FLStudio Mobile Android

OK, I will admit to being almost entirely negative about the state of music production apps on the Android platform. Much of this centers on one absolute reality – iOS has core audio services built-in that take care of things for developers, whereas on Android not only is there a lack of such services, the audio system is so weak that there is no assurance of a low-lag environment on any device. That has meant it was up to developers to code their own low-lag audio system for their apps, and has also meant that very few apps are available. Now Image-Line has finally managed to bring FL Studio to Android based on their own engine – let’s see how they did!

Type of app: Music sequencing and production

Platform/where to buy: Android (also iPhone & iPad version); available in the Google Play App Store

Developer: Image-Line

Description:
FL Studio has loads of content, including:
• 133 high quality instruments, drum kits & sliced-loop beats
• Step sequencer for fast percussion programming and sliced-loop reworking
• High quality, battery-friendly audio engine (latency depends on the device)
• Drum loops and sliced loops ready to start your project with a cool beat
• Effects include Limiter, Reverb, Delay, EQ, Amp simulator & Filter to enhance your mix.
• 99 track sequencer and intuitive editing options
• Save and load your songs, export to WAV and AAC
• MIDI file import/export
• Share your songs via Email or Dropbox
• In-app user manual
• Android 2.3.3 required
• Works with all screen resolutions, but FL Studio Mobile is optimized for 1280×800, 800×480, 960×640 and 480×320 screens.

Major features:

FL Studio (formerly known as Fruity-Loops) was born as a PC-centric loop based music platform that has grown into a very powerful and popular music production system (referred to as a DAW or Digital Audio Workstation). It made the leap to iOS a couple of years ago, and has grown to a feature-rich universal binary app, and has now made the jump to Android. Neither of the mobile versions approach the desktop version in terms of functionality, but they are really very solid ways to accomplish on-the-go recording.

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IK Multimedia iKlip Studio for iPad Mini

Just about a year ago, I reviewed the original iKlip Studio. It was a simple and short review, and for good reason – the iKlip was simplistic and direct in design, solid in build and materials, and well executed. Back at CES 2013, IK Multimedia announced they were building an iKlip for the iPad Mini. Today they have released it, so let’s see how it compares!

IK Multimedia iKlip Studio for iPad Mini

Description

Here are some of the features:

• Sturdy, durable, lightweight, shock-resistant thermoplastic construction holds your iPad securely without scratching or marring it
• Rubber foot-pads grip the desktop and prevent unwanted sliding
• Flexible orientation allows iKlip Studio to tilt from a very low-profile angle to near-vertical positioning
• The device can be quickly rotated between its horizontal and vertical position
• Perfect for the studio, office, travel, home and school use
• iKlip Studio for iPad mini works with other 7” tablets (Kindle Fire, Galaxy Tab, Nook, etc.)
• All controls, buttons, connectors and camera of the iOS device are accessible
• Fast installation — can be mounted in seconds
• Folds up for easy storage
• The support tray fits most tablet cases

Overall Impressions

One of the big things that impressed me about the original iKlip Studio was the rugged set of materials. My kids and I threw it around, quickly assembled and disassembled … and yet a year later is as good as new. The iKlip Studio for iPad Mini is basically the same thing – but this time centered around the iPad Mini and other 7″ tablets.

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Google Play Music All Access

For a couple of years or more, there has been constant speculation about when we would see an ‘iRadio’ service from Apple, with some more reasonable speculation that by capitulating to streaming price demands they might have something by this June. Google has also been rumored to be working on a similar service, though more of an ‘on demand’ service like Rdio or Spotify than the Pandora-alike service Apple is reportedly working on. Well, today at Google I/O, they announced Google Play Music All Access.

The service is pretty much identical to Spotify and Rdio, but is unique in one way: for the first time your music library is seamlessly integrated with the streaming cloud library. Well, so long as you upload your music to the cloud (a process that is better than before but still pretty awful). There are also the typical ‘radio’ stations found in pretty much every service.

Google also makes big claims about the recommendation and discovery engine, but I have been playing around with the service for a little while and found the library a little sparse for my particular tastes, meaning that the likelihood of getting a useful recommendation is close to zero. But I am a rarity in that my tastes are far from the mainstream. For most, time will tell if the discovery platform here is better or worse than others. One thing I will definitely bet on – just like search rankings, there will be ways to buy access and game the system … just like on the other platforms, where regardless of how much I only listen to jazz, I still get pop music recommendations! No, listening to Anthony Braxton does NOT mean I am likely to enjoy the new Beyoncé.

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Stream Daft Punk Random Access Memories

My son is a HUGE Daft Punk fan, something he got as part of his introduction into the electronica world – courtesy of me. The group is one of the most influential in electronic pop, with people like Skrillex and Deadmau5 owing them a huge debt. The last recording they released was the soundtrack for Tron: Legacy (which was the best thing about that movie), and a live album before that … so it has been eight years since 2005′s ‘Human After All’.

Right now you can pre-order the upcoming album “Random Access Memories” on iTunes (for $11.99) or the CD version on Amazon.com (for $10.99, apparently without ‘AutoRip’). We already have it pre-ordered, but iTunes is sweetening the deal once again – for the next week you can stream the entire album for free! As they have done before, this is a single file that plays straight through, but you can manually move about the file. Based on my initial listening, it seems like a solid new entry that will require multiple listens to truly appreciate all that is happening.

Head to iTunes and stream the whole album for free now!

Molly Ringwald Except Sometimes

Similar to video games, I will often buy music on impulse. Most times I do this, it is like my recent Kris Davis or Ches Smith purchases where there was limited ability for me to preview – and based on previous experience with the artists I had confidence. Or something like Justin Timberlake, where I was able to take advantage of a special deal and expiring credit and knew my family would enjoy at least a couple of songs. But when I heard Molly Ringwald was releasing a traditional jazz vocal album, I went ahead and used another expiring credit to grab it. Was it a good impulse or a waste of credit? Read on and find out!

Musical Genre: Jazz

Where to buy: Amazon MP3 or iTunes

Artist: Molly Ringwald

Description:

When most of us think of Molly Ringwald we think of the actress at the center of classic 80s movies like Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles and Pretty in Pink. But even before those films, Ringwald had been recorded in a song for an album made by her father’s group. In recent interviews, she talks about her life-long love of music stemming from her jazz pianist father, and how she has always enjoyed singing. Now at 45 she has the chance to focus on making the kind of album she has always dreamed about, one that is very personal and uniquely her own.

General Impressions:

On ‘Except Sometimes’, Molly Ringwald charts her way through the well-traveled courses of the ‘Great American Songbook’. The compositions are from familiar names such as Stephen Sondheim, Hoagy Carmichael, Oscar Hammerstein, Jerome Kern and more. Fortunately these are not the over-done songs that some others have trotted out in recent years. The arrangements are well prepared for a very traditional small-group recording

The immediate thing I found myself thinking was that there wasn’t really a major criticism I had right up until the ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ finale. That is not the same as saying I really liked it, more that it didn’t do anything wrong. The musicians played very well together, were all seasoned pros used to backing a singer, and they were practiced at making the singer shine in all settings.

Ringwald is a solid vocalist, but she is struck by the double-edged sword of her established fame. I wouldn’t have bought this recording had I not already known Ringwald and felt supportive of her recent success and that she was attempting to do something she loved by releasing a jazz album. Yet having bought this as MUSIC, all that gets pushed aside when I listen … and the results are rather pedestrian and unremarkable.

Comparing Ringwald to established (and younger) jazz vocalists such as Diana Krall, Karyn Allison, Esperanza Spalding and up-and-comer Karo Glazer … well, it really isn’t a fair comparison. I liked the music enough to not call this a ‘vanity project’, but ultimately this remains one of those ‘actor releases an album’ projects – a curiosity.

The obvious showpiece is the finale ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’, the Simple Minds song that was a centerpiece of the Breakfast Club soundtrack. It also happens to be my least favorite song on the album. Most of the album consists of classically structured songs that are adaptable to a variety of settings, and work well in the singer & small group format. But ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ doesn’t travel well – you are left thinking only about how much better the original song was, and probably will flip over to that version before this version ends … and never return.

‘Quick Hit’ Song: “I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes)” – this Hoagy Carmichael standard is perfectly suited to Ringwald’s voice and to her sunny disposition. The song itself is ‘pleasantly melancholy’, trying to convince herself that she is doing better than she actually is after a breakup. Ringwald’s voice imbues feeling throughout without ever resorting to ‘American Idol’ melisma or oversinging.

Would I recommend?: Not really … but that doesn’t mean it is a BAD recording. If you are looking for a better vocal jazz album, hit up the latest by Esperanza Spalding or Diana Krall. If you want the Great American Songbook, no one did it better than Ella Fitzgerald. And if you really want to hear Molly Ringwald singing … head to YouTube, like all the other cool kids are doing.

Suggested audience: Either Molly Ringwald fans or fans of ‘Great American Songbook’ recordings by small group jazz vocal ensembles.

Price: $9.49 on Amazon MP3 and $9.99 on iTunes.

Here is the promotional video for the album from Concord Records:

Craig Taborn Trio – Chants

The piano trio format is one of the classic modes of jazz composition and improvisation, going all the way back to Jelly Roll Morton in the 1920s and becoming a mainstay of popular jazz starting with Errol Gardner and Bud Powell in the late 1940s. The modern piano trio space was defined by Bill Evans in the early 1960s, but there continue to be advancements in the form. The latest album that is worthy of consideration is Chants by the Craig Taborn Trio.

Musical Genre: Jazz

Where to buy: Amazon MP3 or iTunes

Artist: Craig Taborn Trio

Description:

Craig Taborn is one of those musicians whose name might not be familiar even to jazz fans, yet it is fairly certain you have heard his playing. He has played with Chris Potter on several albums including his recent Sirens release (which is what alerted me to this recording), and also on several of Tim Berne’s recordings (Berne appeared on Ches Smith’s recent release … small world), as well as many, many others.

