[billpf]

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My take on this beautiful number.

Thanks for listening if you have time.

Best, Alex

Wow!

Alex, that is an absolutely gorgeous version. Your sound was superb - as always, and more than anything else I heard your deep appreciation for the beauty of the melody, and for the stylings of the various Ellington horn players - Johnny Hodges in particular! You really captured the feel of that wonderful orchestra, which is no mean feat on a solo instrument. Bravo!

Bill

 

[Alex Nyman]

Thanks Brendan and Bill. Very kind. Trying to capture this style of playing is a challenge and one I relish. I had to resort to my Ted Klum Amber Acoustimax to get anywhere near the ideal I was looking for. So easy to overcook the bends and vib. Took me more than one go I can assure you Thank you so much for taking a listen. Much appreciated as always. Alex

 

[billpf]

Loose is right ... once or twice through, then record. "Peebee style" !
Anyway the main jist was trying to improve on the sound from my Milestones recording.
So I moved the mic back to about 8 feet away and put a pillow behind to kill the reflections.
This set up seems better "

View attachment 107185

That's an impressive setup, with some very serious looking old-school technology - even if it is just for appearance!

Bill

 

[Brendan]

That's an impressive setup, with some very serious looking old-school technology - even if it is just for appearance !

Gary sounds superb on the Elcaset !

 

[Brendan]

Ok - to get the ball rolling here is my first effort.

Nicely done Bill, played with a light touch. The melodious solo fit in great ! Sweet !

Here is my old quick and dirty version of September 2017:

Another gem from the vault ... the best part was 2:18 👍, followed by 3:03 👍 ... and finally a nice sub to end it at 3:52. 👌

 

[Brendan]

Women just can't resist Mood Indigo ..

Paul does a respectable job simulating playing and I like how Sidney doesn't "over emote" on the sax (like Forest did in the Charlie Parker movie).

 

[Michael_A]

Many years ago I read Mezz Mezzrow's biography 'Really the Blues'.

Bill

Bill, thanks for mentionning Mezz Mezzrow...

 

[billpf]

Gary sounds superb on the Elcaset !

View attachment 107187

Cool!

I wish I knew where all my cassettes of Bird and Diz went! Although, if they turned up I'd have nothing to play them on - unlike you!

Bill

 

[billpf]

Bill, thanks for mentionning Mezz Mezzrow...

Actually Dexdex raised his name in an earlier post and I was responding to that. I hope you have read the book!

Bill

 

[billpf]

Women just can't resist Mood Indigo ..

Paul does a respectable job simulating playing and I like how Sidney doesn't "over emote" on the sax (like Forest did in the Charlie Parker movie).

Hey Brendan,

What a fantastic clip! I've never seen the movie, or even heard of it for that matter. As you say Paul does a pretty reasonable job, although the extensive use of cutaway audience shots - mostly of girls swooning, probably helped as well! And as for the music itself, I think it is a very sexy version played by whoever the actual band were!

Bill

 

[DrWill]

I hadn't played for a few years, and a few months ago I started to practice again .... and yikes ... can't plan in tune, can't play in time .... but I finally found some salvation when I found an unplayed Rico Royale 1.0 reed ... and I've given this month's tune a shot ....
https://soundcloud.com/user-935793887%2Fmood-indigo-solo

 

[Brendan]

Sounds great Doc ... cruising right along.
(Though if I tried a 1.0 reed, it would slam shut and my head would explode ! 😖 )

 

[J-Moen]

Hi All. Just quickly flying over the forum, I noticed this June's tune, and remembered I did an overlaid version with 3 clarinets in the past.
A quick search: it was in 2012, on a pretty beaten old Selmer 9*, with a nice rich tone, but a tricky intonation.
Normally I try to behave like a gentleman: own a clarinet, and NOT playing it.
Joke aside, clarinet was the original horn I started on at 12, saxes came later. So 50 years later, I'm not really a beginner.
Anyway, you ain't gonna escape, here it goes.

Moody Dingo

"This guy really knows how to make the clarinet speak. And you know what it says ? Please, stop it, and put me back in the case".
Quote by Eddie Condon, don't remember about whom. Was it Mezz Mezzrow ?

Dex! So glad to have you contributing - just a lovely laid back arrangement and feel on that wonderful take! I love the sound of a good clarinet player - which i know is a challenge, and there are 3 superb sounds in there! Thanks so much for sharing!

