I have been playing fairly regularly with a number of different grounps on the area of late, both to my enjoyment and to my bank account’s enlargement. This coming weekend I shall be perfroming for the majority of the day on Saturday.

I shall be playing trombone and leading the Turk Island Jazz Band at the Hayward Farmer’s Market from approximately 9:30 AM until 12:30 PM if anyone wishes to make a visit. We will be playing at the intersection of Watkins and B streets. Admission is free and there are a number of most interesting booths offering a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and other foodstuffs – both organic and otherwise. There are also a few booths offering flowers, jewelry, food, etc. These farmers’ markets are an excellent place to shop for fresh produce and if you happen to be in the area, feel free to drop by.

In the evening, I shall switch gears to the lower brass, as I shall be playing tuba with Emperor Norton’s Jazz Band at a wedding in Napa. We will be providing entertainment both before and after the wedding, as I understand it. I recently played a wedding in Sonoma with the same group and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Emperor Norton’s Jazz Band is made up mainly of music majors or ex-music majors and it is a real pleasure to play with such skilled musicians. in addition, this wedding will be a good workout for my tuba chops, as I have a number of upcoming performances on this instrument in the months ahead.

This weekend also offers the upcoming South Bay Traditional Jazz Society meeting, featuring the Golden Gate Rhythm Machine, led by former Turk Murphy trumpeter Bob Schulz. This is an excellent band and I highly recommend seeing them if you can make it down to Sunnyvale. I shall be posting on the upcoming jazz gigs later today at Examiner.com as well.

I decided after performing in the open air that it would be advisable to make one small change in the microphone I use for announcing the tunes, vocalizing and introducing the band. To wit, I wanted one I could actually turn on and off so that it would not be constantly live. To this end, I purchased a Shure SM-58 SLC.

These microphones use the exact same innards as the SM-57, but the have a different grill, designed more for vocals and they also have an on-off switch built in. I have yet to use this one in the public arena but I am looking forward to breaking it in. As I have been very satisfied with my SM-57, I do not expect to encounter any issues with the SM-58 either.

I have now essentially completed my microphone collection. I will use the SM-57 and SM-58 for my main everyday microphones. The Audio-Technica clip-on is reserved for uses such as when I need a horn mic, and the Chinese recording mic is now relegated to backup usage should one of the Shures go out on me. Since all of these are compatible with my new mixer, I do not expect to have any difficulties using any of them.

If I were to purchase another microphone, I would probably get one of the classic 55SH microphones, simply for the ambience it provides (not to mention the quality it is reputed to offer as well)! I do not need any further additions to my collection as I have no ambition of becoming a recording engineer – I merely wanted a pair of good microphones for the times I bring the band over and the public performances where I might need to provide a good-quality microphone. Though thee are rare, I hate using inferior gear and to that end purchased my own microphones. Combined with my MultiMix and my MacBook Pro, they give me an excellent recording base studio.

Prior to purchasing my new SM58 I did look at some other brands, but the Shure reputation was too much for me to pass up. I have been using these products on stage and in the studios for over thirty years and have never had any problems with them. Thus I went with the relibility factor, as opposed to purely looking at price. I want a tool that will stand up to the pounding it will inevitably receive in public. Shure had a reputation for being able to handle this kind of hard usage, so I determined that would be the brand I purchased.

I recently purchased a Shure SM-57 instrument microphone, with which I have been recording of late. I have found that for instrumentals, this microphone does an exceptional job. However, when I record vocals, I need to set the recording levels to a much higher sensitivity in order to capture the necessary volume. This may be an issue with  my M-Audio Ozone, which I use to connect my XLR microphones, both condenser and cardioid, not the microphone itself. As a result, I am considering upgrading to a mixer and using that as my principal device, instead of the Ozone.