Over nearly two decades, he has released five albums of his own including Chants. Two were trios, one with a quartet and one solo piano. For 2013 he returns with a new trio including musicians he has worked with through the years including Thomas Morgan on bass and Gerald Cleaver on drums.

General Impressions:

Being a fan of jazz piano trios means having enough great recordings to last a lifetime … which also means that a new recording needs to do something interesting to make an impression. For me, the more traditional setting of a piano-focused group with bass and drums providing support offers little interest – a solo piano provides greater freedom, and frankly as a bassist I am not satisfied with recordings where the bass & drums are simply ‘window dressing’.

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International Jazz Day

For the second year, April 30th is International Jazz Day – and to celebrate there is a large celebration concert! With the success of last year the event has grown incredibly to be a major happening. This year the concert is taking place in Istanbul and you can actually live stream the event!

The site is hosted on YouTube, and will be streaming beginning at 9pm/Istanbul, 7pm/London 2pm/New York and 4am(May 1) Sydney. For those who can’t make the event, it will repeat a few hours later.

The spokesman of the event is UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Chairman and jazz legend Herbie Hancock, and he said that “It has been my dream that one day every year, jazz would be celebrated, studied, and performed around the world for 24 hours straight. A collaboration among jazz icons, scholars, composers, musicians, dancers, writers, poets, and thinkers who would embrace the beauty, spirit, and principles of jazz, all of them freely sharing experiences and performances in our big cities and in our small towns, all across our seven continents…”

Here are some of the musicians performing:

Herbie Hancock, Dale Barlow, John Beasley, Rubén Blades, Terence Blanchard, Igor Butman, Terri Lyne Carrington, Anat Cohen, Vinnie Colaiuta, Imer Demirer, George Duke, James Genus, Robert Glasper, Zakir Hussain, Al Jarreau, Bilal Karaman, Ramsey Lewis, John McLaughlin, Hugh Masekela, Keiko Matsui, Branford Marsalis, Pedrito Martinez, Marcus Miller, Milton Nascimento, Eddie Palmieri, Alevtina Polyakova, Jean-Luc Ponty, Dianne Reeves, Lee Ritenour, Husnu Senlendirici, Wayne Shorter, Esperanza Spalding, Joss Stone, Joe Louis Walker, Ben Williams, and Liu Yuan.

You can track events on Twitter with hashtag #jazzday, follow the event on Facebook, and check out more information about International Jazz Day at the official site.

Subscribe and watch the events on the official International Jazz Day YouTube channel!

iTunes Music Store Launch, image courtesy ABC News/AP

Over the years, there have been Luddites like has-been rocker Jon Bon Jovi who claimed Steve Jobs was ‘personally responsible for killing the music business’, but there have been even more people — most of them with data and arguments that make sense — talk about how Jobs and Apple saved and even revolutionized the music business.

Regardless of which way your opinion swings, there is one thing that is certain: Steve Jobs and Apple CHANGED the music business forever. And April 28th marked the Apple event that launched the iTunes Music Store.

Throughout the second half of the last century, the music business was driven by technology disruption. Edison’s wax cylinders were outmoded by 78RPM platters which sounded much better, which were then replaced in the early 1950s by cheaper and more durable – and held nearly an hour of music compared to the 3-4 minutes on a 78.

While the cassette and 8-track tape were popular and useful (cassette in particular), it wasn’t until the mid-1980s with the widespread availability at affordable prices of the CD (compact disc). Suddenly there was a medium that was much more durable than an LP, fit at least as much music, and offer a sound quality that would never degrade. At first all consumer CD hardware was read-only, but by the end of the decade WORMS drives (write-once, read-many times) were available – but at a steep price.

By the early 1990s computer technology had improved to the point that CD-ROM drives were becoming popular to play games like Myst and use CD-ROM encyclopedias. They could also play music files from the CD drive with appropriate software. This led people to ‘rip’ music from their CDs to their computer – and I even had some music files that could play on the Newton MessagePad in the mid-90s!

Over the next few years the tech world experienced an explosion of cheap storage and faster network speeds that suddenly meant that neither storage nor transfer were a major limiter anymore. Which meant that similar to borrowing your next door neighbor’s Van Halen record to tape, you could now ‘ borrow’ whatever hot new CD came along from someone you had never met living pretty much anywhere in the world!

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Divoom OnBeat X1

To be honest, most of my gaming — whether PC, Mac, DS, PSP, iOS or Android — is done either with headphones or with the device muted. There are a couple of reasons for this: first to allow for ‘gaming anywhere’; the second because ever since playing games such as Thief in the late 90s, I have appreciated directional sound and the nuances of quality headphones. But sometimes when playing a shooter what I really want is a nice booming rattle – but that won’t happen with an iPad. Now Divoom introduces the OnBeat X1 and promises the ‘ultimate gaming speaker’. Let’s take a look!

Here are some of the features:

• Suction cups to stick the speaker on the back of your smartphone
• Vibration bass for gaming for more realistic gaming experience
• Rechargeable lithium-ion battery provides up to 8 hours of music playback
• Compact Bluetooth speaker for gaming and music playback

As I highlight in the review video, there are only two questions that matter: is it any good, and will anyone want to use it? Let’s tackle them in order!

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Twitter Launches #Music Service and App

Twitter has been rumored to have had a music service in the works for a while, but since we don’t dabble in rumors here at Gear Diary, we waited until it was released to cover it. Now it is out, and it isn’t as much of a ‘music service’ as it is a ‘music DISCOVERY service’, one that depends on artists being on Twitter and having their music mapped out on iTunes, Spotify or Rdio.

Twitter describes the service as “A fresh approach to finding new music by using Tweets and follows to power discovery.” The service offers charts of popular and emerging artists, or if you are like me and hate all of that, you can follow artists and listen to tracks from them on the go. Currently you can ‘Listen Now’ via iTunes, Rdio, or Spotify.”

One issue is that you can choose iTunes OR Rdio OR Spotify. You can see what happened when I tried to sign up for Spotify as well as Rdio – it just swapped one for the other.

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Ches Smith’s These Arches Hammered

Ches Smith caught my attention as drummer for Mary Halvorson in her various projects, so when I heard he was releasing a new album I knew I’d have to check it out. The project features familiar names as these artists often help each other out, but the instrumentation is non-standard and the songs and arrangements don’t necessarily suggest a drummer-led band. Let’s take a listen to Ches Smith’s These Arches Hammered!

Musical Genre: Jazz

Where to buy: Clean Feed Records (Currently CD only through the site)

Artist: Ches Smith’s These Arches

Description:

While my knowledge of Ches Smith comes from the progressive jazz circles, he also has a number of rock projects going, and his ‘Ches Smith and These Arches’ collective is somewhat of a confluence of all of those influences and compositional styles. The group plays a collection of eight Ches Smith compositions that reflect his influences and variety of projects. The instrumentation is non-standard for pretty much any genre, with Tim Berne on alto sax, Tony Malaby on tenor sax, Mary Halvorson on guitar and Andrea Parkins on accordion and electronics.

General Impressions:

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MP3 File Lockdown

Calling everything about digital rights management a land-mine or clusterf**k seems to be overstating things, but some of the rules that apply to digital goods compared to the rules for the same goods on physical media just seem out of touch with reality. For example, let’s look at the latest ruling regarding ‘used MP3 seller’ ReDigi as noted at HypeBot:

“Courts have consistently held that the unauthorized duplication of digital music files over the Internet infringes a copyright owner’s exclusive right to reproduce,” Judge Sullivan wrote. “However, courts have not previously addressed whether the unauthorized transfer of a digital music file over the Internet – where only one file exists before and after the transfer – constitutes reproduction within the meaning of the Copyright Act. The court holds that it does.”

Now before stating my thoughts, it is worth noting the further statement from the judge on why this is problematic with respect to ReDigi’s business model:

“ReDigi facilitates and profits from the sale of copyrighted commercial recordings, transferred in their entirety, with a likely detrimental impact on the primary market for these goods. It is beside the point that the original phonorecord no longer exists. It matters only that a new phonorecord has been created.”

So there are two issues here:
- ReDigi is involved with transferring digital files over the internet without approval of rights holders, which the court held in violation of the Copyright act.
- ReDigi’s system involves issuing a new copy of the file to the ‘buyer’ and deleting the file of the ‘seller’. This constitutes unlawful reproduction according the the reading of the Copyright act by the court.

Let’s look at them in reverse order.

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Justin Timberlake 20/20 Experience

There is a line somewhere between drawing inspiration from the past and simply leaning upon the work of others as a crutch; so while Stray Cats or Adele took what came before them and reimagined it through the lens of a new era, Bruno Mars basically doing an 80′s era Police knock-off with a crappy chorus is just pandering. So what does this have to do with Justin Timberlake? If you caught his performance on the Grammy Awards, you know he is pushing a retro feel, so let’s take a look at his new Justin Timberlake 20/20 Experience album to see how it plays out!

Musical Genre: Pop

Where to buy: iTunes Music Store

Artist: Justin Timberlake

Description:
This 2013 release is the third solo album from the Grammy and Emmy winning Pop superstar, actor and former member of N*Sync. The 20/20 Experience is the long-awaited follow-up to his album FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006). The album features collaborations with producers Timbaland and Jerome “J-Roc” Harmon as well as a guest appearance from rapper Jay-Z on the album’s first single ‘Suit & Tie’.

General Impressions:

When you look at the cast of the mid-90s era Mickey Mouse Club, among the most famous members you have pop stars Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, popular actor Ryan Gosling … and Justin Timberlake. Timberlake shows his singing and dancing chops, as well as his high energy and charm on the show.

And soon he was one of the leads of the boy band NSync, and he saw increasing success throughout the decade and into the start of the 2000s. Just as NSync (and Backstreet Boys) peaked, the boy band scene became saturated and quickly faded … but in 2002 he was right there with his solo debut ‘Justified’. It didn’t sell as well as NSync, but it was a solid release that established him as a pop music force.

