Jazz Fusion is BACK!

paulrmartin · Post by **paulrmartin** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 10:26 am

Here's one that'll throw a bit of havock in technoheads' ears.

I am a fan of Wayne Shorter during the Atlantis days and I composed this in his honour. Also, I find there is a definite lack of jazz in here hehe

Please give me al the advice you can about the mix in this tune. I have such tinnitis that I am not sure what I am hearing anymore.

Enjoy!

Gordon Gekko · Post by **Gordon Gekko** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 10:41 am

love it. your melodical skills are remarkable. what else... real horns but you know that already. bravo

Post by **garyb** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 1:57 pm

i think that kick and snare should be much more up front. the sound needs more body.

diminu · Post by **diminu** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 2:17 pm

Hi,
nice tune. I´m also a fan of Wayne Shorter. How did do the the synth sound? Which synth did you use?

Greetz
diminu

paulrmartin · Post by **paulrmartin** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 4:34 pm

Gary: The bass drum and snare are exactly the tracks giving me the most problems. But I believe I got a balance that gets close to Shorter's albums of the period I talked about. (by the way, I am not so sure I like the snare I have in this track)

Diminu: The synths originally used for this tune are the Roland CM-32L and CM-32P. The first synth you hear is the SUPERSAW, an incredible FREE synth that has such a buzz to it . I can't live without this one. The electric piano is the free mda epiano, slightly tweaked for more highs. Rapture plays the Lyle Mays flute sound along with the sax melody. The pad sound during the piano solo is the Pro-53. The piano is the Hubbe velo jazz soundfont I downloaded from Hammersound. Saxes are from Kick Ass Brass(I'd rather have a real sax player...)
The drums are from Natural Studios, the NS_7 free kit and the bass is played by Trilogy, doubled by a soundfont of GM synth bass 2 from the RealFont_2_1 bank.

There you go

dawman · Post by **dawman** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 4:41 pm

The synth he was emulating was the Rhodes Chroma that my idol Josef Zawinul used on Punk Jazz with Wayne Shorter, and Jaco down at Criteria on Ocean Blvd. in Miami back when I lived there. You nailed it Paul. Good job.

I agree with GaryB about the kick, and the fretless. Damn keyboard guys always bury the bass. Just kidding, not about the mix though.

Have you listened to Weather Update since the Shorter, Zawinul split? It is smokin' Crawdaddy's. Anyone who worked with those guys are magical IMHO.
I have listened to Shorter since the Jack DeJohnette days. Miraslav Vitous is the reason we all have VSL and so many great String and Orchestral libraries these days. Alphonse Mouzon also had a great fusion group since Weather Report. It broke my heart when they split up.

I will follow up with fusion, ambient, and orchestral works in December since I will have a DAW setup with SFP, and Cubase 4 in a couple of weeks. Thanks to GaryB. Thanks for releasing this recording as it will soften up the electro heads for me. I expect them to throw tomatoes at me, that is why I will also record some electro-ambient stuff, and orchestral as in Mahavishnu Orchestra as they were also a major influence in my quest for sucsess, which still evades me.

Love that synth, what did you say you used?????

Post by **garyb** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 9:58 am

i'll bet the kick and snare would sound better if you put each through a little overdrive.....
[demanding tone]..and more bass!

paulrmartin · Post by **paulrmartin** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 2:36 pm

Strange that you would mention that, Gary.
I used overdrive on those for the first time.
Perhaps I need some overdrive tweaking tips?

In my speakers, the balance is right. The bass drum is loud enough and the snare has the correct volume for the mix I am looking for. I have Paradigm Reference Series monitors. Maybe they are bass heavy...

Shroomz~> · Post by **Shroomz~>** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 3:06 pm

Seriously Paul, what you've produced sounds fantastic, but 'bass heavy' is often good & what you've been trying to do here is 'balance' the mix, when in fact it would really benefit from more bass. I love the track, but I agree with gary that it needs more bass end. Not overdone, but touching on more subs in the right spots wouldn't hurt. That said, I'm really not as faniliar with this style as you guys, so obviously you're gonna know what's right & what's not!!

I like it anyway, so thanks!!

dawman · Post by **dawman** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 5:32 pm

I happen to like the Creamware SSB delay for drum tracks, as it is not just an echo, but frequency modulator. But I am still enjoying the synth levels right where they are at. The Punk Jazz patch rocks. It inspired me to make a preset for Solaris tonight, as I am ashamed I forgot about that totally metropolitan sounding synth, which I loved so much years ago. The reason I am so adamant about the synth used, is I was allowed on stage at the Washington University Field House when they performed in 1978. I suppose that he could have re created the Roland SM's patch on the Chroma. But the patch itself was so unique, and beautiful, I don't care what synth made it, as long as Solaris or my Oberheims can do it again.

Post by **garyb** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 9:34 pm

paulrmartin wrote:In my speakers, the balance is right. ...

well Paul, being the artist, you have final say and you know what you like.

sod all what i think! it's just an opinion, not gospel. let me rephrase my first post and say what i should've to begin with.

nice track!

paulrmartin · Post by **paulrmartin** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 4:14 am

I am now experimenting with different types of overdrive on the bass drum and snare.

I think I have achieved a better bass drum sound which lets me bring it up front a bit more. The snare, however, is a bit more problematic. It sounds a bit too "Bill Bruford" and I am looking for a lower pitched one.

I need to listen to this on other systems....

AudioIrony · Post by **AudioIrony** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 5:39 am

Great programming !!!

kensuguro · Post by **kensuguro** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 5:39 pm

heh, I was waiting so I could get a good listen at home..

First of all.. how the heck do you come up with these phrases, amazing. I like how you panned the synth stabs.. they're voiced close and with high tension, but the panning alleviates the tension a bit, while also creating a strange panning effect.

The arrangement sounds finished and complete, seems whatever else to fiddle with would be in the execution.. sounds to me that the drums, or the entire track could use some exciter, as it sounds a little dull. But I'm not sure whether this piece calls for a scream in yo face type of sound in the first place..

The drums have a strange spectral distribution.. the snare and kicks are somewhat muddy, so I'd liven those up.. not sure why there's no snap in the kick, maybe it's how it was mean to be? Sounds like it'll be hard to add one in.

The sax.. you must have spent alot of time programming this.. Great programming!

Check out the attached file:
I could only work on headphones, but I tried opening up the top end a bit, to give it some room to breath. Just eq, and a sprinkle of stereo enhancement from psyq, and the usual overdrive finish I do. The cymbals and rides are pretty bright, so if you could brighten the kick and snare a bit, then I think it'll create a good balance.