New recordings

[joel kelsey]

Hey everyone,

I posted two new tracks on my myspace page. The tracks are "What Was" and "Matrix" both by Chick Corea. If anyone wants to give me any advice/ constructive critism, I would greatly appreciate it. I am happy with the sound of the bass, but not so sure about the playing or mix.
www.myspace.com/joelwkelsey

Thanks in advance,

Joel

[Marc Piane]

Man. Great playing. The group has a real nice thing. All of you are doing some really keen listening and interacting. Please don't move to Chicago m'kay.

As far as mix. I'd mix the hi-hat a bit lower on Matrix. When you guys start swinging it is a little much for me. It sounds good on What Was. For that matter I think the drums are a touch hot in general. I'd also consider a bit of compression on the drums. I dislike the use of compression in jazz but some of the transients on the drums overpower stuff.


Great stuff man.

[joel kelsey]

Marc,
Thanks for listening and thanks for the kind words. Funny how you mentioned that the drums are hot. He is the one that organized the session and did the rough mix....

I was very surprised at where the engineer placed the bass mic. He put the mic a few inches in front of the fingerboard up near where the octave would be (say between the f and g on the g string). I am happy with the sound, even though I feel like the bass could be a tiny bit louder. However, I feel like we are all overplaying. When it comes to Chick's music I really don't know what to do. In fact, lately I don't really know what to play at all. How do you guys approach trio playing?

[Dr. Zoidberg]

I can't really offer advice but "What Was" sounds killer!

[Marc Piane]

Well... at least for me I don't play anything unless it's on purpose. By that I mean that we often play things, especially when things are a little out, that mark time or fill space. In general we (as bass players) are afraid of gaping holes. I try to resist the urge to just play something and think of space as a note too. I know that sounds cliche but it works.

This is of course effected by the other players and especially the drummer. You can be as interactive as you want but if the drummer is banging four on the floor you end up sounding off. I did two gigs this week with the same piano player but different drummer. Totally changed the chemistry of the trio.

My fav newer guys to listen to for interactive trio stuff... Drew Gress, Francois Moutin, Larry Grenadier, Ben Street, Matt Penman, Johanes Weidenmueller, Aishai Cohen, etc. And of course Gary, Miroslav, Scotty, , etc

[bolo]

Joel,

Killer stuff bro. Real, real nice job w/ some challenging material. You could have come up in the mix like you said. I dig your sound and your playing, and the whole group's interaction and delivery. Real nice indeed.

[joel kelsey]

Steve,

Thanks for listening. I was hoping to get into a discussion of trio concepts. I just don't feel like I know what I am doing when it comes to the technical aspects of playing bass, soloing, or interacting in a group. I am curious about what other bass players are thinking about when it comes to these issues.

[Marc Piane]

You sound great and I think people are hesitant to discuss much 'cause I'm not sure most of us (or at least me) could have done much better. Different but not better.

Why don't you pose a more specific question and see if that gets some responses.

[bolo]

Joel, I agree w/ Marc. You and your group make a real good sound bro.

Actually I am in one setting where I am kind of in the same boat as you, maybe. The piano player has a PhD in composition, and he has a great knack for suggesting non-standard approaches and arrangements to standard tunes. He is pushing me, and I like it. But I often feel I am falling back on my tried and true approaches, not being really inventive. I think I may just need to listen to some more contemporary trios. He definitely wants the trio format.

[Treyzer]

Nice job...like your feel and your walking lines...great time...sounds like your bass is a good sounding bass but maybe a bit back in the mix or maybe it's just my cheesy sound system.. Anyway...Well done