The low audio levels for my vocals are present (though to a lesser degree) when using the condenser microphones as well, leading me to suspect that it is indeed due to the Ozone, not the microphone itself. I have procured a windscreen for the microphone and this has done an excellent job in reducing the popping and breath sounds that are otherwise prevalent when recording vocals.

To sum up, I would recommend the Shure SM-57 to anyone who needs a microphone for instrument recording that can also be used in a live venue. However, if one is doing significant vocal recording, I might suggest that a mixer or other audio center be used in conjunction, so as to better control the recording levels and balance the vocal with the instrumental backing.

I will be performing with the Zinfandel Stompers jazz band in conjunction with the South Valley Symphony on March 14. This is a new group, organized by tubist Jim O’Briant. The Stompers are a band that mxes the traditional standards with pieces from more modern eras. They are a very enjoyable group, and are uniformly very talented musicians. The performance will be at Gavilan College Theater in Gilroy, California.

I am looking forward to this engagement and will have thoughts both on the band and on the experience of being asked to substitute with an established band or musical group once I comlete the performance.

I have been considering upgrading my microphones for some time. Most of my previous recordings were done with a Chinese-made recording microphones, bereft of any identifying marks save a large ‘GA’ on one side. This microphone is not bad, but it does not produce optimal sounds, especially for my vocals, so I have been looking at an upgrade.

At Macworld last month, I spent considerable time with the Shure people looking at their product lineup. Since I run all my sound through my m-Audio Ozone MIDI controller, I already have a phantom power-enabled XLR jack,  but I have been thinking that I would like to get away from the dependence on phantom power, as I do not always have access to a phantom power-enabled jack. Therefore, I have focused my search on the dynamic cardioid microphones.

I have long been impressed with the all-around performance of the classic Shure SM-57, and while there are higher-priced microphones on the market, I determined that for my needs, the SM-57 was probably the best choice. It is a well-focused instrument microphone and also provides acceptable vocals. And as a cardioid, it does not require phantom power, enabling me to connect it directly to the computer if need be.

Thus far, my use has been restricted to recording my practice sessions, but I intend to use it for my next recording session with the MIDI controller and see how the results compare with the recording microphone I have been using. For instrumentals, I also have an Audio-Technica clip-on microphone, which works well with my brass instruments. I am hoping that now I will be able to do true stereo recording, as opposed to the mono I have been doing thus far. I shall report back once I have created my next track.

As I mentioned in a previous post, my reliable old Apple Macintosh PowerBook G4 passed away some weeks ago. As this was the central piece of my recording studio, I have been unable to do any recording since this tragic event occurred. I have been considering changing my equipment to include a multi-track recorder, thus freeing myself from a reliance on a computer system. However, events have recently changed my opinion.

I purchased a new Apple MacBook Pro a couple of weeks ago, after Apple’s release of their new portable lineup resulted in bargain basement prices on their previous generation of MacBooks. When all was said and done, I managed to acquire a top-of-the-line MacBook Pro for about half of what it was originally priced. The machine in question has a 2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo chip, 2GB of RAM, and 512MB of VRAM. I am planning to increase the RAM to the maximum allotment of 4GB, but that will have to wait until I have saved a few pennies!

However, even with a mere 2 GB of RAM, the new machine is both much faster and more robust in recording my various instruments. I have not yet encountered any difficulties in recording multiple instruments and in fact I have yet to have GarageBand crash as I am attempting to record a large real instrument track. This is very pleasing- my older machine showed definite signs of strain when recording long passages or multiple takes of a single track. And the new machine is much faster both at saving and managing songs- I don’t worry about overtaxing the processor with this machine!

I am also very pleased with my first exposure to the iLife ‘08 suite that is bundled with said MacBook. There are some significant differences between the older version of iLife with which I am familiar and the new one.

The most important difference from my brief exposure is the ability to divide recording into sections. Thus I am able to select intros, verses, choruses, etc and divide up the song so that I can record each of them separately- something I was not able to do in the previous iteration. The new iLife 08 also has the ability to record several virtual tracks, enabling me to do several takes of a section before choosing the one that sounds the best. previously I had to erase then re-record, or utilize another track- which was very taxing to the computer!

