Jazz listings/New links/Opinions please..

[weslong]

Okay, hopefully these links will work. Here's the songs I had in mind for the following listing:http://www.taximusic.com/song.php?song_ ... 29JZSMOOTH JAZZ INSTRUMENTALS a la Brian Culbertson, Paul Brown, Dave Koz, Najee, the Yellowjackets, etc. are again wanted by an Independent Music Publisher for placement in Muzak-type applications (shops, restaurants, malls, etc.). He's signed and placed many TAXI songs in the past. All tempos will be considered, but mid-tempo pieces are the easiest to place for this type of application. Performances should sound as if they're recorded by live musicians, so be careful to make sure that your sounds aren't too slick for this one. He really wants to find excellent Smooth Jazz and isn't interested in New Age or any other genre/style. Please keep your songs under 4 minutes in length. Broadcast quality needed [excellent home recordings are OK]. Please submit one to three songs online or per CD. All submissions will be screened on a YES/NO BASIS ONLY - NO CRITIQUES FROM TAXI - and must be received no later than October 29, 2008. TAXI #Y081029JZ

[orest]

Song number one: Really liked the mysterious intro! I would add some more instruments in the middle eq and maybe more bottom as well. Liked the conga groove and when the guitar came in! But, is the trumpet and guitar real instruments or samples? It sound a bit sampled, and if it's true I think Taxi will make it harder for you. Better to use piano/organ sound and double the choruses with the "sampled" instruments. I think the melody is memorable! Song number 2: I think you have a strong feeling for a mysterious jazz sound, dig it a lot! The thing number one I do feel about this song is the drum breaks, you should use a more groovy felling, now it feels a bit shopped up, I can't feel the groove really in this. But i love the melody and harmony in this one! Song number 3: Here I can feel the groove again! Maybe use a better string sound. I can't here the bass line. Maybe a few % up in the volume there! REALLY cool melody you have here! A favorite of the 3!Best of luck!

[weslong]

Thanks so much for the feedback! Good stuff, indeed! I'll follow your advice and make the changes and re-upload the songs. You didn't like the strings on three? *sniffle* I thought those were so cool- had that whole Sakamoto sound going with this...oh, well. I just bought two new Sonic Reality sound libraries this week, I'll play around with the strings...

[mazz]

Hi Wes,Some nice ideas here. Your harmonic sense is right in the pocket for the style. I heard some phrasing that sounds like smooth jazz should.To my ears, though, they all sound a bit too MIDI, although the third is the least MIDI sounding of the bunch. Form-wise, all the pieces seem a bit wandery without a lot of thematic guideposts for the ear to latch on to, at least on one listening (which is probably what you'll get). Some of the instruments sound suspiciously like samples (the trumpet, for instance) and exposed instruments like that in a jazz setting are really difficult to pull off with samples. It can be done but the time might be better spent using keyboard sounds (feature the piano, rhodes, organ, synths), which seem to be your main axes here.I wonder if your speakers put out a lot of bass because all of your mixes seem to lack depth in the low end, they sound unbalanced to me. You might be hearing more bass from your speakers than is actually in your mixes. The mixes don't sound like what a client that knows smooth jazz would want to hear, IMO.I think you're on the right track, I'd suggest simplifying your ideas, tighten up the forms, de-MIDI your drum parts and test your mixes on a lot of different systems.Keep up the good work and good luck with the submissions!!Mazz

[weslong]

Thanks Mazz! All good points and well-taken. I really appreciate your input!