• Songs
  • Latin Jazz - Disposable Politics (p.2)
2012/09/26 23:35:01
Jeff Evans
The aspect I like the least about this piece is the drum programming. Could you not get a drummer to play that groove? It does not sound anything like Chick Corea's Friends album (texture wise it does but not groove wise though) because Steve Gadd is playing on that and that is like a rocket taking off the whole time but what you have is a flat drum groove which is also too far back in the mix. (Steve is loud on Friends especially in Samba Song) I can understand why you have not mixed the drums very loud because maybe they don't feel quite right.

It feels like it is not going anywhere for the whole tune groove wise. It is just sitting in one place groove wise. Mix is not great at times. Flute is a bit loud in places. Nice piano playing from you though but it would have sounded way better with a decent drummer. I feel even your piano playing is held back because of the groove. 

It does not matter how interesting the music is if the groove is not happening and for me I feel it is not happening in this tune. BTW in the other latin jazz tune the drums sound a little better (programming too) although there is still some of this groove lacking going on there as well. Maybe the tempo is too slow not sure. The sax is a bit loud in the other tune and the drums are sitting a little far back as well. No piano chords under the sax sounds good. Listen to Samba Song from Friends on a small speaker and hear how well balanced everything is.

I am just being very critical of one aspect of these pieces. The tunes and harmony sound great. I am a pretty experienced drummer myself, my son is a very good drummer and drums and groove is just one area I am very very sensitive to. And besides I have been listening to a lot of Gadd lately and really after that not much measures up too well.  
2012/10/10 19:52:32
eric paul
hi jsaras wow good stuff keep them comming eric
2012/10/10 20:02:30
eric paul
great production well done the bar never stops in this forum love it thanks eric
2012/10/10 20:41:58
tbosco
Jonas, I liked this tune a lot.  Excellent musicianship all the way around!  I too feel the drums are the weak link in this one.  They seem far back compared to the rest of the mix.  The bass has some really nice tones in the mid to higher registers, but the lower notes seem aggressive (distorted?) just a bit for my taste in this tune.

I really liked the flute part too.

Nice to hear real musicians!!  Thanks for posting this one.
2012/10/13 12:15:22
jsaras
The snare could come up a bit on the melody, but then again, it's brushes.  The bass player's instrument isn't the greatest thing in the world.  That'll will have to wait until we get rich off this recording ;-D
2012/10/15 03:24:47
Marcus Curtis
over all I liked the song. nice arrangement. I thought the flute was great, piano was good too. Drums were a bit weak but I under stand the challenge when the drummer uses brushes. 
2012/10/15 09:08:16
shawn@trustmedia.tv
Jazz often leaves me confused about how I should feel, the is was progressive and enjoyable!
2012/10/15 09:35:55
vechung
Chick Corea yeah! The piano improv sounded very sweet. The flute improv was ok for me. I would lower the bass a tad bit. I think the drums are quite adequate. Overall I like the song and production.
2012/10/15 15:08:43
jayhill
Very nice song.  Enjoyed everything about it.  There was some multiple snare going on towards the end of the song that confused me a bit, but overall, great musicianship on this.  And; kudos to the writer and arranger.
2012/10/19 16:24:32
D.Triny
I've always been a fan of Justo Almario both on Sax and Flute...that's what drew me into this thread.  Enjoyed the tune, the lock didn't suggest that the musicians were in the same place at the same time though.
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