Little Labels--Big Sound: Small Record Companies and the Rise of American Music [Hardcover] Review

O how the landscape has changed!Fifty years ago there were literally hundreds of independent record labels operating in cities and towns all across the USA.Many of these companies were fly by night operations that lasted for only a short period of time. Some managed to stick around long enough to have a hit record or two before disappearing from the scene forever.But, a fair number of these independent labels were quite successful and would leave an indelible mark on American popular music.This is what "Little Labels-Big Sound" is all about.
Whether you are a fan of the blues, rock and roll, R & B, group harmony or jazz, there is little doubt that these "little labels" made asignificant contribution to the development of your kind of music.Authors Rick Kennedy and Randy McNutt have focused on 10 of these important independent labels.It is a very readable and highly entertaining book that both record collectors and history buffs are sure to enjoy.
Hoagy Carmicheal and Louis Armstrong spent their formative years in the 1920's at Gennett Records, a small indie based in Richmond, In.When a young and dynamic James Brown audtioned for King Records in the mid 1950's, label owner Syd Nathan remarked "Nobody wants to hear that noise."History would indeed prove him wrong.Most critics agree that jazz legend Charlie Parker made his finest recordings at Ross Russell's Dial records."Little Labels-Big Sound" tells the story of how Charlie Parker wound up at Dial.There are also chapters devoted to seven other notable indies including Sun, Riverside, Monument and Duke-Peacock. I enjoyed reading about them all.
Today, a few major conglomerates dominate the music business.There is little for most of us to get excited about. "Little Labels-Big Sound" fondly recalls that time in America when small record labels flourished and creativity thrived.It is worth remembering.Recommended.

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GarageBand '08 Power!: The Comprehensive Recording and Podcasting Guide (Book) [Paperback] Review

This is an incredible book for anyone diving into Garageband to produce their own music and podcasts. The author makes it super easy to understand how to get into all the features that Garageband offers. There are excellent examples and tips that will advance the knowledge of even the most experienced of Garageband users.

I particularly recommend Chapter 10 on Podcasting for anyone who wants to create professional podcasts with the greatest of ease.I had no idea Garageband could be so simple to use for podcasting, but the results speak for themselves and author, Todd Howard, does a killer job of teaching the process.

Chapter 11 is also great about mixing tracks and taking advantage of all the cool automation features you can use to get the best results from your recording sessions. Todd also demystifies the extensive library of Garageband effects and how to adjust parameters to get just the kind of unique sound you are looking for.

Garageband '08 Power! really does have it all from step-by-step procedures to serving as an instant reference guided to everything you want to know about Garageband.

This book is highly recommended to all Garageband users who want to produce professional results. And from an educational perspective, it also serves as a comprehensive tool for the novice musician to learn the basics about how to digitally record their own music with a Mac!

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Product Description:
GarageBand is one of the most powerful tools for capturing and manipulating sound that has ever been made available to the public. Although GarageBand has always been easy to use, it provides an amazing amount of power and sophistication to users who really want to dig in and get the most out of the program. GarageBand '08 Power! provides an easy to understand, detailed guide on how to make professional sounding music, podcasts, soundtracks, mixes, mashups, and much more with the newest version of GarageBand. Through the use of screenshots, tutorials, creative jumping-off points, and real world examples, the book teaches the reader how to use GarageBand to create music, record and publish podcasts and score their own movies. It's an ideal introduction for those with no prior knowledge of GarageBand, but also covers advanced topics and provides info an all the new features.

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Horizons Touched: The Music of ECM [Hardcover] Review

It has been 35 years since Manfred Eicher's brilliant ECM label released Gary Burton's and Chick Corea's wonderful collaboration Crystal Silence.It is 38 years since the label was first launched..

