Paul Read News

Jazz Pianist Renee Rosnes has completed her one week stay with us at the University of Toronto. CONFIRMED: She is a take-your-breath-away soloist (knew it already), an exciting composer (knew it), a FIRST RATE educator (did NOT know this) and an absolutely generous spirit (sensed it, and had heard this ahead of time) and it was wonderful to know her a bit. Hopefully she will be back to Toronto soon. DO NOT PASS UP THE CHANCE TO HEAR HER.

Too tired to write much more although I am so tempted…

Later

Paul

One of the world’s leading jazz pianists and composers comes to visit the University of Toronto this week. Renee has been a favourite of mine for many years. Her bio is one way to find out about her, but why not come by and hear her play live with Terry Clarke and Neil Swainson this week and then hear her as featured soloist with the University of Toronto 10 O’clock Jazz Orchestra. The rehearsals have been just wonderful so I think this is a do not miss event!!. And I am conducting the jazz orchestra which means that for an hour or so I will get to participate in something pretty wonderful. Nice to think about good things!!

http://www.reneerosnes.com/

The extraordinary pianist and composer Renee Rosnes clearly enjoys the challenge and freedom of playing jazz in numerous formats. Her eight previous Blue Note recordings featured her, brilliantly, in smaller ensembles. Now, on her ninth Blue Note release, Renee Rosnes and the Danish Radio Big Band, Rosnes mines the experience gained during her impressive tenures with both the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band and The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. Renee Rosnes and the Danish Radio Big Band puts her in the spotlight with the revered Copenhagen ensemble, and reveals her capacity to shine within a jazz orchestra context.

Rosnes grew up in Vancouver and began formal piano studies at age three, followed by violin lessons two years later. Her evident talents and love for music led her to the University of Toronto, where she was a Classical Performance student, and to on-the-job training on the Vancouver club circuit before she came to NYC in 1986 on a grant from the Canada Council of the Arts. Rosnes was soon tapped for a series of high-profile gigs with jazz masters such as Johnson, Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter, James Moody and others. Since her Blue Note debut in 1989, guests on subsequent releases reveal a veritable pantheon of jazz greats, including Herbie Hancock, Shorter, Henderson, Branford Marsalis, Chris Potter, Nicholas Payton, Jack DeJohnette and Christian McBride. She has earned three Junos (the Canadian equivalent of the Grammy Award) and two Jazz Report awards for Best Jazz Album for earlier Blue Note releases.

Hope you can make it out to one of the events. Here is a schedule Or you can get it from this link: http://www.paulread.ca/images/RosnesSchedule.pdf

Paul

A DAW in the midi world is a Digital Audio Workstation. There are many. The one I LOVE is Digital Performer 4.6 (mark of the Unicorn or MOTU as we like to call it is the maker) but I think only available for the MAC. It is a complete recording studio under one roof with automated mixing, nearly limitless midi and audio tracks available (depending on your computer). Bouncing from one track to another is available and the automation and audio editing features are outstanding. You can Master your final product and while there are many DAWS to choose from, this is clearly a frontrunner. But certainly check out other ones like CUBASE, or Logic (which is now put out by Apple) and ProTools and SONAR and on and on.

DP4.6 offers loads of plug ins for seriously professional reverb etc. (I use an pricey but wonderful third party product called Altiverb 5 – a Netherlands made convolusion reverb system that allows you to use specific reverbs which take you into real places like studios, concert halls around the world where they have done a remarkable job of giving you many options to choose from).

Here is the gear I use at the moment: G5 dual 2GHz, 4Gb SDRAM, OS10.4.3, Finale 2006a, Digital Performer 4.6, Altiverb 5, Yamaha S90, Built-in audio, Reason 3, M-Audio Ozone, Giovani, Symphonic Choirs, Kontakt 2. GPO, JABB.

More later

Paul

If you saw my earlier posting about Jim Brosnan’s definitive baseball book, and my being completely nuts about it, this is just one of those lovely little cooincidences life passes along. As anyone who reads my blog (there MIGHT be somebody) knows I have a liking for old baseball games and am particularly fond of the middle 40s to the mid 60s, but that’s okay. Anyway I decided to listen to a game from 1958 between the Chicago Cubs and the Brooklyn Dodgers. The starting pitcher for Chicago was Dick Drott and the opposing pitcher was the inestimable Sandy Koufax. Anyway they got into a bit of a strikeout duel. Koufax had struck out 13 Cubbies in their last meeting and Drott was no slouch either. But as luck would have it, or should I say as Baseball would have it, the Cubbies fell behind and a relief pitcher was called in. None other than 6′4″ Jim Brosnan. When they announced his name I alsomost swallowed the toothpick in my olive (just kidding – no drinking of the nectar of gin and vermouth soaked anything these days!) Vin Scully was one of the announcers and I think it was he that gave some history on the man. But there I was listening as Brosnan came into the game and through careful pitching and excellent defense (a double play) they got out of the inning without any damage.

Fun stuff. I think that game is available at RUSC.com. It’s a subscription site and not too costly. The have a limited number of baseball games available (all GOOD) but there is more to be found at MLB.com. But be careful if you are a Mac user. The digital downloads come with DRM licenses and won’t play on a Mac even under Virtual PC. Microsoft’s decision apparently….the bums.

Paul

Hi. Decided to post this here as rumour mills grind quickly and inaccurately many times. Due to health issues I am back in Toronto early from the IAJE conference in NYC but more as a precaution than anything. I have had to suddenly and completey discontinue a drug that should be stopped over time and the results have been a real trip down the rabbit hole. Nevertheless, Trish and I are confident in all that is going on and I will be returning to full duties at the University of Toronto next week.

Thanks for stopping by the site. No new downloads today although I am working on a few projects off and on and hope to get some new stuff up soon.

Paul