After spending some time re-configuring the machine to my preferred state, i began recording, choosing a Japanese tune entitled ‘Wakare no Samba’, written and recorded by Japanese guitarist Hasegawa Kiyoshi. I have not yet completed this recording, but thus far it is moving along quite nicely. I expect to have it completed and posted to my MySpace page in the next week or two. i will of course announce it at this site once I complete the work on the recording.

Overall, I am very satisified with my new ciomputer, and I have therefore shelved plans to purchase a multi-track recorder as well. Should I require a separate recording machine, I will revisit this decision, but the new MacBook has proven to be quite satisfactory thus far. I would like to upgrade my software suite to the Logic Studio, but as that is a little expensive, i will probably defer that purchase until next year at the soonest. For now, Garageband, coupled with my reliable old m-audio Ozone does the job quite nicely.

My next purchase will be a <a href=”http://shure.com/ProAudio/Products/WiredMicrophones/us_pro_SM57-LC_content” target=”_blank”>Shure SM57</a> dynamic cardioid microphone, as I my current microphones are all condensor-types. While condensors are good microphones, I require something that is a little more portable- condensors need phantom power and a good cardoid does not, making it a little more flexible. I also understand that the SM57 is a good mic for both instrument and vocals- something my Audio-Technica is not. However, that is also something that is not necessary at the moment.

i attended a performance by a local youth jazz group called the ‘Jazzinators’ on this past Tuesday evening. The group performs on a bi-monthly basis at a local pizza parlor, and as I am scheduled to participate in a jazz festival at this same establishment on Saturday, I thought it would be useful both to listen to the youth band and simultaneously scout the venue.

The band had a broad representation of instrumentation. The  instrumentation included drums, bass guitar, bass guitar/banjo tuba, two clarinets, two trombones, two trumpets and two saxophones. The director occasionally helped out by playing trumpet as well. Their repertoire included tunes from a variety of genres as well, as they played tunes from the Big band era such as ‘In The Mood’ and also were able to play tunes representing the Dixieland era. They even mixed in a few more modern charts.

I observed the band for the better part of an hour, and overall, they were quite skilled for a youth group, especially considering that the age of the members was uniformly young- according to the band director, the oldest member of the group is merely sixteen. The band leader was one of the saxophonists, and he did a creditable job of kicking tunes off, and indicating when they should end. While intonation was an issue at times, overall the band is pleasurable to listen to.

Musically, five members of the group stood out- the two sax players, one of the trombonists, the drummer, and the youngster doubling on bass guitar and banjo. While each of these musicians is still very young, they showed that they understood the rudiments of how to play improvisational solos, and they all produced a good sound on their respective instruments. In addition, the drummer, with whom i have played before, for the most part kept a steady beat, without needless embellishing.

The saxoophonists are both able to do a creditable job on solos, though there were the usual lapses where the soloist lost the thread of his thought, as is normal with younger players. However, they did not try to do too much and they both produced a clean sound. The banjo player frankly stood out. Despite picking up the instrument recently, he was able to produce a very creditable sound and his technique was clean. he also played a solid solo at the beginning of one of the group’s medleys. The trombonist’s skills were mostly hidden throughout the performance, but i was able to listen to him afterward and he clearly has some skills, in addition to which he has a better grasp of improvisation than most of his fellow members.

All youth groups have some issues with tempo and volume, and this one was no exception. The group’s balance was dominated throughout by the sax and trombones- the clarinets, despite being miked, and the trumpets were extremely difficult to distinguish. In addition, the group has not quite mastered the idea that not all tunes need to be played at breakneck speed- the most outstanding example was their rendition of ‘In The Mood’, which began in an out of control freight train-like tempo and steadily increased throughout. Experience will almost certainly remedy this issue. Not to say that older and supposedly more experienced musicians do not also make this error. There are some tunes that suck musicians into tempos faster that they were ever designed to be played, and ‘In The Mood’ is certainly one of these ‘trap’ tunes.

