jim anderson

The album was called "Movement Soul:Live Recordings of Songs and Sayings from the Freedom Movement in..." and was originally released by ESP. Here's the All Music link: http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:09foxqyhldse Here's the Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000005TD...1-4&seller= When the CD version was released, David was interviewed by Terry Gross on Fresh Air. I've heard the interview, but haven't been able to locate a link for listening. The reason I do this blog, is primarily from David. When I first came to town, David and I were talking. He had heard my work on NPR's Jazz Alive! and was interested in getting to know me. We talked about technique and other engineers. He said to me: "There's no magic, when it comes to audio engineering, and anyone who tries to hide anything from you really doesn't know what they're doing." He was open to talking about technique and I've tried to follow his lead.

David Baker and I were good friends from the time I came to New York (1982) until his passing. Photographer John Abbot took a shot of us up in Avatar Studio C in June of 2004. I was working downstairs and he was up in C. He was engineering a live 5.1 session. Of course, it sounded great. He was 58 and died July 14, 2004. He was in Rochester, NY working on a project and had an apparent heart attack in the night. I wrote a column for the AES Journal and I'll post it, here. It's on the other computer in the office. There are some recordings that we engineered for producer Bob Belden: "Shades of Blue" + "Shades of Red" Bob liked the idea that on one recording you could compare the work (all 2 track) of David Baker, myself, James Farber, James Nichols, Patrick Smith, Rudy van Gelder, etc. I feel the exceptional recording is Dave's opening track of Maiden Voyage with Dianne Reeves. It doesn't even sound like he's using microphones.

The general artifact with dbx was 'breathing' due to the heavy compression of the compander. If I remember correctly, the compression ratio was 2:1. The 16 track was probably a Tascam 1" machine. dbx was in the machine. The distortion can sometimes come from pushing the headroom of the noise reduction card. That's why, today, Dolby recommends 185nw as the record level for Dolby SR. Raising the level on tape doesn't gain anything except the potential of distortion. The thing about dbx was that it was said that the playback machine output level didn't require calibration. Perhaps that was true, but what they didn't say was that if there was a mismatch in the playback eq, there were serious consequences. There was an album released on the Arista Freedom label (can't remember the artist) in the mid 70's where the dbx master tape wasn't decoded in mastering. Needless to say, the vinyl was unlistenable. I did make one recording in the 80's with the Telecom noise reduction system. Now, that's obscure. Interesting, that when I would use Neumann U47's and U49's the comment from the musician was that it the sound was 'bright.' I've taken to using various ribbons: Coles, RCA's and haven't had the 'bright' comment in a while.

Not to turn this into an 'old fart remembers' site, but I attended an AES meeting in Washington DC, in 1975, where dbx demonstrated their dbx Disc, a vinyl dbx encoded disc, for audio engineers from the area. At the time, it was an impressive demonstration of what was possible on a vinyl disc. Needless to say, it didn't catch on.

Hi. Sorry for the delay. I've been in the studio working on a couple of projects. To comment on Allen's note. I'd actually say that Dolby A was ubiquitous, over DBX. The Dolby system was first on the market and DBX never really got a foothold (at least it was that way in New York). That's not to say it wasn't used. I can only think of one project where I used it on the multitrack (Night Ark "Moments" for RCA/Novus - I engineered and David Baker produced). If I remember, we used the Sony F1 digital recording system for the master. The memory's a little foggy, here, (it was 1988) because we may have used the Dolby SR for the 2 track master (Dolby SR had just been introduced and Dave and I were interested in giving it a go. We couldn't get enough SR cards for the 24 track - the F1 might have been the back-up to the SR) Mastering was by Bob Ludwig. DBX was a good system, if you could maintain your tape machines, properly. Frankly, this could be said for any outboard noise reduction system. We used it at NPR in the 70's as well as Dolby A. The new Patricia Barber album, "The Cole Porter Mix," was recorded 24/96 in ProTools and mixed to 24/96 as well as 1/2" Dolby SR. I've taken to making sure we have an analogue back-up for her projects, since her recordings generally come out in 5 different formats (Redbook CD, XR-CD, SACD, 33 vinyl, 45 vinyl) and those extra formats generally like using the analogue for their mastering. For my use, I make the analogue transfer back to 24/96 at the mixing session. The mastering engineer chose the transfer to digital of the analogue over the 24/96 original digital file. The analogue transfer felt 'grounded' and was the version of choice. The recording in question (that you've all been waiting for) was one of a series that I've made for FIM of original Chinese instruments. In fact, we've used the analogue back-up for the stereo of all the releases (along with the 1/2" Dolby SR other formats have also included 1" 2 track for the stereo) along with the digital multi-channel layer. http://www.fimpression.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=10 Although, thinking back, you'd be surprised how many 2 track masters are 1/4" and not 1/2". Best, Jim

