Chuck,
Everything you say makes perfect sense, and clearly you know best
what's best for your own music. Obviously if you *want* the sound of
distance, you wouldn't want to sabotage that with close-mic'ing.
However, I would be remiss if I didn't point out that the Vanguard,
by a happy accident, happens to be one of those incredibly rare jazz
clubs with decent acoustics. Even so, my experience at the Vanguard
always been much better up close than back at the bar. I saw
Guillermo Klein's band there last year a couple of times, and the
first time I was at the very back and wasn't much impressed. I went
back again a few nights later, at the insistence of a friend, and in
the the front row, the music was transfixing. I realized that I like
to hear the music as the musicians playing it hear it, and good
amplification makes that possible -- as in, makes it an *option*, if
that sound is appropriate for the music -- for a greater number of
people to have that experience, especially in venues with sub-par
acoustics. If you're in an acoustically great space like Carnegie or
the Konzertgebau, well, okay, that's one thing (and frequently
amplification in those halls is ruinous). But you're in some random
NYC basement or loft that happens to have a music series,
amplification becomes essential.
It is also essential for allowing instruments not normally associated
with jazz to participate on an equal footing. It just wouldn't be
possible for Erik Friedlander to play in an ensemble that includes a
drummer and horn players without having a mic on his cello to bring
him up to a level where he can balance with a trumpet or tenor sax.
Therefore, Erik has spent a lot of time and effort figuring out how
to get the best possible amplified sound in a variety of situations.
He actually had a blog post on this not long ago:
http://cellomakeitcount.blogspot.com/2007/04/live-sound-flexibility.html
Playing over the Jazz Standard I was struck again about how good it
is to be a little flexible. I much prefer just using my microphone
to play live but I was sitting in and the spot on stage chosen for
me was in front of the drums. I like being near the drummer, that's
where the action is! But it makes it tough to use my Schoeps mic as
the sound man gets a lot of drums and not too much cello..I hate
not being heard.
So I had my Realist strapped on and I had brought my Grace 101
preamp which I used with the pickup. The mic was setup away from
the drummer for use in quieter moments. If you have a good sound
person (thanks Aaron!) this can work.
Playing cello in a live situation with drums, guitar is tough. The
cello lives in the mid-range and so do all those other instruments
so, unlike a violin, you don't have a sonic spectrum to yourself.
Having the pickup is a real help, even if it's not the greatest sound.
Cheers,
- Darcy
-----
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Brooklyn, NY
On 07 May 2007, at 9:42 PM, Chuck Israels wrote:
On May 7, 2007, at 4:25 PM, Darcy James Argue wrote:
I wlll never understand the anti-amplification fundamentalists.
Like any other aesthetic endeavor, there is good amplification and
bad amplification. Good amplification is rare, but good anything
is rare. Good amplification can actually allow for a more intimate
sound, bringing the instruments closer to the listener than would
otherwise be possible. What amplification did for singers (the
artistry of Billie Holliday or Frank Sinatra would be impossible
without amplification), it can also do for instruments -- think of
Miles Davis's harmon mute sound, which is vastly more expressive
than a harmon mute played without amplification. It makes it
possible to bring together fresh and distinctive instrumental
combinations that would not be possible to balance acoustically.
Amplification is what makes it possible to have a rewarding
listening experience in spaces that were not designed with
acoustics in mind -- for example, every jazz club ever.
Yes, I forgot harmon muted trumpet in a solo role in front of a
rhythm section. No Mic - no chance.
But I have played in many jazz clubs where the theory that
squeezing the sound of the band through microphones into wires and
amplifiers in order to "bring the sound closer" didn't do what it
was supposed to do. And it is ludicrous to think that a Steinway
or a tenor saxophone is unable to reach from the bandstand at the
Village Vanguard to the last guy standing at the bar. (All that
mics do there is encourage the customers to talk louder.) I didn't
use an amp or mic in that club when playing there with Bill Evans,
nor in the Concertgebau in Amsterdam (something like 3000 seats) ,
or at Carnegie Hall with Benny Goodman. This is a choice made from
my own esthetic experience. Others may choose otherwise, but it
inevitably has a less powerful emotional effect on me.
Case in point: I write for the Metropole Orchestra so that the
woodwinds and strings are balanced in the room. That is different
from the way almost all the other arrangers do it. Then we play in
reasonable sized halls without microphones (except for the
recording mics), and I get the balance and effect that I want.
Fine - until the 8 measure solo I purposefully wrote for the lead
trumpet player (at a comfortable mf), knowing he is at the back of
the band, and that it will sound slightly distant, is changed by
the sound engineer (in the recording) into an exaggerated,
oversized, up-front, 2 dimensional experience. I don't suppose it
makes any never mind to most listeners, but I wanted the depth and
the balance I conceived. Bringing it "closer" to the listener did
not bring the experience I tried to design closer, it prevented it
from happening.
People who like amplified sound are free to choose it, and there is
a lot of political and economic pressure in that direction. (There
are big investments in equipment and people making a living turning
knobs.) But, given the choice, I go for acoustic sound and balance
almost every time.
Chuck
Chuck Israels
230 North Garden Terrace
Bellingham, WA 98225-5836
phone (360) 671-3402
fax (360) 676-6055
www.chuckisraels.com
_______________________________________________
Finale mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
_______________________________________________
Finale mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
