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Autumn in New York

342 views 16 replies 8 participants last post by  Bloo Dog  
#1 ·
Vernon Duke's stunningly beautiful ballad. Hopefully I did it some justice!

 
#3 ·
My soprano playing leaves a lot to be desired!
 
#8 ·
Thank you!
 
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#12 ·
For tracking: a Warm Audio WA47 mic, into a Warm Audio Tonebeast TB12 preamp with the vintage transformers selected. After that I use a Ferrofish AD/DA and into an RME digiface.

Then on mix down I have a TLA C2021 compressor on the sax. Reverb is Valhalla Vintage Verb on some plate preset. Then master bus has a Kush Audio Clariphonic and a Drawmwr 1970 stereo compressor.
 
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#14 ·
It's something I do find interesting given the number of folk who spend lots on mouthpieces/horns etc, then complain their recordings sound rubbish but are using an SM58 into a cheap Behringer audio interface or something, and in an untreated room (that was the bit I forgot to mention, my home office/studio has a fair amount of acoustic panels in now).
 
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#17 ·
This is a great song, and you serve it up nicely. I don't know much about recording, but the overall sound is pleasing. I think that the saxophone could come forward half a notch.

Your tone is its usual beautiful, rich, confident sound.

At 1:27 and 1:59 your phrasing sounds a bit tentative. That could be the result of playing with a backing track vs a live band. (My experience with backing tracks goes back to the early Aebersold records. So many times, there would be spots in the progression where I couldn't do anything that sounded good to me because the track got in the way rhythmically or in its approach. No matter how many times I'd play over the track, I couldn't make it sound good. I don't know what you experience. This is just my experience).

At about 2:07, I hear a beautiful transition. It works so well. It's not rushed; there's no urgency.

I liked the passage at about 2:37. Nice.

At 3:20, you almost swing. If you were playing live, the rhythm section would have accompanied you better. That's one of the shortcomings of playing with backing tracks. You have to follow a non-responsive, non-conversational rhythm section.

At 3:49--- nice phrasing.

At 4:38, things get a little lost for me, and it isn't your playing. It's the approach that the pianist takes on the track. I don't have the chart in front of me, so I'm not sure where the pianist is in the progression. It recovers before the outro.

I liked your playing on this. I hope to hear some live recordings.