But at the same time he was starting to establish himself as an actor, working in a variety of dramatic and comedic roles. In 2006 his FutureSex/LoveSounds album ‘brought sexy back’ to tremendous success, and featured roles in The Social Network and also comedic stints with Saturday Night Live group The Lonely Island. As 2013 rolled in he found himself an established veteran at 31, but also someone without a record in more than 6 years – since before anyone had heard of Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Adele, Ke$ha, and so on.

So after several years, what do we get? Basically a singularly-flawed but otherwise tightly produced and arranged set of polished pop songs with a neo-soul feel that feature themes of romance, dancing and sex. In general there is more of a push towards the romance side of things than on his earlier work, showing some signs of maturing over time.

What you will immediately notice is that unlike most pop albums, there isn’t a single track here under 4:30. It was noted that during production Timberlake asked if groups like Queen, Pink Floyd and so on can do 10-minute songs, why can’t he? The sad reality is that the answer is sprawled all over the album, turning even the tightest and most infectious songs into indulgent bores. That answer? Those other groups had musical statements that merited 10 minutes of exposition … JT does not.

And nowhere is it more evident than on the opening song, ‘Pusher Love Girl’. After a very early-70s R&B/funk string intro, a fun and funky slow tune with a simple groove and basic melody, with a catchy hook based on a third-step down for the chorus. It is a fun and light song basically calling a girl whose love is like an addition, but there is too little harmonic variation and movement, and as a result when it seems to end after four or so minutes you are ready to be done … but then it comes back.

This time the groove presents itself as an inverted funk beat, but sadly there is no harmonic modulation or variation, just a slight change in how JT is singing. And then THIS section drones on for a few more minutes before finally ending for real. The song is decent, but it just drones needlessly and endlessly.

As an analogy, think of The Beatles ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ or Jimi Hendrix ‘Are You Experienced’. Each of those has a ‘slight return’ after the conclusion, which has a great effect as it is musically distinct and short-lived. Imagine if those returns were just basically the same as the main song theme – and it went on for 3 minutes rather than 30 seconds! That is the major downfall of this album.

The second song is what I consider the pinnacle of the album, “Suit & Tie”. It starts with a great horn theme that swirls into a catchy and infectious slow groove, then explodes into a tight funk groove with JT doing what he does best – you can practically see him dancing around the studio singing this song. The 70s vibe is super-thick, but perfectly played and well suited. I am not a huge fan of the over-done obligatory singer-rapper combos in every pop song today, and yet with Jay-Z it blends solidly together and actually works. Even the song length at 5:26 is not out of control – they could have trimmed it to just under 5 minutes without losing anything, but it isn’t nearly as egregious as the rest of the album.

Sadly after the strength of the two opening songs the rest of the album feels both underwhelming and same-ish. While for some that might be a good thing, for me it made it difficult for anything to really stand out. It isn’t until deep into the album when we hit Mirrors, the other stand-out track … which of course also overstays its welcome by stretching out to well over 7 minutes. As before, good ideas in need of a judicious editing job … scratch that, in need of an editor with a hatchet!

The overwhelming problem holding back the album is that it could have been a very good 40 minute album rather than a disappointing 70 minute album. Justin Timberlake fashions himself as Michael Jackson meets Pink Floyd meets Barry Gordy … and so rather than craft an album of great pop he aims higher and fails to deliver. This is not a high concept affair like Stevie Wonder in the early 70s, it is an overly indulgent product entirely too typical of what we would expect from an entitled superstar without an honest advisor to tell him ‘no’.

‘Quick Hit’ Song: “Suit & Tie” – evokes Marvin Gaye, Al Green and others, with a mixture of a layered R&B groove and a modern dance beat, it simply doesn’t get any better than this song.

Would I recommend?: Definitely! If you are a fan of Justin Timberlake, you will find much to like … but if you don’t like ‘Suit & Tie’, I would skip the entire thing. Because as I say – it just doesn’t get any better on the album.

Suggested audience: Pop music fans who like slickly produced, danceable music and can tolerate indulgently over-long songs.

Price: $10.99 on iTunes

Here is video of JT with Jay-Z performing Suit & Tie and Pusher Love Girl from the Grammy Awards:

Kris Davis Capricorn Climber

For all of the grand debate about ‘music discovery’ going on with regards to services such as Slacker and Spotify right now, I continue to have success with the same method I have been using for decades. I find an artist I like, note sidemen I like from their recordings or find recordings where they are sidemen, and check those out. Sometimes that leads to me discovering a sideman from an artist two or three times removed from the original person – such as Kris Davis. Davis plays piano on Ingrid Laubrock’s Anti-House, whose new release I wrote about here. Now she has a new album out, so let’s check out Kris Davis Capricorn Climber!

Musical Genre: Jazz

Where to buy: Clean Feed Records (Currently CD only through the site)

Artist: Kris Davis

Description:

The amazing thing about the progressive jazz scene right now is that it is at once incredibly vibrant and diverse, and at the same time small and close-knit. So when you check out the amazing drummer Tom Rainey’s discography you will find collaborations with Mary Halvorson and Ingrid Laubrock, and Ingrid Laubrock was also in Living by Lanterns with Halvorson, which also featured Greg Ward whose solo work I loved after discovering him in Sam Trapchak’s group, which I discovered when Sam emailed me after reading one of my reviews. Small world!

For Capricorn Climber, pianist Kris Davis enlists Ingrid Laubrock on tenor saxophone, Mat Maneri on viola, Trevor Dunn acoustic bass and Tom Rainey on drums.

General Impressions:

Kris Davis also plays with Laubrock in the trio Paradoxical Frog with drummer Tyshawn Sorey, but the addition of the viola and bass provide a much more expansive palette for Davis’ compositions. That is immediately obvious from the opening measures of ‘Too Tinkerbell’, in which we have the viola and bass bowed to provide a symphonic feel, while Davis plays huge chords and rains down tinkling melodic fragment with Laubrock providing contrapuntal statements and Rainey adding color and texture. After a gritty and tense opening, the song softens into an atmospheric section that has no real melodic lead, with phrases and fragments coming from all corners and providing a comforting sense of community.

The compositions are densely packed but there is always plenty of open space for improvisation and atmosphere. In an interview Davis said that her goal with compositions is to blur the lines between what is written and what is improvised. Anyone reading my reviews knows I love that compositional approach.

With Pass The Magic Hat, Davis, Dunn and Rainey start off the tune sounding like a fairly traditional jazz piano trio that only occasionally drifts in and out of time and harmonic space. But at the same time you can feel the composition building up its infrastructure, and after a few minutes when they are joined by Laubrock and later Maneri and settle into a groove you realize it had been there all along, but by simultaneously playing the written lines and improvising around them the trio was suggesting the structure without strictly stating and enforcing it. It is one of those magical musical moments for me.

‘Quick Hit’ Song: “Trevor’s Luffa Complex” – Once again a song that runs the gamut. We start with an extended harmonic figure from bassist Trevor Dunn, leading into a circular figure from Laubrock joined quickly by Davis with a shaped piano line, and then the entire band joins in. After a few minutes they are fully in the groove, but there is so much counterpoint and playing against time going on that my kids were watching me groove and my older son remarked that the only reason he had a clue where the beat was by watching my head keep time. Laubrock and Maneri play between consonance and dissonance, building and resolving tensions and often leaving them unresolved.

Depite the compositions having a dense structure and the piano heavy melodic presence, throughout the album I found myself feeling that this was a shared community of equals. Maneri plays a similar role here as Halvorson does in Laubrock’s group, and as is the case in many of these groups there is plenty of time given to each of the members to stretch out, and there are also small segments with duets and trios of various configurations. Davis uses each person as part of her broad tone palette, and allows them to operate freely within that context … and the results are stunning. Another reason I think that 2013 is just an amazing year in music already!

Would I recommend?: Absolutely! Somewhere between the extremely high level of playing, the engaging compositions, and the intense communication and interplay, you lost track of songs and time … and don’t care. I love listening with headphones due to the spacial arrangement of sounds reflecting position in the room and making me feel as though I am part of the overall experience.

Suggested audience: At this point I have reviewed things from Mary Halvorson, Ingrid Laubrock, Living by Lanters, and others. If you like any of those you should very much enjoy this … and if not you will not like this one either.

Price: $14.90 on Clean Feed

Here is the title track (from the album):

Learn Slap Bass in Six Weeks Instructional DVD

Spending my high school years playing electric bass in a series of jazz, rock and fusion groups meant quickly learning and adapting to different styles. Within rock there was the looser ‘arena rock’ style and also the much tighter and punchier style favored in New Wave music and by artists such as the Police. Jazz music required considerable harmonic depth, the ability to improvise and swing and communicate. Fusion required all of those things, and also needed the added skills of slap & pop techniques. For me that meant time listening to and practicing with the records of Stanley Clarke and Sly and the Family Stone. But for new bassists the process can be much easier due to the Lick Library Learn Slap Bass in Six Weeks Instructional DVD. Let’s take a look!

Type of DVD: Music instructional DVD

Where to buy: Lick Library Store

Developer: Lick Library, featuring Phil Williams

Description:
Here are some of the features:

- Develop the motor skills and technique that are necessary to master the slap style of bass playing
- All examples are visual and broken down into manageable and easy to follow sections.
- Week One includes: Slap bass overview, including equipment, basic technique and background. Simple left hand thumb hits, and muting. Technique builders using 8 bar exercises. Hammer ons and left and right hand motor skill building exercises

Major features:

The Lick Library methods are largely divided into two approaches: single DVD lessons with a singular focus, or broader 6-week courses that seek to apply a greater breadth of technique. Learning slap bass is given the latter approach, which is a great idea as the slap technique has become so engrained in pretty much every type of bass playing that there is a ton to learn.