Shawn, The difference between 16 and 24 bit is dramatic, just as is the difference between 44.1kHz and 96kHz (and higher!). I always try to record in the highest resolution possible. I had an interesting thing happen when were mastering a project that had been recorded with the Sonoma system. Here's a recording that's been made with DSD (2.8 something million times per second) and I had also made a simultaneous analogue back-up (1/2" tape, 15ips, Dolby SR). We had been listening to the DSD for most of the morning and mastering engineer, Paul Stubblebine, said to me: "Let's check the analogue." After a couple of seconds he looked at me and said: "What do you think?" I said: "The digital sounds like a really good recording and the analogue sounds like someone playing music." He agreed. On the SACD release, the stereo layer is from the tape and the surround is from the Sonoma.

By the way, if anyone likes to get in the fray: http://www.popsci.com/entertainment-gaming...y-better?page=1 Here's the article: Are Records Really Better? The FYI experts tackle the question that plagues every audiophile By Corey Binns Posted 07.03.2008 at 12:43 pm 15 Comments Sorry, vinyl aficionados, but CDs most accurately capture the clarity of musical performances. If you look at the grooves of a standard long-play record, or LP, through a microscope, you’ll see that each is filled with what look like rolling hills. These are, in fact, an extremely close replication of the shape of the sound waves from the musician’s instrument. But because the needle that carves the groove is shaped slightly different than the needle that reads it, the LP will never sound exactly like the original performance. (Not to mention that changes in temperature and humidity warp vinyl over time.) The mathematical data encoded on a CD, however, is a nearly exact representation of the original sound. Comparing an LP and a CD made from the same microphone signal, the LP’s groove must perfectly match the signal to sound close to CD-quality, which is almost impossible, says Stanley Lipshitz, who studies electro-acoustics and digital-signal processing in the Audio Research Group at the University of Waterloo in Canada. Even so, some audiophiles claim to hear a natural sound, vaguely described as “musical warmth,” when listening to vinyl. What they’re hearing, Lipshitz says, is most likely the deficiencies of the record player. Sound waves from the speakers and the needle’s rise-and-fall passage over the grooves cause the LP to vibrate. The needle picks up these extra vibrations and adds them to the music, creating the “fullness” that’s associated with LPs. “Some people mistake this defect for a virtue,” Lipshitz says. But when it comes to portable music, people stuff their iPods with tunes of far worse quality than either CDs or LPs. MP3s are compressed files that cut as much as 90 percent of the sound from the original recording, by using computer models of human hearing and removing subtle sounds that most of us don’t realize we’re missing. A compressed recording of a French horn, for example, might lack the slight reverberations from the concert hall. Instead of filling his digital music player with thousands of songs of crummy sound quality, Grammy Award–winning producer Jim Anderson keeps his iPod stocked with just 55 songs in an uncompressed format, including jazz pianist Keith Jarrett’s epic live solo concerts in Germany. (Anderson prefers the lossless AIFF format, in which one minute of stereo audio occupies 10 megabytes.) “If I were to cut the CD down to an MP3, I’d be throwing out all the stuff in the room that makes the piano sound as full as it does,” says Anderson, who is also chair of the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music at New York University. “I hear the piano exactly as it was at the concert.”