Volume is another area that only experience will fix. Almost all young musicians tend to play louder than they really ought to- especially as the tempo increases. if they do not, then they usually play too softly. Both of these tendencies were present in this band, as save for the afore-mentioned clarinet and trumpet sections, the members tended to play at least one volume designation louder than they really needed to- especially on solos. The corollaries of balance and venue are also areas in which the group could use a little improvement. Knowing how to temper one’s output to adjust for the venue and how to best match one’s volume with one’s fellow players are skills that only experience and time will correct. I expect that as the band members gain experience, these areas will cease to be a concern.

Overall, the group performed very creditably. While there are some weaknesses, they are an enjoyable group and have a lot of promise. Their playing was mostly enthusiastic, and they did a solid job of perfroming a number of classic charts froma  variety of genres. Well done.

I participated in a rehearsal last week for a local brass quintet. During the course of the rehearsal, I found myself playing parts written for French horn. This occasioned a few thoughts on transposing in general, and reading horn music in particular.

So what is transposing? Wikipedia defines it as

…the process of moving a collection of notes (pitches) up or down in pitch by a constant interval.

This means that if the note written in the music is a ‘C’, then transposing into B flat the same note would be played as a B flat. This is very common for players such as baritone or trombone players who read trumpet music- the written note is written as C but played as a B flat.

French horn music is commonly written in the key of F, though it is written in standard treble clef. Thus, a middle C in the horn part would be played by a trombonist as an F a fifth below. Since the trombonist is essentially reading the part in F, one must also add a flat to the key signature in order for the notes to sound correctly in relation to the other instruments in the group. When reading, it is useful for the trombonist to read the music as though it were written in mezzo-soprano clef – that is placing the middle C line on the second line from the bottom in the staff.

During the course of the rehearsal, I was abruptly reminded that I have not done much transposing of late other than reading trumpet music, which is written in standard treble clef. Treble clef for trumpet simply involves playing the note a full step lower than written and adding two flats to the key signature (if the piece is written in C, then the player would play it in B flat). Reading treble clef in C (a piano part, for example, the trombonist does not need to change the key signature, and plays the notes as written). Thus, i encountered two major difficulties- first I am no longer particularly apt at transposing on the fly, which led to numerous occasions where I simply lost my place in the chart, and second, my range is no longer extensive enough to accurately hit the high tones necessary to play horn parts.

Overall, I would strongly recommend any aspiring musician to thoroughly learn all the different clefs so that when placed in such a situation he or she is able to read the music without needing frequent stoppages. Secondly, aspiring musicians should become thoroughly familiar with their instruments so that when asked to play in a particularly high or low range, the ability is at least present. While I was once able to do exactly that, my lack of steady practice over the years has definitely hurt my ability to play in the ultra-high register. The moral of this story is practice, practice, practice!

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to play some tuba with the jam sessions of the South Bay Traditional Jazz Society. The Society had their monthly meeting over at the Swiss Park in Newark, California over the weekend, featuring the Churchill Street Reunion Jazz Band.

The South Bay society usually has two jam sessions in between the sets of the regular guest band. This format allows a number of jammers on stage, thus guaranteeing that musicians have a chance to struyt their stuff for the audience. This arrangement also permits the maximum number of players to play, as there are often a plethora of instrumentalists present.

This month, we had an especially illustrious lineup. Not including the afore-mentioned John Soulis (trombone) and Dick Williams, we also had trumpeter Don Abel of the South Bay Stompers, reedman Lyle Gillison, banjoist Pat Dutrow, and drummer Bill Todd. One of John’s friends also joined us on clarinet- I regret I did not catch his name, as he was an excellent clarinetist- I thoroughly enjoyed playing with him.