The first DVD is very much ‘the basics’. As such most experienced players can probably skip it to save money, but I am glad I got a look at it. I tend to be very linear, so when I go through a guitar or piano book I always walk through the ‘songs on the open strings’ section or ‘C scale’ section just to integrate myself with the style. What I appreciated was that Williams took the time to go into considerable depth on every subject along the way.

After the first week you know how to approach the instrument, how to optimize your bass and amp settings to get the sound you want, and the fundamentals of left and right hand techniques. The second week gets into more depth with hammer-ons, pops and pull-offs, as well as the concept of ‘ghost notes’, while also revisiting things you learned the first week. The third week again refreshes the first two weeks, but dives deep into ghost notes and triplets of pops and pulls and some of the advanced techniques popularized by players such as Stanley Clarke and Level 42′s Mark King.

The three later courses continue to build your motor skills, working open-string techniques, syncopation, rhythmic figures and more complex lines, and so on. Williams continues bringing in the work and styles of the best slap bass practitioners such as Marcus Miller, Flea, and of course Clarke and King. By the end of the 6 week course you should be able to play confidently and authoritatively in a slap bass style in a rock, jazz, funk or fusion idiom.

The reason this is called a ’6 week course’ is because there is considerable practice and homework required to succeed. Rather than squeezing a superficial glance into a single DVD, Williams spreads out his lessons, and you will realize after each week that you only absorbed a portion, and need to work hard to get everything under your belt. Areas that were harder for me in the later lessons were things I never learned when I was younger and have just avoided playing all these years.

It is also worth noting that the Lick Library website has additional material including sheet music for some of William’s lessons. This DVD is very much recommended for anyone looking to learn slap bass techniques.

Ease of use/Overall performance: The Lick Library site says this DVD course is suitable for all levels, and that is completely true. Even a beginner can approach the techniques described on the first DVD, and experienced bassists will still learn from the later DVDs.

Would use again/recommend?: Definitely! Even though I have been playing with a slap technique for more than 30 years, there was still a lot for me to learn on these lessons. Most slap bass players learned by emulating others rather than in formal training, and therefore have developed habits and limiting techniques along the way. These lessons can help you get started, but can also help you break free of your limits and become an even better player.

Suggested changes/wish list for updates: Nothing.

Price: DVD with online features for $18.99, but you can buy the entire 6-week series for $89.99!

Here is my video review:

Tom Quayle From Rock to Fusion Instructional DVD Review

It seems that whether self-taught or formally trained, most guitarists learn a very rock-centric style of playing based on the music they most enjoy hearing. Through the years they might find themselves limited by this or simply seek to inform their music with different styles. A new Lick Library instructional DVD seeks to provide established guitarists with the tools they need to add fusion styles to their arsenal. But how is the method? To find out check out my Tom Quayle From Rock to Fusion Instructional DVD Review.

Type of DVD: Music instructional DVD

Where to buy: Lick Library Store

Developer: Lick Library, featuring Tom Quayle

Description:
Here are some of the features:

- Develop killer fusion chops and theory knowledge in this exciting and easy to understand course with fusion guitar master Tom Quayle.
- Develop your legato and hybrid picking to get an ultra- modern sound and performs awesome lines for you to learn and digest.
- Tom also shows you his scale and arpeggio approaches, pentatonic scale development, phrasing exercises and ways to tackle playing over chord changes.
- From Rock to Fusion will push your playing to the next level and give you the tools you need to become the fusion player you always wanted to be.

Major features:

When I look back to when I first started taking guitar lessons in the early 1970s, the breadth of techniques in popular use was fairly limited. Guitarists in rock were exploring the harmonic terrain already plowed by jazz guitarists, applying distortion and some other effects to distinguish their sounds. Certainly there was legato and staccato playing, and a number of picking and other techniques, but largely young musicians were just exploring the basic territory of rock music as it quickly evolved. I also remember that by the 80s many were critical of the ‘learning licks’ teaching methods of some music schools that favored simply learning popular phrases over the context and core techniques – because by learning such shallow techniques, musicians were unable to adapt to new styles and genres.

By now rock music is a mature set of genres that are reflected in myriad guitar styles and techniques, yet when a song from a fusion instrumentalist comes on it is immediately distinct. While Alex Lifeson, for example, learned much from Allan Holdsworth, there is a clear difference in approach that immediately marks on as ‘rock’ and the other as ‘fusion’. It is THAT divide that Tom Quayle hopes to help rock guitarists bridge.

The DVD starts off with an overview of some of the differences in typical rock and fusion techniques in terms of how they sound. Quayle shows off everything he will teach, from legato styles to alternate picking to different types of hammer-ons and pull-offs and his approach to utilizing the fretboard differently in scales and arpeggios.

From there you jump right into the lessons. I was actually surprised at the depth of instruction and how well Quayle explains what is going on, mainly because the entire DVD is only an hour long. Quayle is a gifted instructor, weaving personal insights and context in with detailed instruction in a way that feels and flows naturally. Given the depth of material – this is aimed at intermediate to advanced players – that is not trivial.

Quayle takes time to provide plenty of detail about how to change up picking, fretboard scale shapes and patterns and other seemingly basic techniques in order to alter your playing to a more fusion-like sound. It is interesting working on these techniques since most fusion guitarists were either rock players or jazz players who also loved rock music.

In the end what you get is an expanded palette of sounds and techniques. Quayle cannot make you a fusion guitarist in the course of a single DVD method, but with a great sense of teaching and sharing from experience he provides the insights and tools to help you expand your sonic arsenal to include fusion alongside your existing rock, blues and other techniques.

It is also worth noting that the Lick Library website has additional material including sheet music for some of Quayle’s lessons. This DVD is very much recommended for anyone looking to learn fusion guitar techniques.

Ease of use/Overall performance: There is no ‘basics’ section, no sheet music, no primer – you are expected to be proficient at playing rock guitar with a number of common techniques. But this is a double-edged sword – it means a high bar for entry, but if you already have the skills it means no wasted time.

Would use again/recommend?: Absolutely! For a single hour course, there is a load of material offered, carefully and thoroughly explained. Even more important is the context Quayle brings to examples, as many of the changes in technique are subtle and not easily documented – and as a result paying attention to the lessons is critical … and you will realize how useful his tips are as you go back again and again to perfect your techniques.

Suggested changes/wish list for updates: Nothing.

Price: DVD with online features for $19.99

Here is my video review:

Lick Library Launches Two Blues Guitar DVD Courses for Beginners

The folks at Lick Library have made a name for themselves with their polished, detailed, useful instructional courses. Whether you are a beginner or a pro, and no matter what style of music you play, chances are they have something for you. Now they are back with a new set of introductory courses, as Lick Library launches two blues guitar DVD courses for beginners!

The courses are taught by Danny Gill, a guitarist, composer and instructor of considerable renown. Gill brings loads of experience, but also an effective sense of communication with players of any skill or experience level.

Acoustic Blues For Absolute Beginners is set up to deliver the basics of playing acoustic guitar blues to the novice guitarist. Danny Gill will get you grounded on the basic techniques, teach you the three basic blues chords, and show your the major and minor pentatonic scales and basic rhythms that will get you well on your way to playing and enjoying the blues for yourself!

With Absolute Beginners Blues Licks, Gill teaches you a repertoire of blues licks you will have heard the masters playing all the time. He will also introduce a number of standard blues techniques that will all come together to teach how to effectively solo over a classic twelve bar blues. As with the other course you will teach you blues chords, major and minor pentatonic scales, adding blue notes to scales, and many other classic blues techniques.

Here is the trailer for the courses:

These DVD courses are $19.99, with a discount if you order multiple courses at one time.

Acoustic Blues for Absolute Beginners

Absolute Beginners Blues Licks DVD

Head to Lick Library for more details on all of their courses!

Hiromi Trio Project ‘Move’

I have already covered other works from Hiromi Uehara over the past few years, including her 2011 release ‘Voice’. That was a great record that featured the same trio as on Move, with bassist Anthony Jackson and drummer Simon Phillips. It would be easy to call this recording ‘more of the same’ or evolutionary, but is that a fair description? To find out, let’s take a journey with the Hiromi Trio Project ‘Move’.

Musical Genre: Jazz

Where to buy: iTunes Music Store

Artist: Hiromi Trio Project

Description:

During the recording of Voice, Hiromi connected with Jackson and Phillips in a deep musical way that inspired her. Whereas Voice was her songs played in a trio setting, Move was written based on the inspiration from Jackson and Phillips. Hiromi states that she felt an intimate musical connection, that ‘Voice’ was more a fun project than work because of it, and that Move was a celebration of a day in the musical life with this trio.

Anthony Jackson is a tremendously skilled bassist who is credited with the invention of the six-string bass in the early 1970s, and had one custom-built for him. He has been prolific as a sideman in jazz, rock and pop music, including Roberta Flack, Paul Simon and many more. My first exposure to his work was on Al Di Meola’s ‘Elegant Gypse’ from 1977, where he was featured on “Race with Devil on Spanish Highway”. Simon Phillips has also been a major sideman since the 70s, playing with Tears for Fears, Michael Schenker, Judas Priest, Stanley Clarke and others. My notice of his incredible playing was in 1980 when he was simultaneously drummer for Pete Townshend’s ‘Empty Glass’ and Jeff Beck’s ‘There and Back’.

I mentioned I had reviewed some of Hiromi’s earlier work. In late 2011 I reviewed Voice, calling it ‘my favorite work of hers to date’. In 2010 I included two recordings featuring her in an article: she was part of Stanley Clarke’s ‘Jazz in the Garden’ trio, which was a great recording of her with masters Clarke and Lenny White. She also released her solo recording ‘Place to Be’, but I was less enamored of that one, finding her dipping too often into the excesses of her prodigious technique to the detriment of the music.

General Impressions:

From the very start of the album you are immediately drawn into the tightly arranged tense fusion-tinged themes of this ‘piano power trio’. I have seen the expression ‘jazz power trio’ before to describe a group playing at once in the jazz tradition and with the explosive ferocity of a rock trio such as Rush or Triumph.

