M & Petronome's "Funk Sketch"

I really like this. Nice sprawling piece that really takes the listener on a journey. It has a spontaneous / live feel to it; it must to have been hard to achieve that.

M, you have a nice feel on that fretless. Petri, that was a fine piano solo in there.

I can't think of anything I'd recommend changing. Well done.

wow guys .. that was great !! very nice interplay between piano and
guitar.

ain't the internet grand?

jeff

I'm signing into this thread also.

Thank you everyone for your kind words! Glad you liked it.

I don't know whether I should confess... I used BFD demo for the drums, so I had to take that sound which was in there... You're right Paul, I might have chosen a bit different sound too, if I had a chance.

Hi, everyone - thanks for listening!

ed_mcg - I'm always humbled when you compliment my bass playing, Ed! It's great fun to play, though. I never realized how much you bassists were enjoying your gig! (OTOH, my brother played bass in several C&W bands and *hated* the root/fifth country patterns!) Yeah, Petri can play a bit. I really enjoyed collaborating on this one.

DarrylCoy - "some pretty good chops" -- er, okay! Was that a half-measure? Nah, I'm teasing. Thanks very much for the compliment. I'm always painfully aware of my shortcomings - but it's so much fun, and I love doing it! Ditto on the piano comment: very tasty.

jmarkham - "ain't the internet grand?" You know it, brother Jeff! Collaborating with like-minded musicians has just totally revived me. Hey, I liked that new track you sent me! (Sounds like the guitar part(s) will be difficult! -- Uh, you're having guitar, no? )

Paul Russell - I've probably asked before, but what do you consider your main genre, Paul? And what's your main instrument? From your postings, I know you're into a range of stuff, which is kind of how I see myself. Anyway, thanks so much for listening - I appreciate your comments. And, yes, Petri plays nicely! (He also did a nice job communicating with me in my only language. I often forgot that English wasn't his first language!)

Oh yeah, I *liked* that BFD snare! I don't think I EQ'd it any, either. But I did compress it, which brought out some of the metallic overtones that were in the sample. Maybe that's the part you didn't care for? Man, I wish I could've found that BFD demo (in Computer Music) at my local stores when you guys were talking about it -- hint, hint. . .

twaddle - Hi, Steve! It's all music. Some times you hear things you like, no matter what the genre. Thanks for the compliment. Let's see, I just looked, and I first offered my email address to Petri on Aug. 8 (2005) in a Songs posting he had going. We started exchanging email thereafter. So, I'd say it was about 6 weeks in the making. But, the initial exchanges were about gear, which sample rate and bit depth we'd use, who'd play/program what, who'd maintain the project, how we'd exchange files, etc., etc. Logistics. Following that, Petri sent me a 4-bar pattern that kicked the whole thing off. I think the original idea was at 115, so we ultimately slowed it down to 95 and changed even some of the original chords. It was a true collaborative exchange, the entire way. A lot like working with someone in person, except the exchanges were slower, due to email, being in different time-zones, etc. But, it was cool. We're already discussing our next adventure!

Thanks for listening!

M

(Sounds like the guitar part(s) will be difficult! -- Uh, you're having guitar, no? )

'course i'm havin' guitar .. you're one of my superheros M .. charley was one up until he posted
that last avatar pic ;-)

jeff

Beautifully done guys! This is wonderful track with some great musicianship going on from both ends.

Mix is very crisp and clean even with the cheapie headsets I have on at the moment.

Outstanding!

Thanks for comments, again!

Yea, about the last chord, I kind of liked it there (could be that I'm a great fan of harmonics at the end of songs... :)
And the note before it does continue until that, so maybe someone will get there :)

Dazed: glad it sounded good on cheapy headsets also, I just bought a really-cheap portable CD-player, which included the crappies headphones I've heard :D Also, the bass boost of the CD-player rocks, it actually doesn't boost the basses, but it cuts the upper frequencies! How smart is that! Anyway, I should probably test this track thru those headphones :)

Hey, guys! It still sounds great (Mark gave me a preview). I really have no comments except that it would be simply outstanding with live drums. Love the guitar. Love the pianos. It came across sounding very "live" to me. I can easily picture myself sitting down and hearing you guys perform this. Great job, both of you! Two very talented folks here!

Mark,

Since my words these days are few, which is really saying something for me, I just wanted to say that I really like the tune. The mix sounds pretty good as well. The drums bother me a bit though.

Wish I had a chance to mix this kind of stuff more than I do now. Oh well, maybe some day when I become famous.

