Sudden Samba

[Farmjazz]

I've always liked this Neil Larsen tune; Sudden Samba. I had an arrangement idea this morning and this is what came out of it. In listening to it after it was done, I'm thinking the electric guitar solo is out of place with the rest of it. What do you all think?

I had to create a "white-boy" rhythm part outside of the MICRO BR because nothing worked within the unit. Even though, technically, Bossa Nova is a slowed-down Samba, Rhythm pattern Other #2, (Bossa Nova), didn't cut it.

This project should end my cuica use for a while. Tried to create a Samba parade feel -had fun with the samba whistle, shakers, hand drum, etc. Should have put that squeaky toy in another place. Oh, well.

I don't know how those artifacts got in there. Hope you like it anyway!

[Pedro]

  Sounds absolutely awesome! Perfect work.

Yes, maybe that electric is a bit out of place but everything else is great.

Couple of questions: Are you using any Micro BR rhythm pattern? Did you recorded and mixed everything with the Micro BR?

Added to my playlist, this is a very very cool work!

[Farmjazz]

Couple of questions: Are you using any Micro BR rhythm pattern? Did you recorded and mixed everything with the Micro BR?

1.) No, I had to work up a "phony" Samba pattern on my Yamaha QY10 and bring it into the MICRO BR. It serves as a glorified metronome actually.

2.) Everything is recorded and mixed on the MICRO BR. Electric guitars direct in, and archtop guitar, percussions using the built-in mic. The "bass" is also just a six string guitar using the tweaked Jazzy effects patch posted somewhere on this forum.

I'm going to post this song again without the electric guitar solo and the skank rhythm guitar and bass part brought up in the mix. I also "double-effected" the bass track; applying JustChorus to it - it gave it a fretless sound. Stay tuned, and THANK YOU, Pedro for all you are doing!!!!

[Farmjazz]

Okay, here it is without that annoying electric guitar solo. The space is open for someone else to try something. I'm thinking a Santana-ish type of thing. Any takers? Frank? Wichita? Help me out here fellas.
Maybe another instrument altogether. The original cut featured a jazz-perc organ, I believe.

[hooper]

Way to go, Hal.  What a masterpiece!     It's wild and complex but obviously very much under control.  Good thing you had that little guy with the whistle running around keeping everybody straight!  I love the broad pallet of sounds.  How many tracks and how many bounces in the mix?  Like the fade-up at the beginning too.   

[Farmjazz]

Thanks, hooper!

How many tracks and how many bounces in the mix?

I ran out of tracks, and the SD card was close to the end, so I had to go back and delete previous bounces to make room. I think I had to do eight bounces and two masters. I re-mixed the whole thing when I took out the electric guitar solo, so that was another master added.

It's wild and complex but obviously very much under control.

Do you mean the electric guitar solo, or the whole piece in general? Believe it or not, the song is a fairly simple A - B composition, but a well written melody line and lots of room for soloing.

The fade in/fade out was used to simulate a Samba parade going by. "Here they come, here they are, there they go." That's also why the use of the whistle, agogo, and cuica.

Try taking a solo after the archtop solo.   

[Indiana]

This is definitely a keeper. Sounds like some Acoustic Alchemy influence. I liked the electric in there; though maybe it doesn't fit with the parade visualization.

rod

[Mudhut]

Nice work FarmJazz, Great to hear what the little box can do in the right hands 

[Farmjazz]

Thanks, everyone. Its kind of like being in a band, except you are playing every instrument the way you think it should go. Just pencil it out, take your time, (and several takes, if need be), and it will turn out. How cool is that?

I had to abandon several ideas before this one began to gel. Rhythm problems, guitar sounds, arrangement, instrumentation considerations all changed in the course of doing this project. That's okay. Hey, whatever it takes. This one required recording only one percussion instrument at a time, (because of different timbre and volume levels), bouncing a whole bunch of times, and keeping my eye on the time remaining on the SD card. Playing it was the fun part.

Knowing when to say, "Its done", can also be tricky. I had to go outside, walk the dogs, and come back to it a few times to get a fresh perspective. Whatever. Probably, if I would have waited 'til another day to finish it, it would never have happened. So, I spent the day with Sudden Samba, posted it, and now, on to the next one! Is there no end to this?

[Blooby]

Nice job.  I'm inspired by your bouncing.  Soon...the prog epic.

Very nice acoustic playing although I do admire the complete and utter danger of the electric solo.  I haven't heard that level of abandon in a solo since CSN's version of "Woodstock."  I think Stephen Stills (I assume) disappeared during that solo and never quite made it back.

Very nice job on building the percussion track.  I feel if I tried to do something along those lines, it would sound like infants banging on pots and pans.  Hmmm, maybe my destiny is in industrial music.

Take care, all.

Blooby

P.S.-Farmjazz, I don't know if you are familiar with Jack Pearson, a Nashville-based guitarist.  He's mostly known for blues and slide through a couple-year stint in the Allman Brothers, but he incorporates a lot of jazz phrasing as well.  If you get the time, check out the video link below.  This is part 2 of 5.

http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Video/Jack%20Pearson%20Performance%20A%20(3)/