‘Move’ starts with a percussive piano stab, is quickly joined by the bass and cymbal, then opens up into a syncopated riff in a very fusion-esque time signature. Even the theme is reminiscent at times of something from Return to Forever. Within the first few minutes you learn everything you need to know about the trio and the album – they can swing, they can groove, they can rock, and they can play anything. Not just that, but they play it with passion and emotion and constant interplay and communication – you can really sense the fun they are having making this music.

My sole criticism of Hiromi has been that her prodigious technique can at times eclipse the soul of the music. In settings with elders such as Chick Corea or Stanley Clarke that isn’t an issue, but even on Voice I heard it at times. However, on Move she is completely in touch with the rest of the band at all times – even when she is playing at her ferocious best, Jackson and Phillips ramp up the intensity so you are swept up in the experience.

After a flat-out romp like Move I was concerned that the album would be one-dimensional, but as the group has matured they have added tremendous depth and sensitivity. Brand New Day is lyrical and introspective, with plenty of space left by the trio. Endeavor is a fun and funky fusion romp with a dripping-wet filtered analog synth adding humor and counterpoint. Rainmaker combines sensitive play and directed funk mixed with lightly swinging grooves in a very effective stew.

The highlight is the ‘Escapism Suite’, which pretty well encompasses everything Hiromi brings to the album in terms of compositional styles. ‘Reality’ starts off like what could be a searing guitar-fusion piece with an incredible level of intensity and musicianship by the whole trio, before dropping into a gorgeous swing section with Hiromi taking her best solo of the album. ‘Fantasy’ has Hiromi playing a more relaxed support role while Jackson changes up his tone to give it a more guitar-like lead style and plays a beautiful melodic line that Hiromi takes up after a few minutes. ‘In Between’, as you might expect, works between the two modulating back and forth. Upon repeated listenings you will notice recurring themes and chord structures shared between all three movements.

The album closes with the most introspective song ’11:49′, an 11 minute reflection on everything else the band has played thus far. Hiromi describes it as that part of the day when you look back on what has happened and what you have planned for the next day, and the group really delivers it musically.

‘Quick Hit’ Song: “Move” – as I mention, this song gives you everything to expect in terms of solid jazz feel, heavy fusion musicianship, syncopation, frenetic unison lines, and a great composition that allows all of the musicians to shine while never failing to serve the greater purpose of delivering a high quality musical experience.

Would I recommend?: Absolutely! In 2011 I called ‘Voice’ my favorite Hiromi work, but with Move she has raised the bar considerably. It is by far my favorite Hiromi album, and contains some of the best stuff I’ve heard from both Jackson and Phillips. The trio works together incredibly well in a way you might not expect. For such skilled musicians there is no conflict, only cooperation.

Suggested audience: If you like high energy jazz tinged with rock and Latin themes, you definitely want to check this out. Hiromi is relentless, but she delivers a solidly musical experience that lovers of jazz, fusion and instrumental rock will enjoy.

Price: $9.99 on iTunes

Here is video of the trio performing the song Desire (from 2011′s ‘Voice’) in 2012:

IK Multimedia Now Shipping iLine Music Cable Kit

Back at CES in January IK Multimedia announced the iLine series of mobile music cables, which would be available individually or as a kit, for iOS and Android devices. The original expected deliver was in the first quarter, which just ended. Today we are announcing that IK Multimedia now shipping iLine music cable kit!

The need for these cables is clear: as mobile hardware improves, mobile music apps improve, and the quality of music made on mobile devices also improves. However, most of the cables shipping for mobile devices are low end thin conductors with cheap connectors. As anyone with music making experience knows, your signal chain is only as good as your weakest component, and without proper cabling it is increasingly difficult to get the dynamic range and low noise needed for pro level audio on mobile devices.

The iLine series is made to address this need, and they feature 24K gold-plated contacts and high-purity oxygen-free copper conductors to ensure the best connection with no loss of signal quality. In addition, they’re equipped with high-density shielding to guard against electro-magnetic interference.

As noted, you can buy the cables separately or as a kit. Here is what is included with the kit:

• Mono Output Adapter: can be used to connect a mobile device into a mono input such as on a guitar amplifier — it’s great for use with IK’s AmpliTube apps on stage.
• Input Output Extension: makes it easy to extend the stereo output from a mobile device.
• Stereo Aux Cable: this extra-long cable allows for long-distance cable runs, such as when connecting a mobile device to speakers or a car stereo.
• Headphone Splitter: splits a stereo source, such as the headphone output on a mobile device, to feed two sets of headphones or speakers. It provides plenty of length to assure proper separation between the listeners.
• RCA Output Adapter: great for connecting a mobile device to DJ gear and home stereos with RCA inputs.
• Mono Output Splitter: this cable makes it possible to send the output of a mobile device into a mixing board.
• Travel Case: helps to keep all of the cables together and organized.

The price for the kit is $59.99, which is close to 50% off the combined price of the individual cables. Each cable in the kit sells separately for $14.99 to $24.99.

Head to the iLine product page for more details!

There is a companion app available for iOS and Android to help you with cable selection and configuration.

Chris Potter The Sirens Review

I have known about Chris Potter for years, but mostly as a sideman, playing with Paul Motian, Dave Holland and most recently as part of Pat Metheny’s Unity Band. At the same time I have also become more of a fan of his efforts as a leader – his ‘Follow the Red Line’ live album from 2007 remains a favorite, with Viva Las Vilnius being essential listening from the last decade. He has recorded with a variety of labels through the years, and has recently joined the historic ECM label, and has just released his debut for ECM. Let’s take a look at Chris Potter The Sirens!

Musical Genre: Jazz

Where to buy: iTunes and Amazon MP3 Store

Artist: Chris Potter

Description:

In creating The Sirens, Chris Potter assembled a new band, consisting of long-time collaborator Craig Taborn on piano, bassist Larry Grenadier, drummer Eric Harland, and David Virelles on prepared piano, celeste, and harmonium. With this group he steers away from the rock & funk leanings of his Underground quintet, instead focusing on acoustic soundscapes augmented by the textural instrumentation of Virelles.

Potter also dipped into the mythology of ‘The Odyssey’, creating a concept album celebrating humanity and the sea much in the way the classic Homer epic poem did. He specifically looks to the more subtle themes of human interaction and the voices of Odysseus and others to help weave his tale, avoiding the more dramatic battles and characters like the cyclops and other struggles.

General Impressions:

As one would expect from a recording based on human interaction from an epic poem, there is a great sense of reflection and introspection throughout. It also works well with the ECM label, with producer Manfred Eicher legendary for his sense of style and evocative moods. But Eicher also knows how to make sure that an artist realizes their creative vision , which was certainly the case here.

The Sirens is not a moody ‘new age’ recording, but a solid jazz session. There is constant interplay and improvisation, and the musicians communicate at the highest level.

Potter plays an array of instruments, mostly tenor and soprano saxophone, but on the title track brings out the bass clarinet. The bass clarinet is not common in jazz, but provides a wonderfully plaintive voice. Given that for the most part the songs are divided up with male and female voices, the use of a low-register instrument for a ‘female’ voiced song seemed odd, but it works very well in the context of the composition against the bowed bass notes.

Throughout the recording there are up and down tempo pieces, moments where there is more atmosphere than composition, times of intense group improvisation, and some gorgeous ballads. But while the album is clearly a concept piece, there is no particular order I found works best – I often listen straight through, but have also shuffled the songs and not had an issue. So while it is a concept album, more than that it is just a great jazz album.

‘Quick Hit’ Song: “Nausikaa” – Nausikaa comes to the aid of Odysseus as he crashed, and helps him throughout his stay and launches him back towards home, becoming a figure of great importance to Odysseus. In the song, Potter voices Nausikaa with the soprano saxophone, and Virelles plays the celeste to great effect. It is an amazing composition, one that will grab you with the immediacy of its voices, and keep you throughout the song.

Would I recommend?: Absolutely! As I said, Chris Potter remains a bright star of the jazz world, and with each new release his compositions get deeper and his sense of improvisation gets broader.

Suggested audience: If you are a fan of Chris Potter, buy this one right away. The same is true if you enjoyed his work with Pat Metheny – the Unity Band might be Metheny’s child, but Potter brings a strong voice and impact to the music. Also, if you love modern mainstream jazz you will want to check this one out!

Price: $11.99 on iTunes, $9.99 on Amazon MP3

Here is video of the quartet playing “Nausikaa” live in late 2012:

Korean musician Luna Lee rocking out to Hendrix on her Gayageum

I never really understood all the fuss over the Gangnam Style videos.  Seemed a bit too much like the Lambada craze of the late 90s for my taste, honestly.  I’m more of a rock kind of guy.  (We will diplomatically ignore my love of Tom Lehrer songs, show tunes, and classical and jazz piano music for the purposes of this post.)  And so when a friend of mine on Facebook posted a link to Luna Lee’s, a Korean gayageum player’s, YouTube video I was skeptical.  Until I watched it, anyway:

C’mon, you’ve got to admit it:  Luna Lee totally rocks!  I can’t help but think that Hendrix (or Stevie Ray Vaughn, or Joe Satriani, or Gary Hoey, or Dick Dale, or . . .) would be impressed.  And somehow it seems she’s more than just mimicking classic rock songs on her “traditional” instrument; she’s rocking.  She seems to get it!  Not only did I immediately bug my brother about her, I also tweeted, posted to Facebook, and bugged some of my coworkers through our Hipchat utility.  All of them reacted as I did.  (Like me, my friend Ara immediately started digging to find more of her stuff online.)

I think this woman is nothing short of amazing, and am so glad that I live in an era where I can not only experience it even though I live, literally, halfway around the world from her, but can also share it with y’all!  If you want to experience more of Ms. Lee, check out her YouTube channel. I haven’t found any of her stuff on iTunes or anywhere else, nor have I seen her on Twitter or Facebook, but if she turns up, you can be sure we’ll let you know.

So that’s what I think; you should let us know what you think below!

