, a factor most frequently blamed for the demise of jazz. One would think that the liberalizing environment of a college campus would help invigorate jazz, but in fact the opposite is true - jazz has been stifled. The problem is that universities have developed a standard jazz curriculum that all students must follow, while the music itself defies standardization! It must be remembered that jazz is art, and as such cannot simply be broken down in terms of mere mechanics - technique is only a means to an end. Creating something beautiful, personal, and expressive should be the ultimate goal, not executing a perfect major scale at lightening speed.

The way jazz is being taught, en-mass, is also a problem. Jazz has traditionally been "taught" in a more personal, apprentice-ship type of program, where a student comes under the tutelage of a master (who's style the student admires) who passes on his personal knowledge and musical colloquialisms. Over years of study and practice, the student absorbs the master's approach intuitively and is encouraged to inject and develop his own style accordingly. This is why you can trace the styles of say, Clifford Brown, through Lee Morgan, onto Freddie Hubbard, but they don't sound exactly alike. Students at universities today are told to read books and charts, practice scales and written exercises, many of which have little to do with what the student is interested in, while spending perhaps as little as one hour a week with their teacher. As a result, many students sound like they are reciting exercises, lacking any traces of creativity or a personal/regional style.

Jazz At Pacchia Dies A Slow Death

2008-04-18T07:54:00.002-04:00

Pacchia a.k.a. The Jazz Room, will probably close its doors to live jazz performances after 13 years. The club, which went through numerous changes over the past 2 years, has been sold by owner Glen Brailey.

The once prominet Dayton jazz club began to slip about 18 months ago, when new investors wanted to change the format of Pacchia from club to 5-star restaurant. The brand new stage was ripped out, trios and quartets were replaced by solo piano and bass/piano, piano/guitar duos, and the menu was overhauled with dramatic price increases. Needless to say, the lively middle-class bar crowd, once a staple of friday and saturday nights, went elsewhere.

The new owners are dealing with financial difficulty and do not think they will be able to continue offering music. And so, the one real jazz club in Dayton that was actually able to function, faces its demise, due almost entirely to miss-management.

AudioMusicTech.com

2008-03-04T00:28:00.002-05:00

I'm proud to announce that this blog is now accessible at www.audiomusictech.com. For now, it just redirects to this site. However, I'm in the process of developing a new site which will integrate the blog with video content which will include:

in-depth discussions of audio and musical concepts, technologies, and applications
how-tos based on frequently asked questions (got a question? email it to audiomusictech@gmail.com)
interviews with musicians, engineers, producers, and other people working in the business
product reviews
creative short subject videos

and probably more stuff. Please email us if you have questions, comments, or general suggestions!

2008-02-27T04:12:00.000-05:00

Max Roach on Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland

Pro Tools and OS 10.5 Leopard

2008-02-20T04:02:00.003-05:00

Seems like everyone was wondering when Pro Tools would become compatible with Leopard. It looks like Digidesign has released compatibility for Pro Tools HD and 10.5.1.

Click here to read the support note.

Unfortunately, Pro Tools LE is still not officially supported on Leopard. We'll see when the compatibility comes, but in the mean time, Digidesign recommends you hold off upgrading.

What if you're purchasing a new, fast, awesome Mac Pro that ships with Leopard? I guess you're out of luck.

Or you could always install Windows XP on your Intel Mac and run Pro Tools there, which is what I do.

JBL 4312 Control Monitors

2008-02-20T02:57:00.000-05:00

I first saw a pair of JBL 4312's at the WVXU studio in Cincinnati. It was the "old" WVXU, a small old-school studio on the campus of Xavier University.

All the reviews I've read seem to basically converge on what I remember of how they sounded: not a ton of bass, and not a ton of clarity in the highs, but overall a balanced and "realistic" sound.

I would love to pick up a pair of these and get a decent tube amp to go with it. I wish I still had the Fisher 500C. Part of the problem with that amp, among a number of things, was that I didn't have a good pair of speakers to use with it.

Every once in a while these things show up on craigslist, or for a good deal on eBay. Keep your eye out for old gems like these.

Own a pair of 4312's, or any other cool piece of gear? Contact us at audiomusictech@gmail.com!