I normally bring only the trombone to these meetings, but jas in any jam, one never knows in advance who or what instrumentation will be present. Therefore, since jamset director Jim Harget requested me to bring along a few of my horns and as I live fairly close, I brought along my tuba as well as my trombone. I knew that trumpeter Dick Williams would be present, so I did not bring the trumpet to this gig. Upon arriving, I discovered that trombonist John Soulis was present, so I ended up playing tuba on both jam sessions

Some thoughts on playing traditional jazz tuba. The tuba is far different from playing trombone. Not only is it important to keep the beat so that the badn does not drag- a responsibility shared with the drummer, but the tuba, together with the piano and banjo is also responsible for ensuring that passing chords are correct so that the players are led into the next musical passage. I trust that I did not embarrass myself in this regard. Tuba is also an instrument that requires the player to watch the other musicians carefully, so as to avoid any sour notes if alternate chords are used by other members of the rhythm section.

Volume is another area where aspiring tuba players need to be careful. Tuba is a very powerful instrument- make sure to watch the leader and listen carefully to avoid overpowering soloists. In Dixieland, tuba normally continues to play at all times, unless there is a particular break or the leader indicates otherwise. It is very easy to forget how loud one is actually playing, so it is important to keep your ears peeled and your eyes on whomever is playing the lead so as to modulate your tone appropriately.

Finally, soloing on tuba is a little different than most other instruments. Once again, there is no ned to try to overpower with dynamics. A tubist should slightly turn up the volume when soloing, as tuba can get lost in the background, but there is no need to play fortissimo all the time. This also applies to technical expertise. Taste is independent of technique. Technique should be used to enhance the solo- not to be the end-all of the solo. Some of the best tubists in jazz play close attention to the bassline and structure their solos around it, so that at the conclusion they can lead the band back into the appropriate chords, while they drop back into a solid bassline.

In addition, the tuba is much heavier than the trombone. If one is not used to the weight of the instrument, it can become a drag to play for an extended period of time. I was standing throughout the first set, and thus the sole source of support for the horn, other than my strap, was my left arm. By the end of the set, i was thoroughly tired, so on the second set, i availed myself of the stool used by the guest band’s tubist. This was much mroe comfortable, as I was able to rest the horn on my lap, as opposed to actually holding it throughout the set.

In conclusion, it was a very good experience for me, and I gained quite a bit of insight into the specific requirements of playing jazz tuba. I look forward to continuing my education on this instrument.

I have been doing most of my recording on a Macintosh PowerBook G4 equipped with Garageband, Apple’s free music editing software. Unfortunately, my PowerBook died a week or two ago, leaving me without a functioning studio. I intend to purchase a new laptop in the near future, but since I have more uses for a laptop than merely recording, I am considering purchasing a multitrack recorder for my studio and thus removing the need for the laptop at all.

I am currently looking at recorders with a built-in hard disk, as I believe this to be a better alternative than removable media. Although the initial prices are higher than removable-media recorders, the sizes of the built-in storage permit more tracks and remove the need to switch or purchase additional media as well.

I am currently looking at the Fostex, Tascam and Zoom brands, as they are the ones that fall within my price range. The specific models are the Fostex MR 16HDTascam 2488MKII, the Tascam 2488MkII, the Zoom HD8CD, and the Zoom HD16CD.

Feature-wise, it would be nice to be able to record more than two instruments simultaneously, since there may be times when i want to record an actual band, as opposed to my usual over-dubbing. However, the only 16-track that has the four XLR microphone jacks is the Fostex. I am not familiar with this brand, so although it is definitely the right price, i am a little wary of this machine. i am more familiar with the Zoom brand, though their 16-track is at the top end of my price range.

If anyone has suggestions, please feel free to comment. i am still in the researching phase, but will be making a move in the next month or two, as I do need something to do my recording.