Pat Metheny Orchestrion Project Review

Pat Metheny is one of my favorite artists, and I am pretty much guaranteed to buy whatever he releases, and have been thrilled with the quality of work in recent years (he lost me for a while in the late 80s / early 90s). I truly enjoyed his Orchestrion release, and the live performance I took my family to see. Last year he released a DVD of the project which I enjoyed, and now we get the full set of music from the DVD. One could ask ‘where is the line crossing into over-milking a project’, and it is a valid question I will address later. So let’s jump right into the Pat Metheny Orchestrion Project Review!

Musical Genre: Jazz

Where to buy: iTunes Music Store

Artist: Pat Metheny

Description:

As I mentioned in my original album review, for his Orchestrion project Metheny brought in a team of technical inventors and experts to help him construct an amazing bit of instrumentation that he can at once control through footpedals and other means while also triggering some off of his guitar, allowing him to adapt the flow of music on the fly yet also having a large enough set of preset musical architecture that what we get are fully formed songs and not just some rote phrases repeated ad nauseum while he jammed on top.

For the full project he has versions of the album songs performed live in the studio, but he also has another full CD of songs from his vast library of compensations. He also has a couple of improvisations, pieces of music that demonstrate the power of the Orchestrion and were a highlight of the live show.

General Impressions:

The basic structure of the album is the same as the original Orchestrion. Music evolves over time, has a highly structured feel and is all led by guitar. If you didn’t know that you were listening to an automated control system-based musical experience you would just think it was a Metheny-led effort like Secret Story with other musicians and loads of overdubs.

As I mention, the songs from the album are presented here as well, and the majority of the music sounds identical – which is pretty much required by the way the Orchestrion works. But Metheny isn’t constrained by those mechanics, so you get to enjoy the subtlety of his playing and inflections on the songs, much like you would when seeing him perform them live.

But the stars of the show are the improvisations and the reworked old songs. The improvisations show off the power of the Orchestrion, as you can hear Metheny building stacks of sound, moving instruments around and changing up chorus and verse and improvising freely over everything. The album versions are cleaner than what he played live, but it gives you a feeling for what he can do with the Orchestrion in real-time. Similarly, he brings back songs from Secret Story and 80/81 and reinvents them for the Orchestrion. They are loose and highly improvisational, and

‘Quick Hit’ Song: “Improvisation #2″ – I recall sitting watching Orchestrion live, and how he played a couple of songs in a row from the album and there were only subtle changes, and I was really hoping to see him explore the power and creative possibilities of the Orchestrion. That is what these improvisations are, and why I love them. He performed similar songs live, and it was simply amazing to watch him walk around controlling various instruments and building up a massive stack of layers and then building a chorus and bridge, and finally putting it all together and improvising on top of it! It is gorgeous music that is inventive and fun.

Would I recommend?: It depends! Given how much I liked the original album, and how highly I think of Metheny as a composer, it should be no surprise that I really enjoy this entire two-CD set. There is an incredible breadth of high quality music here, with different interpretations of every song – this isn’t just an ‘Orchestrion plus extras’ collection, it shows how even the original music grows and changes over time.

But is there a point at which enough is enough? After a CD, a DVD and now a CD based on the DVD based on the CD … are we at that point? For me the answer is ‘no’, but for most people I would bet they would see this release as superfluous. It is a tough decision, which makes the recommendation difficult – it really depends on how much you are looking to get from this music.

Suggested audience: If you are a Pat Metheny fan and don’t already own Orchestrion, go grab this one! If you are a big fan and own the original, you might still want to grab this because it adds so much. For any fan who has enjoyed Metheny’s music, The Orchestrion Project holds huge possibilities to enjoy the greatness of this music while more deeply exploring the inner workings of how it comes together.

Price: $15.99 on iTunes

Here is video of Improvisation #2 from the Orchestrion Project DVD:

Ten Great Non-Beatles Albums from 1963

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Beatles album Please Please Me, a recording that changed the course of music history. The year 1963 marked a pivotal point in music, as the charts in the early 1960s were dominated by more traditional pop performers after the initial flourish of rock & roll seemed to fade as Elvis entered the Army (and the movies), Buddy Holly died, and audiences seemed happy with performers like Bobby Vinton, Edyie Gormet, The Four Seasons and so on. Yet there was still loads of great music coming out, so let’s look at ten great non-Beatles albums from 1963!

Charles Mingus: Black Saint and the Sinner Lady

A relatively short album at ~38 minutes, this embodies everything Mingus to me: the band-as-voice concept, fully drawn musical characters, impressionistic realizations, and amazing playing. The musical soundscapes are about various dance movements, and you can follow these through the music.

Beach Boys: Surfin’ USA

Brian Wilson lamented losing the spotlight to the Beatles, and losing the ‘cool factor’ in the mid-60s, and in retrospect it is easy to see he was right. Yet in context the music – while interesting and complex – was very bright and cheery in and era where that was fast falling out of fashion. The Beach Boys had two stunningly good albums in 1963 (the other was Surfer Girl) that showed them as highly developed songwriters.

Dave Brubeck: Live at Carnegie Hall

One of the greatest live albums of all time, this was my first exposure to Brubeck classics like Take Five and Blue Rondo A La Turk. This track – Castillion Drums – is a feature for drummer Joe Morello. An amazing double album that was another top seller for Brubeck.

Bob Dylan: The FreeWheelin’ Bob Dylan

One of Dylan’s best during the height of his creativity, and one of the best folk albums ever made. There is great song after great song, and cemented his place at the top of the musical world.

James Brown: Live at the Apollo

James Brown, the ‘hardest working man in show business’ could sure put on a show … and this album showed him in what was one of his favored settings, playing tons of great music and getting the crowd going. If you can listen to this without your

John Coltrane: Impressions

Impressions was a major moment in jazz – featuring four songs, two long and two short, and focusing on wide open modal thematic development, Impressions juxtaposed Indian themes, model music, the new ‘free jazz’ and straight-ahead post-bop. The two main songs are India, which leans towards Indian and free jazz, and Impressions, a modal masterpiece. Yet the ballad ‘After the Rain’ is gorgeous in a way Coltrane seldom managed.

Thelonius Monk: Monk’s Dream

So much of what Thelonius Monk is famous for as a composer was done through the 1950s that it is easy to forget about his 1960s output and also his skill as a leader. But perhaps his best album was 1963′s Monk’s Dream. Featuring dense compositions, angular and jagged playing, and amazing band mates, the recording sounds like it could have been released anywhere between 1959 and 1965, but it remains one of the best jazz albums of the year.

Bill Evans: Conversations with Myself

WHAT?!?! Overdubbing in Jazz?!?! You bet – on the left side you have Bill Evans, and on the right side … Bill Evans. Fresh from his amazing trio work and losing bassist Scott LaFaro to a tragic car accident, Evans undertook what stands as one of the most inventive and jubilant pieces of solo/duo jazz music.

Sam Cooke: Night Beat

Just one year prior to his death, Night Beat features the singer at his best, belting our blues and ballads that are just gorgeous to hear, with a band that backs up every nuance of feeling Cooke delivers.

Duke Ellington & John Coltrane: Ellington & Coltrane

I remember watching the Cosby Show back in the mid-80s and after Bill Cosby put needle to vinyl hearing Duke Ellington’s piano and then John Coltrane’s sax … and knew I was going to be spending more money at the local record shop that weekend! The album combined the elder legend of ‘jazz as art’ and the up-and-coming champion of modern jazz in a setting that complimented both of their styles. You can piece together that part of the show by watching the end of Part 2 and beginning of Part 3.

Peter, Paul And Mary: Moving

On the strength of Puff the Magic Dragon alone this album belongs on the list, even if folk purists view the trio as ‘folk lite’. The song remains immensely popular as a children’s song, and I have yet to meet a U.S. born adult who can’t – and won’t – sing along as soon as it starts playing.

Each of these albums (and yes I ended up with 11 … so what?) is excellent, but by the end of 1963 the music world had changed … jazz was moving out of the mainstream (as the contrast between Impressions and Ellington & Coltrane shows), traditional pop wasfalling out of favor, and even the bright cheery sounds of the Beach Boys started to struggle for airtime. Only Bob Dylan from this group maintained his coolness and popularity through the decade.

And of course you knew I wouldn’t end without featuring something from Please Please Me! I wrote about the Beatles here, and declared that ‘Ask Me Why’ was my choice track from the album, featuring a rhythm that could have been on a Stan Getz song and yet at the same time this was a new type of pop song. Enjoy:

Miles Davis Quintet Live In Europe 1969 The Bootleg Series Vol. 2

I have already complained about Sony for releasing so much posthumous Miles Davis material, but it is really a joke: because what they have been giving us isn’t gratuitous, but rather restored and wonderfully packaged discoveries or items previously only found on low-quality bootlegs. That was true of the 1967 Bootleg Volume 1, which made my ‘best of 2011′ list. And it is every bit as true of their latest release, Miles Davis Quintet Live In Europe 1969 The Bootleg Series Vol. 2. Let’s take a look!

Musical Genre: Jazz

Where to buy: Amazon MP3 Store

Artist: Miles Davis Quintet
Description:
Through the history of music there are stories of epic bands or musical pairings that were never recorded, or that were recorded but the quality is so terrible that it isn’t worth trying to discern the greatness of the collaboration. For a long time, Miles Davis ‘lost quintet’ has been high on that list, as they contained parts of the ‘In a Silent Way’ and ‘Bitches Brew’ groups as well as the ‘Live Evil’ and ‘Jack Johnson’ ensembles – but while they toured as a group for nearly a year were never recorded in a session released commercially.

The ‘Third Great Quintet’ features Wayne Shorter on sax, Chick Corea on piano, Dave Holland on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums. All of these musicians appear on ‘Bitches Brew’, but were also joined by many others. Wayne Shorter was the veteran of the group, playing with Miles since 1964 and already highly regarded young musician at that point. Chick Corea had success with his ‘Now He Sings, Now He Sobs’ album, and Holland and DeJohnette were very young and energetic players adept at both jazz and rock … exactly what Miles was looking for in his music.