This is more of a recording tester than a serious take (caviat !!).
My new (old) computer that I bought is too slow to run windows 10 .. and I can't get audacity to work properly .. grrr .. I need Jared the computer wiz !!
Anyway just a lot of blues licks and some altissimo attempts, none of which are in time or all that musical.

Mood Indignant :

https://soundcloud.com/brendan-sax%2Fmood-indigo

Dialing in recording sounds without a computer could be tough! I'd be happy to help. No windows 10 though? I'd think it shouldn't be too difficult to find a windows 7 installer for Audacity. (Or even older if depending on the os! But - on to the more important part. Awesome playing Brendan! I love the flurries - very much making the attack of this song all your own! I can definitely tell there is a greater distance between you and the mic though, and its picking up a lot of room noise sadly. I still am loving your tone - and the altissimo on bari is a feat! My bari altissimo attempts have been failed (comes out way too high - gotta figure it out soon).

SoundCloud - Hear the world’s sounds

Explore the largest community of artists, bands, podcasters and creators of music & audio

soundcloud.app.goo.gl

My take on this beautiful number.

Thanks for listening if you have time.

Best, Alex

Channelling some Hodges for the day Alex? Love the slow long scoops and bends. I actually attempted something similar but found it too hard intonation wise. Lovely playing and tone. Also this track is superb, love the light piano. You always have the best tracks Alex - and it doesn't hurt that you're playing is completely and utterly sublime! Thanks so much for this one - I am going to save this one for my daily listening playlist!

I hadn't played for a few years, and a few months ago I started to practice again .... and yikes ... can't plan in tune, can't play in time .... but I finally found some salvation when I found an unplayed Rico Royale 1.0 reed ... and I've given this month's tune a shot ....
https://soundcloud.com/user-935793887%2Fmood-indigo-solo

Will - It seems to me that your sense of time was superb! You have such a great rhythmic variety and your phrases are delightful! Intonation after a long break can be a challenge, but I thought you wrangled it in rather nicely. Very glad to have you back playing and hope to see you contributing more!

I'm currently rendering my youtube video for my final take on this one, but I'll take this opportunity to ask for volunteers! It's nearing the end of the month now, so if anyone would like to host for July 2021 B&I TOTM, please send me a PM! And of course, a huge Thank you to Bill for hosting this amazing tune, and thank you all for submitting as we have had some great takes and input! Hopefully more will be on the way over the last few days of the month - Mine will be up shortly!

 

[J-Moen]

Well - I decided to spend some time writing out a custom arrangement for this wonderful tune on my final take This was in part because I absolutely love this tune (and most anything from the Duke), but mostly because I wanted an excuse to compare my two altos side by side! So here is a small trio arrangement I put together for this one, I really hope you all enjoy - I had a ton of fun putting together some harmonies and listening to a lot of versions to get this completed out. Let me know if you prefer the Yamaha or the Mauriat with its new Roo Pads and a fresh setup! The Intro solo is me having fun on my tenor, didn't want it to get lonely. But in the song, 1st Solo is Mauriat - 2nd is Yamaha.

 

[billpf]

I hadn't played for a few years, and a few months ago I started to practice again .... and yikes ... can't plan in tune, can't play in time .... but I finally found some salvation when I found an unplayed Rico Royale 1.0 reed ... and I've given this month's tune a shot ....
https://soundcloud.com/user-935793887%2Fmood-indigo-solo

Hey DrWill,

Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to post your take. I enjoyed it a lot, a really relaxed approach and some very cool counter-melodies. I hope this has inspired you to get back into playing on a more regular basis because you sound like a really skilled and soulful player to me, and I'm hoping to hear more in the future!

Bill

 

[billpf]

Well - I decided to spend some time writing out a custom arrangement for this wonderful tune on my final take This was in part because I absolutely love this tune (and most anything from the Duke), but mostly because I wanted an excuse to compare my two altos side by side! So here is a small trio arrangement I put together for this one, I really hope you all enjoy - I had a ton of fun putting together some harmonies and listening to a lot of versions to get this completed out. Let me know if you prefer the Yamaha or the Mauriat with its new Roo Pads and a fresh setup! The Intro solo is me having fun on my tenor, didn't want it to get lonely. But in the song, 1st Solo is Mauriat - 2nd is Yamaha.

Great stuff Jared - aka 'the triple threat'!

I really dug how much effort you put into the whole production. Channeling your inner Ellington with an elegant and sophisticated arrangement, and then putting together an awesome looking video - please pass on my compliments to your DOP, Art Director, Audio Supervisor, and Editor because they all did great jobs on this one!

