"The client" asked a composition that is
- jazz song
- with hi-speed
- theme: "spring cleaning"
- includes some sort of chaos
To be a jazz song, I quess it should have
- jazzy groove
- improvisational elements
And typically jazz improvisations happens around
- some composed theme
So, from this list I used following criterias when I was thinking the feedback and the points.
Composed theme
Jazzy groove
Hi-speed
Improvisational elements
Chaotical elements
Overall comments
Other values
I left out the theme, because it was too difficult for me to evaluate if the "cleaning theme" was musically expressed.
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KukoBass
The opening piano (5 s) is a bit uncertain, but after that starts this month's best riff. Very cool. But at the same time it's so dominant that your song gets prisoned by this riff. Later the trumpet comes in and tries to take the leading role, but without succeeding in it. Listening attention stays firmly in that organ riff. Even though I'd like to listen what other instruments do. Check the Pink Panther Theme Song. It has a similar extremely dominant riff. But that riff is taken down as the verse ends, and other instruments can freely improvise around that main theme. And later it comes back.
Your drummer surely knows his stuff. Great jazz drums with hi-hat-beat and nice syncopation hits with the snare here and there. Just perfect. Maybe a bit slow tempo for this competition. As the drums are stereo, they give nice modern sound for this small jazz ensemble.
I was expecting the organ player to go wild in some part, but unfortunately he/she stays rigidly in the main riff. So, also his playing seems to be prisoned by the main riff.
The piano doesn't swing with the rest of the band. It feels as if the player feels uncertain of what to play.
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MellowBrowne
Cool starting rhythm. Jungle jazz about to start. But after some time that rhythm starts to feel a bit too dominating. After some time, as a constant background it doesn't feel jazz at all.
I feel that around 1.00 some musical changes should come. So, song needs more variations.
Around 1.40 cymbals give more jazzy feeling. But around here the cool starting rhythm starts to feel a bit annoying. Maybe you could add another more relaxed drum pattern along with that more demanding pattern. Switching between them could give nice relaxed listening experience.
My overall feeling is that his more like a cool experimental backing track where the main instrument is purposely muted. Ie. the listener should add the improvisational lines.
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VCA-089
I had a mixed feeling with this one. First I didn't get it at all, but after a couple of listenings I started to feel that it's actually pretty good. Maybe with even more listening rounds I might have found some new levels.
Overall feeling is jazzy to me, with an interesting electro-twist in it. Well, at the same time it was slightly distracting. As a jazz listener one expects the emphasis to be on the interpretation side. The sonic character of the first lead instrument (that zembalo-like sound) didn't feel so expressive from the players point of view. Maybe that sound was more suitable to some supporting background role. The next distorted instrument had a much more expressive sound.
Overall listening feeling was that the song is maybe slightly lacking in structure. It was a bit difficult to distinguish the parts. Maybe the chords playing piano felt too static, or even mouse-written. But then came the superb ending with tempo change. And that was something. After that I realized that you should have shown similar relaxed musical virtuosity also in the first part of the song. The ending part flows naturally musically, while the starting part has some sort of theoretical stagnation in it.
In your previous submissions I have heard some sonic superskills from you. To my ears, this one didn't have similar sonic levels, but on the other hand the ending showed you have also musical virtuosity within you. If in your forthcoming submissions you manage to put them out at the same time, you'll surely be creating something very unique.
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becseigyorgy
This one is clearly the one with ambitions and many levels. There are nice changes of mood. Full of ideas. Separate piano part. Marimba comes in just in the right time, etc.
After that great horn intro, starts a drum part, little like Benny Goodman's "Sing, Sing, Sing" with wild rhythms. It creates a nice feeling that something is about to come.
After some time the drums start to feel too dominating, and maybe too monotonic or too looping. Sonically, maybe those drums could be 5 metres from the listener, with more room sound and less transients. Check that Benny Goodman's drum riff. Every now and then those drums go back to more relaxed swing. And when they come back, they give the needed energy lift at that moment. The same trick might work here. That way you would provide more wow-effects to the listener.
Horns starting around 1.00 feel a bit like mechanic machine. Around here there are some groove problems. As if the horns or marimba is playing straight 8-parts while other instruments are more in a swing feel.
Somewhere around 2.00 my attention gets lost. Your band changes into the improvisational mode. As if everybody forgets the song. It gets a bit chaotic. Well, that was asked in the competiton task, but maybe it could be more musical chaos?
Some irrelevant comments. In the opening part the trumpet's vibrato like effect feels a little mechanic on/off effect. If you can automate some ease-in-ease-out feeling to it, it would be more natural.
Also some horn parts feel sonically quite synthetic.
But overall excellent. I would say: forget the competition theme and the jazz, and let your musical instinct dominate the direction for this song. You'll end up with a great and wholly coherent song.
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EsteveCorbera
This clearly has the best jazz improvisation feelings of this month provided by the piano player. Very nice and 100% jazz lines there. Well done!
There's a nice jazzy chord progression but at the same time this song feels to lack the main theme. It's never introduced, for also the singer goes directly to improvisational tricks. Actually that "yabba dabba doo" -singin starts to feel a bit annoying after certain time, for without the main theme it starts to feel irrelevant mouth playing, not like an improvisation around the main theme.
The pianist has a clear vision what jazz is. But that creates a big contrast with the drummer. As if the drummer brought only the ride cymbal and forgot to take the rest of the kit with him/her. Most of the time he/she plays just steady 1/4 notes with the ride cymbal. So, no swing at all there. Later another drummer comes in, but he plays only simple hits with the hi-hat. Maybe these drummers were picked randomly from the audience as a part of the live show. But that pianist surely rescues the show. Despite the drummers, the feeling is still very jazz.
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GamaGama
Great main theme you have here. You surely have an ear for nice melody lines and supporting chord changes. But after about 30 seconds I start to miss the next phase or the next mode of your song. And it never comes.
But anyway, I love that guitar playing. Nice double notes. But at the same time, as the song moves on, that guitar playing somewhat stagnates the song. I'm longing for the improvisational moments. Maybe there should be parts where guitarist does some single note runs. Well, I know that Chet Atkins style is not one of the easiest, but listen to how he smoothly changes from steady harmonized simple beats to free and flowing single note picking.
Drums are well done, but a bit slow tempo for this months competition
Bass feels overcompressed. Maybe the problem is in the sample library, but still it feels as if the noise of the strings is pumped up by the compressor.
But then comes that cool "trumpet". Now the true jazz starts. And now comes in the brave part of this month. My attention level rose up immediately. That was the surprise I'll remember the best afterwards from this month's submissions. Idea: how about first singing some "cool improvised guitar fills", and after that try to find a way to play them note-by-note and with the same attitude with your guitar.
► Show Spoiler
1. (10 pts) - becseigyorgy
2. (9 pts) - VCA-089
3. (8 pts) - GamaGama
4. (7 pts) - EsteveCorbera
5. (6 pts) - KukoBass
6. (5 pts) - MellowBrowne
How do we go from there?