Actually, I should be clearer: I do improvise but I've also sent in a prepared set up and input list in advance of the session. The assistants would really go ballistic if I didn't give them some direction ahead of time. It's the tweaks that come to mind when I'm in transit. I like to remember the John Carter sessions of the late 1980's, when I think of improvisation. We recorded 4 albums for Gramavision and they were classics of their day. Before a take, John would talk down the piece before it was to be recorded. Sometimes, it might take 2 or 3 hours for him to clearly describe to his musicians his plan before he'd run the piece for recording. This was 'free music' but with great elements of structure. It all worked because the musicians knew where they were starting and where they were going when tape started rolling. In the end there was always one take! Once I had a clock rolling in the studio. After a while, the producer asked me what the time showing on the clock meant. I said "That's the last time we heard music." The clock was showing something like 2 hours 45 minutes. Talk about improvising! And structure.

Interesting point. I like to improvise on the set-up (much to the dismay of the studio assistants), when I arrive at the studio. I usually get my ideas when riding the subway to the studio or the final walk from the subway to the front door of the studio. Generally, the improvisation is an improvement on the set-up I would have sent to the studio in advance. Although, I usually have a preconceived notion of the sound of a project before I begin.

And you can imagine what it was like to be prepared for recording that session. We never had any idea what he was going to play until just before the piece and if he might vocalize, etc. The first album was the first time I'd used the Brauner microphones - VM-1. It was what convinced me to purchase them. And shortly thereafter purchased 2 more. Making it 2 matched pairs that I use to this day. The Brauner is my vocal microphone of choice (Patricia Barber, etc.)

Don't have anything to add here, just catching up on this thread, but did want to say I love that Milford album. I haven't heard the second, but the first is a favorite. I've been playing for 20+ years and I can't wrap my head around much of what he's doing on that disc. Both of those albums were tracked/performed live, recorded/mixed live, each in one afternoon. Milford is amazing.

Hi. I hope you'll forgive the delay in responding. We graduated our next group of students at NYU and I've attended the AES Convention in Amsterdam. Since I was in Europe, I was invited to teach at the University of Luleå's Music Technology School in Piteå, Sweden. About Derek's recording, we made two, if I remember, and if it's the one from Avatar Studios (Studio A), that was a Neumann USM 69 on his guitar. That recording may not have been released. It was done the morning before John's "Cobra" recording (2002?), which was in that afternoon. So, the memory of that day is a little hectic. There was another recording with Derek, along with a pipa duet, as well. Those were recorded at Clinton Recording, Studio A, and I was using the Sanken CU-41 for Derek. I had found the USM 69 to work extremely well on pipa. (Now there's an esoteric piece of information for you.) I had used it on one of Zorn's Filmworks projects (Filmworks 8?), with pipa. (Another piece of esoterica: an SM 57 on pipa works well for PA. Situate the mic perpendicular to the head, just below the bow.) On guitar, 12th fret (4th up from the sound hole) is my go to position. I don't mess around with the neck or below the sound hole. I sometimes do either an X-Y or a single mic there, depending upon the role of the instrument in the track (take a listen to the new Patricia Barber "Cole Porter Mix" to hear the Sanken CU-41's in X-Y on a Hauser guitar) The Jay Hoggard recording was originally done for NPR's radio program, Jazz Alive!, at the Public Theatre. My memory of that recording scheme is quite good. Why? I'm not sure. It was a Neumann USM 69 in X-Y as a main pick-up, flanked by 2 U-87's, left and right. The microphones were mixed on a Studer mixer to a Nagra IV-S (portable stereo recorder), no outside reverb, eq, etc. used. The original LP release was on India Navagation (which I have). Has this been re-released on CD? If I were recording this, today, I would probably not use a condenser microphone as my main pickup for vibraphone. Experience has taught me to use ribbons or dynamics for most percussion of this type (I say MOST, because I would still use condenser omni's for percussion toys - B&K (DPA) 4007's, for example). Coles 4038's, RCA 77DX or RCA 44, or SM 57, even, for vibes, etc., these days. They tend to reproduce the tone and not the attack, or the strike, of the mallet to the instrument.

