Chris Rutkowski, Composer/Pianist

This woman’s got it all

Why is it that the European TV organizations get such a good sound? Here’s a great performance of the young Aretha with excellent miking.

Recently our Jazz Ensemble at IPFW did an entire concert of Frank Zappa’s music, brilliantly arranged by saxophonist Ed Palermo for big band, which I recorded and mixed. This concert transformed me from an admirer to a full blown convert. Here’s a somewhat fuzzy video of a concert in Barcelona, but the audio is good enough. Ensemble performance has always been stunning, all the way back to the Mothers of Invention days, but it’s really good here. Zappa picks up the conductor’s baton and reminds us that this is classical music too.

Digital Sampling programs like Kontakt and Vienna Symphonic Library have gotten so realistic and organic that this direction taken by Pat Metheny provides a really interesting twist.

The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band: 1969, Rotterdam.

What a line up: Roland Hanna, Richard Davis, Pepper Adams. Perfect Ensemble. Great Solos. Total Control. Total Swing.

How sweet is this:

John McLaughlin killin it. Katia Lebecque jammin on a vintage Synclavier.

Here’s an example of what you can do with a good relatively inexpensive video program (e. g., Final Cut Express, c. $150 academic) and a Digital Audio Workstation that will do video (Logic, $500).

To follow this thread from the beginning, follow this link.

Here are all three movements of the Sax Concerto gathered together in one place.

Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble
The Indiana University Wind Ensemble, Stephen Pratt, conductor
Thomas Walsh, alto saxophone

1. Rage
2. La Luna d’Oro
3. NOLA