Recorded A Big Band With 3 People.

We did a little experiment with our little 3-piece horn section.

We wanted to see if we could record a big band in an afternoon.

One man a section. No preparation time, sight reading galore!

Here's the result! We think it went pretty well (sound-wise atleast, time/feel is perhaps not optimal as this was just an impromptu experiment) so now we're thinking of doing a couple more tunes for real and perhaps pulling an album together.

http://soundcloud.co...l/jersey-bounce

Please tell me what you think!

Dude, this is really quite impressive, especially for a random experiment.

What was your process for this - did you lay down rhythm and leads in one take and then layer in the section parts?

I know a couple guys who've done whole albums like that; i.e. part by part - not usually with the same guy playing each part, but still. I guess the argument against using the same person on each part is that the parts blend too perfectly and it starts to sound a little weird. It comes across a bit in your experiment during sax soli/unison sections.

Either way, a very cool concept and a fun project.

Dude, this is really quite impressive, especially for a random experiment.

What was your process for this - did you lay down rhythm and leads in one take and then layer in the section parts?

I know a couple guys who've done whole albums like that; i.e. part by part - not usually with the same guy playing each part, but still. I guess the argument against using the same person on each part is that the parts blend too perfectly and it starts to sound a little weird. It comes across a bit in your experiment during sax soli/unison sections.

Either way, a very cool concept and a fun project.

We grabbed a drummer, a bassist and a pianist and gave them a sheet and recorded them ;) They were in a hurry so they faked alot.

We then spent the rest of the afternoon recording the horns one section a time, starting with the Saxes then Trombones and lastly the Trumpets.

We tried to get around the "blending"-issue by changing our equipment as much as we could, which partly solved it.

Our trumpetist changed her mouthpieces.

Our saxophonist didn't have anything to change to so he played with his regular gear.

I played the lead trombone with a King 2B with a Bach 12C.

2nd Trombone with the same 2B but with a 7C.

3rd Trombone with a King 3B

4th with a Conn 88H

When we do it for real we'll have more time to plan and get it right (my solo was shite :P). But yeah it was fun!

We're planning to do a "Best of Big Band"-esque album with all the classics like Take the A-train, Jumpin at the woodside, Lil' Darlin ect. :)

We tried to get around the "blending"-issue by changing our equipment as much as we could, which partly solved it.

...

Our saxophonist didn't have anything to change to so he played with his regular gear.

I see - might be why I only slightly noticed it in the saxophones. ;)

Well done!

Glad you liked it dude :)