Hi Clarke, Thanks for the nice words. In the studio, I look for a monitor that allows me to hear the problems in a recording or in a mix: too much bass, too little bass, noises, clicks, pops, etc. all mostly unmusical things. I feel that I'm not listening "to" the speakers, but "through" the speakers. Very Zen-like, don't you think? I say that because, sometimes I have to use monitors that either I don't like or aren't used to. When I mixed first the Von Freeman album, I had to use Mackie monitors. They tend to be a bit bass heavy and when mixing you need to take that into consideration, otherwise your mix will be bass light. Most of the David Murray recordings were mixed on Electro-Voice EV-100's. Sometime during that period, I crossed over to the Meyer HD-1's (on one of the George Adams albums for Somethin' Else/EMI/Blue Note, I'm certain.) At home, I'm looking for something completely musical. My home system (in the living room) is a Wilson Audio Watt/Puppie set that I've had for about 15 years - along with the Wamm Subwoofer. When I listen to music, there, I completely forget about listening technically. There, I can concentrate on the musical things in a recording. I first heard this system at my friend, Randy Ezratty's, house. I was listening to the album "Elis & Tom" and heard things in the music that I'd never heard before. I knew, then, that I had to have something like that in my home. Frank Wess called me up and asked what I was listening to and I suggested he go and listen to the Wilson Watt/Puppies. The next time I saw him in the studio he said "I hate you." I didn't know what he was talking about. "You made me spend all that money on speakers!" Funny, but I had the same experience with Akira Taguchi, producer for JVC. He hates me, too, for spending all that money. Speakers are an acquired taste and I'm not insisting that you spend all that money (mine were factory seconds for a slight cabinet blemish in the back left corner of one of them - so I saved a lot!) I've also got a system in the dining room which consists of old large Advents (the original Large Advent from 30 years ago - or more) and those were the staple of many recording engineer's home systems as I was coming up. I hope that gets some comments flowing. Best, jim By the way Fred Kaplan just review the new Zorn project that I recorded: http://blog.stereophile.com/fredkaplan/043008jazz/

Both of those Milford Graves albums (and almost of everything else for Tzadik) were recorded in one day and direct to stereo, also. There's a new Bar Kokhba album: "Lucifer: Book of Angels Volume 10", that I'd welcome coments on.

I worked with Andrew on the 4 John Carter Gramavision albums of the late 1980's ("Castles of Ghana", "Fields", etc.) and he played on many David Murry albums, too. The two Milford albums for Tzadik are the only times I worked with him.

And here's the other

Speaking of interesting percussion, there's two solo albums that I did with Milford Graves on Tzadik, that you might like.

My only suggestion: Use them sparingly. Like salt, a little goes a long way.

Deal.

Those cymbals make 'sheets of sound' that can be quite powerful and overpowering. In the hands of the wrong person, they can be used for 'evil', instead of for good. With Matt, there's no issue.

Exactly like that! Times 2

Hi Bill, I'd never add (or never think to add) phasing to Matt's cymbals. They're a new type of cymbal that was made for him by Zildjan, I believe. If you can imagine taking a pair of cymbals and making a spiral cut in them so that the spiral drops about 6' to the floor, that's what you're hearing. This was the first time he had recorded with them and I've seen him use them in concert, as well. You end up with a very large sound image (about 6' worth) and I think the Sanken CU-41 microphones that I used on his cymbals reproduced the effect, nicely. It's a totally acoustic effect. Those are my favorite kinds of effects. Best, Jim

In my opinion, more sonic information, is more sonic information, regardless of whether it's an orchestral recording or a small jazz group.

Thanks Bill, I'll look forward to reading your reactions. I think Jane's choice of the ballad as the first tune was a brilliant one. In the past, those tunes would get buried in the sequence. This one allows people to see what a truly expressive player she is. Jim

Bill, Any reaction to the MP3 on "Mental Weather"? There's some bits, there, that don't appear on the album, but help to create the transitions. Jim