General Impressions:

These recordings come from two nights at the Antibes Jazz festival in July 1969, and a ‘Newport Jazz Festival In Europe’ performance in Stockholm in November of that year. On the Antibes recording Corea plays exclusively electric piano and the feel is very hard-hitting even on standards, whereas the Stockholm recording has newer material and is more advanced harmonically but feels more restrained in some ways with Corea jumping to acoustic piano at times.

The Antibes shows each start off with Directions, a concert standard never released on a major studio recording. The song represents the perfect foil for what Miles was doing – it swings, there is a clear head-solo-head structure, and yet it is harmonically open enough to jump between jazz, rock, avant-garde, and the ‘open space’ experiments of albums like Nefertiti and Filles De Kilimanjaro. DeJohnette drives the beat in a much different way than Tony Williams, and the interplay between DeJohnette and Holland makes for very exciting listening – and add in Corea and things get downright dangerous.

Over the course of the two Antibes concerts Miles steps through mostly established territory (recorded date in parenthesis) – ‘Round Midnight (1957), Milestones (1958), Footprints (1966), The Theme (1955), I Fall in Love Too Easily (1955), and so on. There are some recent additions, including Miles Runs the Voodoo Down and Sanctuary from the Bitches Brew sessions, but what is most impressive is the interpretation of these pieces of music. New and old fit together naturally, old songs become new, familiar melodies are deconstructed and re-imagined and nothing is simply done without reason.

The Newport Jazz Festival In Europe concert is a bit strange for me, because while excellent in playing and audio quality it feels subdued compared to the Antibes music – that despite coming several months later. The show begins with Bitches Brew, which starts with Corea and Holland playing funked up electric instruments, but each returns to acoustic before the halfway point and the song is transformed into a hard-swinging affair with only an occasional to the source material. The same is true with Paraphernalia – the low-key shuffle beat from the original (featuring George Benson, no less) us gone, and we have a solid swinging exchange that would not be out of place on the 1967 bootleg recording!

Another thing I found interesting was that Wayne Shorter was still playing straight jazz in the idiom that served so well in the Miles quintet from 1964 – 1968. This style works amazingly well on Paraphernalia and his composition Nefertiti and makes his style fit perfectly for the entire Newport Jazz Festival In Europe concert. However, because Miles had already moved on, and brought the fusion-before-it-existed rhythm section of Holland and DeJohnette along with him, augmented by Corea who would alternate between jazz, avant-garde, fusion and dense Lennie Tristano-like progressions at will … Shorter’s solos often feel extraneous and out of place on the Antibes concerts. It isn’t bad, but you can hear the band down-shift to make it all work.

‘Quick Hit’ Song: “Footprints” (from CD #1) – as always, Miles calls for the song by playing a melody fragment and the band quickly follows suit, leaping into a 11.5 minute version that flows amazingly well throughout. Each instrument is handled entirely differently than on the original – DeJohnette suggests where Williams would have demanded, Holland floats where Carter pulsed, Corea dabs colors where Hancock would have laid our broad harmonic strokes … but the biggest change is Davis. As my older son quipped, it sounds like he starts approaching the phrases legato, but suddenly he is attacking the notes … (my younger son joins in) like he is hitting them with a crowbar. Exactly – this is Miles at the height of his trumpet-playing powers, and it needs to be experienced.

Would I recommend?: Absolutely! As I said, I keep complaining about the constant releases from Sony, but once again here is one that is an amazing find. Gorgeous music from a band under-represented in the Miles Davis library.

Suggested audience: You don’t need to enjoy Bitches Brew to like this, but it helps. If you enjoyed Miles Smiles and the earlier 1967 Bootleg concerts you will definitely enjoy this!

Price: $19.99 on Amazon MP3

Here is video of the quintet performing the medley of It’s About That Time / Sanctuary / The Theme live July 25th, 1969 at Antibes, France:

eMusic Merges With eBook Distributor K-NFB to form media content ‘One Stop Shop’

It was only a matter of time – most sites not named iTunes/Pandora/Amazon/Spotify have either closed or been bought out over the past few years … and frankly since it seemed that eMusic was unable to increase subscription volumes no matter what they did, I assumed they would eventually fold. Instead, today we learn that eMusic Merges With eBook Distributor K-NFB to form media content ‘One Stop Shop’. The basic idea is that you will be able to get your digital music, ebook and audio book needs met in one place.

eMusic has been around since 1998 and had long been THE place to go for indie digital music, until a couple of years ago when they sold out to the major labels to try to grow their market share (screwing over indies in the process). That effort gained a few new members, but lost others and ultimately had little net effect. More recently they made it so non-members could buy music from the site, but again must have seen little impact from that move – or more likely it was in preparation for this merger.

As part of the merger the “into a single company called Media Arc, Inc., which will offer a comprehensive source of more than 17 million songs, 40,000 audio books and 600,000 eBooks. Both eMusic and K-NFB will remain as operating units of Media Arc, Inc.” This according to a press release published in full by HypeBot among others.

K-NFB is most noted for the Blio eReader software created by digital media legend and pioneer Ray Kurzweil (there are depths to his K-2000 music synthesizer system I haven’t tapped in more than 20 years of using it!), which launched in 2010 as a competitor.

It is distinctly possible that this merger is simply a matter of survival – two decent companies with solid technical fundamentals but with challenging financial positions looking for a way to balance synergies to create a streamlined company that can leverage all subscribers across a single account system, reducing server and administrative overhead, and put their combined resources into growing their niche.

Do you think it will work? Or is this an example of people stepping off two sinking lifeboats and onto a sinking sailboat?

Fretlights Offers World’s Easiest Guitar to Play

For many people, playing a musical instrument is an unrealized wish. They wished they had taken something up in their youth, but fear it is now too late. But that is just not true – not only can you still pursue traditional lessons as an adult, there are specific methods for learning methods that maximize enjoyment with minimum time investment. And then there is the Fretlights system from Optek Music Systems, and what they are calling the ‘World’s Easiest Guitar to Play’.

The system is simple – lights under the fretboard guide you to play the correct notes, helping you learn chords, phrases and entire songs. The Fretlights system comes with more than 130 lessons, 140 backing tracks and an extensive library of chord inversions to help you build up solid knowledge.

And these are REAL instruments, not gimmicky plastic things no one would ever want to play. Check out the neck design:

And this is what I love about Fretlights: it is a real instrument that happens to have an integrated system to help you learn to actually play the guitar beyond just a few popular songs. But if what you really want to do is play along with popular guitar songs, that is an option as well.

Fretlights is targeted at for adults learning guitar for the first time – and in particular they highlight how great it is as a potential Father’s Day gift. And even though I already play guitar I see value for those looking to take on the instrument.

Both of my kids are very musical – older son sings and plays tuba, younger son plays piano and violin. We have a couple of learner guitars in the basement that they never quite learned. As noted by founder and inventor Rusty Shaffer, “the traditional method of learning the guitar hasn’t changed since the 1950s” … and that is the system I know and was using to teach my kids. I would bet that they could quickly and easily learn the mechanics with the Fretlight system.

Here is a great introductory video showing an overview of the Fretlights system:

The Fretlight system starts out at $299 including the guitar, two-volume beginner lesson and Lennon & McCartney lessons, as well as the computer software, cable, picks and tools.. What do you think? Would the Fretlight system help you learn to play guitar?

Head to the official Fretlight site for all the details! Also check them out on Facebook!

Billboard Joins the 21st Century and Starts Tracking YouTube View Data

While the top videos on MTV and YouTube (recently at least) have generally also been on the pop charts, the amount of popularity from video outlets hasn’t always translated into chart position. So it is great news for breakout video artists this week as Billboard joins the 21st century and starts tracking YouTube view data as part of compiling its ‘Hot 100′ list of pop music.

While for many tech-centric people this seems like a ‘no duh’ sort of decision, it wasn’t until 2012 that most of the popular videos on YouTube were commercially created rather than amateur ‘viral’ videos. And quite frankly, like most other things you need to ‘follow the money’ with Billboard when it comes to decision making.

For example, why was MTV the major force in popular music 30 years ago yet views were never counted towards Hot 100 position? Simply because those videos were created as part of a promotional campaign by the music companies, and resulted in a direct increase in sales since MTV wasn’t ‘on demand’. But with YouTube, many young viewers use it as a primary means of listening to music, and use it as a means of music discovery and sharing.

Back when the song ‘Chocolate Rain’ went viral, music labels really only cared about keeping things OFF of YouTube, seeing it as a pure negative and loss of control. But with a song like ‘Friday’, there was a demonstrated ability to monetize a video and then translate video popularity into huge iTunes sales. That happened again to an extreme extent with ‘Gangnam Style’ late last year – which again resulted in huge sales.

But by keeping YouTube at a distance and only hopping in late to grab sales, Billboard and the Hot 100 have started to look totally irrelevant to the very audience they hope to serve and influence. Harlem Shake has been huge on YouTube to the point of already being WAY ‘overdone’, and yet it is just now that it is being recognized on Billboard. Perhaps too little, too late for that song – but at least it shows an attempt at keeping current.

Billboard has a very realistic fear that more and more kids really don’t care what a bunch of old men around a table in New York have declared most popular, and instead hit up YouTube, Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook and more to grab the hottest stuff from their own personal ‘style influencers’. This might be the last chance for Billboard to stay in line with advancing technology … do you think it will work?