Since then, ECM has created and released so vast and extraordinary a collection of music - path breaking improvisational music, often jazz that does not swing -- that adventurous jazz lovers have come to know the "ECM sound."Over its lifetime so far, it has released the work of a huge range of artists, including these extraordinary albums: Oregon,Dave Holland's Prime Directive, Keith Jarrett's The Köln Concert, John Abercrombie's Timeless, Kenny Wheeler's Angel Song, Trygve Seim's Different Rivers, Ralph Towner's and Gary Burton's Matchbook, and Art Lande & Mark Isham's Rubisa Patrol.

When the Portland Jazz Festival honored the anniversary of Crystal Silence's release in February, 2007, listeners, critics and ECM representatives spent hours in lively seminars seeking words to define this ECM Sound.For me, that sound is usually abstract, pristinely clear and spare in production, often with the disciplined ambiance of chamber music, and always original.ECM is deservedly an award winning label.The Jazz Journalists Association has voted ECM the 2007 "Record Label of the Year" in its 11th Annual Jazz Awards.The Association is an international group comprised of more than 450 writers, editors, photographers, broadcasters, filmmakers, educators and other media professionals.ECM Records was also voted "Label of the Year 2007" at the MIDEM Classical Awards in Cannes.As unique and compelling as the ECM Sound is, its cover art is equally identifiable and moving.

In Horizons Touched, Steve Lake and Paul Griffiths have collected many of these images, illuminated by many statements from artists and others associated with the label, as well as those of experts contributing essays to explore aspects of the label's wide-ranging catalog. Together with shorter contributions from more than 100 musicians, 20 essays and interviews explore the ECM ethos, be it in European or American jazz, folk, experimental fare or moving fusions of genres.Design, sound engineering, film and photography and other non-musical aspects of ECMare also explored. Some pieces are analytical or historical, others are anecdotal, philosophical, or jazzily idiosyncratic.Cover and other images are sprinkled generously throughout.

The book is stunning and enriching, and will be welcomed by fans and newbies alike.It is pricey, but handsome; for anyone interested, it lives up to its cost.

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In 1969 producer Manfred Eicher founded a new record label, Edition of Contemporary Music, in Munich. More than 1,000 albums later, after many landmark recordings and new discoveries-including Keith Jarrett's best-selling "Koln Concert," Jan Garbarek's saxophone improvisations, and Estonian composer Arvo Part's profoundly moving minimalism-ECM stands as a model of musical independence unique in the history of the record industry. This portrait of the label traces how ECM set new standards with meticulously realized productions of improvised and notated music, introduced hundreds of musicians to a wider public, and has changed the way music is played, recorded, and perceived. Much more than a conventional label history, this stunningly illustrated tome celebrates and reflects on the ways in which ECM has grown and changed from its origins in jazz to contemporary classical, and from medieval chant to free jazz and traditional folk music from around the world. It includes extensive interviews with Manfred Eicher, more than 20 specially commissioned essays by an international line-up of music journalists and writers, and more than 100 contributions from artists, composers, designers, and engineers who have worked with the label, and whose voices form an oral history in counterpoint.



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Producing and Mixing Contemporary Jazz (Book & DVD) [Paperback] Review

The theory is great, and i was all for the concepts explained in this book.In practice though, I thought the final mixes that I listened too on the dvd were a bit harsh, when compared to the likes of Michel Camillo.By any means not bad, just a little more "rock" than I would've liked.A great production none-the-less.

I found the book to be rather short and would've liked to get a more in-depth view at mixing each song separately, instead of simply the instruments as they appeared one by one.Relatively short and to the point, yet not exactly step-by-step as advertised...

Great to get you started on different mixing techniques on Jazz, though not nearly enough input for the more advanced...

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Product Description:
Expert producer/engineer Dan Moretti leads you step by step through the producing and mixing processes. Learn how different techniques - from mic placement to EQ - help you create authentic-sounding and inspiring jazz mixes. The accompanying DVD-ROM provides practice tracks and reference recordings so that you can practice matching finished mixes, in a variety of jazz styles.

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