ORIGINAL: jmarkham

Let's see, do I respond in kind, or let it go like water off a duck's back?...uhhhh...ok, water off a duck's back it is...

i'm teasing

jeff

I know. And, I've never been in front of law enforcement, so I'm not sure if I'm ever serious!

Very Nice!
I'm not a jazz officianado by any means however.I just recently started appreciating it.Went to the Jazz festival at Sarratoga NY this year and was blown away.This sounds as good as anything I heard there,imho.

Guitar tone and playing is beautiful,as well as the keys.

Those are BFD Drums?!What the hell am I using audio loops for?

Frank

PSPicker - Hi, Moshe! I loved your final, "I'm going to dislike it even more after it's mastered." Yeah, you're listing some old-school jazzers, for sure! The fact that they're even mentioned on a thread of mine is humbling, to say the least. Love all that stuff!

hornplayer - It just needs an alto player who be feelin' it - kind of like the guy in your avatar! A third solo would've taken the track over 10 minutes - but who's counting? We're tapping you on the next one, friend!

chaz - Hey, man, hope you're recovering nicely. Is it messing with your ears? Anyway, is it the notes or the sounds of the drums that's bothering you? I kind of liked Petri's approach to playing them live. There's a lot more variation than in my usual programmed tracks. And, btw, if we ever got famous, we'd have to keep churning out the radio hits. We'd *never* have time for this stuff!

jmarkham - "i'm only serious in front of law enforcement" Word!

variaxman - I'm particularly enjoying being noticed on the bass on this one! Thanks for the compliment. It's a fun beast to play. I just saw Marcus Miller on Sunday, and it made me want to get a Jazz Bass and start thumpin' and poppin'. Bass is cool!

8ftsq - Hey, Frank! Wow, thanks for the compliment! Glad you liked it. Yeah, those are the 16-bit demo BFD set that came with a recent issue of Computer Mag. Petri did a great job with those, no? I like the sounds.

SteveD - Thanks, Steve. I think either the piano or the Rhodes was from Petri's Roland RD-300sx. He told me in an email what he had used for each, but I couldn't readily find it. Maybe he'll check back in and respond. I thought about it because of that other thread discussing best acoustic piano sounds. Petri finds this one "dark," but I thought it was a really good sounding piano, too. I guess it's more convincing if you can play it a bit, too?

Caught your email, btw, and just responded.

Thanks for checking in and listening, everyone!

Some tasty jazz that rocks!! Us rockers are getting are daily Jazz from your posts. Except for snare sound (although if I hadn't read Paul's comment I might have not focused on it.) It works great, great production recording especially internationally wow! Another shot out of the ballpark Mr M. Per your usual some great guitaring and Mr P, some very nice piano runs. Becker and Fagen should be nervous. M thought you were going to yield to Petro on the ending but instead you grabbed it like you take no you no you ok I''ll take it.

chaz - Hey, man, hope you're recovering nicely. Is it messing with your ears? Anyway, is it the notes or the sounds of the drums that's bothering you? I kind of liked Petri's approach to playing them live. There's a lot more variation than in my usual programmed tracks. And, btw, if we ever got famous, we'd have to keep churning out the radio hits. We'd *never* have time for this stuff!

Recovery is as expected. It is a day-to-day process.

The last mix I finished was "Shining Star", and that was the day before I went in for the extractions, etc. That said, I have not noticed any loss or difference in hearing things.

As for the drums.... Yeah, they work nicely, but the thing that bothers me the most is the snare treatment. The other things sound okay.

That snare thing from the 4:49 to 5:29 mark just does not do anything for me throughout the whole section. I would have liked hearing more of a straight forward pattern. It is different, but is too distracting, IMO.

Btw..... I do like the cowbell, as it is something I use in my own arrangements.

Also... The rit. at the end of the piece is a little weak, IMO. It sounds ackward and too mechanical. And the final chord is too long as well. By the time the harmonics come in, the tune should be faded out already, so it sounds very unnatural.

Okay, I think that is everything.

All-in-all, this is a very nice tune and I will give it a . Fix the other things and I will give it two.

M & P - this is really great stuff ... I can't think of any criticism as it is superb on every level: the production and mixing are flawless - this song should be on the dvd they give you when you are setting up a home theatre system to prove to you how good the sound is. The playing is also great - M, your a great bass player (much better than I can do it) and P your piano playing is really impressive. It's also hard to believe that you guys didn't do this face to face (the two of you must be telepathic!)

Sorry that this post is just one long kiss a*s (criticism is usually more helpful that praise), but it is very well deserved.