And what better way to celebrate than with the original YouTube classic ‘Chocolate Rain’:

Ingrid Laubrock Anti-House ‘Strong Place’ Review

OK, so I am a sucker for any new release featuring guitarist Mary Halvorson. Already a fan of Ingrid Laubrock from 2012′s Camino Cielo Echo from the Tom Rainey trio (yes, also with Mary Halvorson), this was an instant-buy for me. And while the band members were all familiar to me, this was clearly Laubrock’s effort, featuring her compositions and arrangements and a tremendous sense of personal style. So let’s take a look at Ingrid Laubrock Anti-House ‘Strong Place’:

Musical Genre: Avant Garde Jazz
Where to buy: iTunes Music Store

Artist: Ingrid Laubrock Anti-House

Description:
Ingrid Laubrock Anti-House is an ensemble led by tenor and soprano saxophone player Ingrid Laubrock and also including guitarist Mary Halvorson, pianist Kris Davis, bassist John Hébert, and drummer Tom Rainey. If some of those names are starting to look familiar after reading a few of my reviews, there is a reason. As I noted I am a big fan of Halvorson, and Hébert is one of her frequent bassists (as well as appearing on many other albums), and both Davis and Rainey are big in the New York jazz scene as well. In fact the whole group is composed of active members of the vibrant New York jazz scene.

General Impressions:
The album is the second for the unit, and is focused largely on the musical vision of Laubrock. This vision encompasses both composed and improvised movements, dramatically beautiful and harshly dissonant structures, flowing harmonies and jarring fragments. And it all works extremely well.

Each of the band members is a leader and master instrumentalist, and Laubrock leverages those skills in her compositions. The songs seem written around the unique talents of each member, which makes some of the songs remind me of Charles Mingus compositions in the way the writing is clearly from one person yet flows through everyone else in the band, taking bits of their identity and personality along the way.

People often look at me strangely when I lavish praise on the level of communication in some ‘free jazz’ bands. All they hear is dissonance and discord. Yet as I listen to songs like ‘An Unfolding’ or ‘Strong Place’, I hear the band members listening intently and echoing back to the others and taking statements and twisting them and reharmonizing them alongside the main themes, playing supporting figures for others regardless of their usual role … and sometimes just laying back for a while. Like all great improvisational music, this is an intimate conversation shared between musicians playing at the highest level.

The result is a set of music that is introspective at times, and exploratory at others; mellow and contemplative at one point and jagged and harsh at others; where there are individuals featured but the compositions always remain front and center. And with each repeated listening I learn more and more from the music.

‘Quick Hit’ Song: “Der Deichgraf” – the song opens with Kris Davis playing jagged figures that remind me of Thelonious Monk in some ways and Chick Corea in others. The rest of the group joins in, and the structure takes on one of my favorite movements – the piano is playing intricate lines while the rest of the band lays down a harmonic structure in a stop-rhythm pattern that carries you from pulse to pulse. And just as the excitement builds, the song simmers down into Halvorson playing a quarter note line so solid and floating that when an eighth note couplet arrives it is a surprise. The rest of the band joins back in after a while and the defying of standard roles and structures continues right through to the end.

Would I recommend?: Absolutely! This is one of those albums I know I will be listening to all year long. I cannot predict if it will make my Top 10 list as there is so much good music slated for the year, but with this amazing array of talented artists I have been thrilled to experience new things with each repeated listen.

Suggested audience: Um … let me just be honest. Most people won’t like this music, that is just a simple reality. The subset of music fans who like jazz is small, the subset that likes modern instrumental jazz is smaller, and those who like avant-garde music is smaller still. But if you love the music of Mary Halvorson and Anthony Braxton … you will love this album as well!

Price: $10.99 on iTunes

Here is video of Ingrid Laubrock Anti-House performing live in 2012:

Get Classic Electric Keyboards With iLectric Piano from IK Multimedia

It doesn’t take an astute listener to realize that ‘retro is in’. At the recent NAMM show, we saw names such as Korg, Moog and Prophet right out of the late 70s, and all of them were producing analog synths. But before the synth became the keyboard mainstay, loads of classic recordings were made with funky Fender Rhodes and swirling Wurlitzer electric pianos. Now IK Multimedia allows you to get classic electric keyboards with iLectric. Let’s take a look!

Type of app: Audio app
Platform/where to buy: iPad; available in the App Store
Developer: IK Multimedia
Description:

iLectric Piano offers a set of more than 40 electric pianos, electric grands, and clavinets sampled from original instruments. The instruments have a studio quality sound based on extensive sampling and noise reduction techniques used to generate the patches. You get a number of instruments across a variety of classic types, along with parametric controls and effects to shape your sound even further.

Major features: A good electric piano sound is pretty much an essential element of a modern studio, and through the years four classic sounds have emerged: the Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Yamaha CP-70 and Yamaha DX-7. iLectric takes all of these fundamental sounds and presents you with 19 standard instruments that provide a great variety of very musical sounds.

You will note in my review video that whenever I change sounds I just start noodling around on the keyboard – the sounds all have the classic rich harmonics that come from the tines used to produce the Rhodes and Wurlitzer sounds. I mention being reminded of Chick Corea in Miles Davis band at one point, but there is a distinct difference between the sounds used by Corea and Keith Jarrett in Miles band – no broken keys (there is a famous extended ‘broken key’ solo on the Live Evil recording).

Once you have selected a basic sound, you get to shape that sound in a couple of different ways. First there is a four band equalizer which is heavy on the mid-range. The reason for this is because that is where electric pianos produce the most overtones, so you can really shape the sound to your liking (and yes, I know that sonic shaping effect doesn’t come through well on the video).

You can also add a single ‘studio’ effect such as Flanger, Chorus, Phaser or Auto-Pan. You can alter the depth and speed of these effects, each of which provides a fairly standard sound alteration. These effects would have been applied using guitar stomp-boxes in the early days, so it is great to get to apply them right in the instrument. For many keyboard players these were important parts of their signature sounds, so be sure to explore them as you try to define your own sound.

There are also Reverb and Overdrive effects. The Reverb gives the sound a solid sense of space, but it is the Distortion that is the star of the show. To me it felt like a rich analog tube amp at work, slowly adding some grit and overtones and then becoming harsh and peaky at the top of the range. For players in fusion and rock bands, cranking the volume was a necessity of keeping yourself heard on stage! Here it is just to change your sound – but I find myself playing differently as I change up the tone.

Ease of use/Overall performance: Like other IK Multimedia keyboard apps, you also get a metronome and song recorder. The metronome is simple, with speed and level settings as well as a switch for whether or ont you hear the click (or just see it). The song recorder is a simply way to add songs inside of the app to play along with, and comes pre-loaded with some to check out as you explore the sounds.

Finally, you have an in-App store link, so you can buy the 22 instrument pack for $9.99. Overall this brings the price to $30 for the full set of instruments. This is expensive for an iOS app, but as I have mentioned with iGrand Piano before, if you want the best sounding electric pianos for your iOS device, they are here. It is hard to adequately capture in a video, but there is a world of difference between what you get here and pretty much anything else on iOS.

As I mention in the video I didn’t have my iRig Keys with me when the app launched otherwise I would have used it (more info on iRig Keys here). But however you play it (you can also use iRig Midi to control it from an external MIDI keyboard), this is something you want to hear and play. Check out more info at IK Multimedia and watch my video review below.

Would use again/recommend?: Definitely! iLectric offers the absolutely best sounding electric keyboard sounds for iOS.

Suggested changes/wish list for updates: Nothing.

Source: Publisher supplied review code

Price: $19.99 22-instrument sound pack is a $9.99 in-app purchase.

Here is my video review:

iTunes Music Store Has Sold 25 Billion Songs in 10 Years

The thought that the iTunes Music Store Has Sold 25 Billion Songs in 10 Years is stunning. For many it is hard to remember the music industry landscape as iTunes started selling music a decade ago. The CD had peaked in popularity at the start of the new millennium, topping off an amazing decade of music sales. Yet the decade closed and broadband speeds became more pervasive, it seemed that ‘file sharing’ sites such as Napster and Limewire were going to completely devalue music by making downloading as easy as doing an AltaVista search.

But in April of 2003 Steve Jobs presented a new vision – a simplified way to legally buy music online that would integrate it with your existing music ripped from your CD collection, and all of it easily synced to your iPod. The service appealed to the music industry because Jobs could deliver a huge number of legit credit cards, and it appealed to customers because for $0.99 you could get a song and $9.99 would net you an album.

And guess what – it worked! Millions of people flocked to iTunes, and it has slowly built into a massive ecosystem that is the largest music retailer in the world. Not only is it largest in terms of sales with an estimated 65% market share of paid digital downloads, it has the largest library with more than 26 million songs and is available in 119 countries. It is large enough that it accounted for nearly 40% of all US music sales in 2012!

Now the iTunes Music Store has sold more than 25 billion songs in 10 years. And if you look at the graph at the top you see that the cumulative trend is growing exponentially, which is good for artists and music fans alike. Why do I say that? Because with a massive library, Genius system and recommendations, many artists find the system presents a very ‘flat playing field’ where it is possible to get exposure even if you don’t have record label dollars behind you.

I have written about iTunes as well as Amazon MP3 and Google Play Music before, and it is interesting to see where they are at the end of 2012. iTunes as I mentioned has ~65% share, Amazon has ~16%, and Google Play joins eMusic and Zune and others at <5%. While not the focus of this post, it is stunning to me that after a couple of years Google Play Music is a total flop while the greater Google Play market sees millions of daily views. In fact, a recent report only shows Google Play Music having recognition with 1 in 5 digital music buyers. Not very good for a platform with 75% global market share.

As for Amazon MP3, I have written before that it is my preferred music source, as they have a solid selection (second only to iTunes), ability to listen from Android or iOS, and better pricing almost 100% of the time. As with almost everything they do, Amazon seems to have focused on making their product and service convenient and available for everyone.

It is easy to look at the changes that have happened over the last decade and be critical of Apple – tiered pricing structures have made most things more expensive, and Amazon and others got DRM-free music first (it was a power play by the labels, who wanted the increased pricing) – it is worth taking a moment and reflecting upon the landscape of the music industry when the iTunes Music store launched … and the reality that Apple and iTunes went a long way to saving the industry from even worse declines than it has seen.

You can find the full details at Apple.

Graph source: DMN