Live Musics

This week I saw three great live music acts. The first was Maria Schneider and her orchestra at the Purchase College Performing Arts center. Maria is a jazz composer - the concert consisted of only her original compositions, and I haven't heard anything like it before. The tunes evoked so much pure emotion that I just sat there dumbfounded. Her music is much more melodic and harmonically complex than much of the modern jazz I've heard recently, and thus very unique - she had a strong beautiful voice that shone brightly in each work. (By the way, the drummer - who's name I do not remember this instant - was OUTSTANDING.)

Next, I saw Wagner's Das Rheingold at the Metropolitan Opera on Saturday afternoon. This blew me away. I had seen Die Walkure the second opera in Wagner's Ring Cycle last year and I had loved it, but Rheingold was even better. The singing was incredible, even better than usual, and all the actors sang and played their rolls convincingly. Additionally, the sets, effects, and costumes would have made Peter Jackson green with envy. A stunning event, significantly more amazing than simply listening to a recording of the opera at home.

Finally, on Monday night, I saw saxophonist Walt Weiskopf play with a group of excellent jazz musicians (John Hart, guitar; Bill Moring, bass; John Richmond, saxophone; Eliot Zigmund, drums) at the Turning Point Cafe in Peirmont, NY. This show was lots of fun - great jazz in a intimate pub/bar/cafe setting in a great little neighborhood on the Hudson river with the second best French onion soup I've ever had (and I've had a lot). (Incidentally, the best was at a place in Rochester called Hogan's Hideaway - go there if you have a chance.)

Anyway, all of this made me think more about a career I had never really thought about seriously before - live sound. I don't really like live sound much, but that's because I have always thought about it in the context of rock concerts and large stadium/festival venues, but now I'm giving it some more thought.

Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/bastet/

An Alternate session

The other day I had what I thought was a great idea. What if I set up a session in one of Purchase's recording studios without a set list of things to record, what if I invited people to play, to show up at any point during a certain time frame, and leave when they felt like it? What if some of the most talented musicians in the school played together for the purpose of enjoying themselves and making authentic music?

Well, I did it. Signed out a studio, miced up the room, started Pro Tools and didn't stop for six hours. I ignored stupid things like the door to the studio opening, people walking in and out, talking, setting up instruments, etc. The session revolved around capturing a moment in time where people gathered together and just made music without worrying about playing perfectly or wondering if the vibe was "right" for the song.

The experience was thoroughly enjoyable, at any given time three to eight jazz majors jammed together in the live room, while I sat behind the desk and enjoyed the sound. Occasionally, I would get up and move mics to capture the changing instrumentation more effectively.

What came out of this experience was an eleven gig PT session with enough great takes to make a double album. A double album which was truly a live album. An album that went back to what music, especially jazz, is all about - musical discourse and mutual enjoyment and creativity.

So what that there were errors? So what that the recording has noises interfering and could be clearer or better balanced? This is about as close to sitting in the room with the musicians as we can get after the fact. What better way to remember a great time? Yeah, ok, maybe your recording has more definition, and has no errors - my recording has more soul.