As for the playing, I thought this was your best version of the three you have posted this month. You now sound really at home with the melody and I liked your relaxed solos. The horns sound different but I'm only listening on my computer speakers so I don't want to get too deep with my tonal analysis! I did think that the Yamaha was at a slightly lower level in the mix and this made it a bit harder for me to compare the two sounds, but it doesn't really matter because I thought they both sounded great.

Bill

 

[J-Moen]

Great stuff Jared - aka 'the triple threat'!

I really dug how much effort you put into the whole production. Channeling your inner Ellington with an elegant and sophisticated arrangement, and then putting together an awesome looking video - please pass on my compliments to your DOP, Art Director, Audio Supervisor, and Editor because they all did great jobs on this one!

As for the playing, I thought this was your best version of the three you have posted this month. You now sound really at home with the melody and I liked your relaxed solos. The horns sound different but I'm only listening on my computer speakers so I don't want to get too deep with my tonal analysis! I did think that the Yamaha was at a slightly lower level in the mix and this made it a bit harder for me to compare the two sounds, but it doesn't really matter because I thought they both sounded great.

Bill

Thanks so much Bill - I really do enjoy writing arrangements, so its no wonder I love Duke's tracks. I am very glad you enjoy the video, as I remember your primary job makes you pretty well versed in the aspect of video photography. The entire film crew is very pleased to hear your comments, but I may need to fire the Audio Supervisor and Editor since the levels were too low on the Yamaha - but could lead to a weird situation firing myself, plus I don't think anyone else would do the work for free .

Joking aside, the volume issue was probably because I was using a higher baffle piece on my Mauriat, which is naturally a loud horn anyways. I tried to balance it by bringing the audio back on the Mauriat and pushing the audio up on the Yamaha, but it created some harshness in the mix (was weird, the two alto sounds were clashing, but in tune) - so I had to leave it fairly at its natural level. I'm really glad you liked the take though and thanks again!

 

[ufosax]

While I have been reading in SOTW for a while I only registered recently, mainly to get access to the marketplace to be honest, so I have to get my post count up. Since I have only very litte to contribute to many of the niche topics here I thought I rather post a recording than more or less random "I agree" or "+1" posts, so here we go:

I Dig No Doom

When I started playing saxophone my teacher had me play the melodies of real book tunes and all of the Ellington band classics were amongst them. While I always liked the themes I found them generally hard to improvise over. The Duke has somewhat fallen off my radar since and it was great fun to revisit. TOTM rules!

Stay safe and all the best, ufosax

 

[J-Moen]

While I have been reading in SOTW for a while I only registered recently, mainly to get access to the marketplace to be honest, so I have to get my post count up. Since I have only very litte to contribute to many of the niche topics here I thought I rather post a recording than more or less random "I agree" or "+1" posts, so here we go:

I Dig No Doom

When I started playing saxophone my teacher had me play the melodies of real book tunes and all of the Ellington band classics were amongst them. While I always liked the themes I found them generally hard to improvise over. The Duke has somewhat fallen off my radar since and it was great fun to revisit. TOTM rules!

Stay safe and all the best, ufosax

Thanks UFO! Its great to have another contributor here - and that was some superb playing. Lovely tone, and a beautiful well told story through your solo. Your vibrato especially added so much to this great tune! I also really enjoyed your anagram! Thanks for coming in, hope your access to marketplace comes quick, that said, posts are usually far quicker than the 6 month waiting period.

 

[billpf]

While I have been reading in SOTW for a while I only registered recently, mainly to get access to the marketplace to be honest, so I have to get my post count up. Since I have only very litte to contribute to many of the niche topics here I thought I rather post a recording than more or less random "I agree" or "+1" posts, so here we go:

I Dig No Doom

When I started playing saxophone my teacher had me play the melodies of real book tunes and all of the Ellington band classics were amongst them. While I always liked the themes I found them generally hard to improvise over. The Duke has somewhat fallen off my radar since and it was great fun to revisit. TOTM rules!

Stay safe and all the best, ufosax

Hi ufosax, welcome to TOTM!

I really enjoyed your version, thanks for sharing it with us. I agree with Jared, you sounded comfortable with the melody and this allowed you to play some really interesting variations on it. Your solo was relaxed and followed the shape of the tune nicely. Hopefully, this will be the first of many contributions to TOTM - don't be a stranger!

Bill