Bilbo

You guys need to join a Jazz band. The audiences are never big enough for us to NEED a PA or soundman.

No idea :-D

A close run all the way. Paul and I were both only one vote each away from a four way tie. What this says to me is that, whatever gear is available to us, it is the ideas that matters and that, with a little thought, anyone can come up with a credible composition. Well done all.

My set up is essentially an old version of Cubase SX, Sibelius 2, some Vst instruments I can barely use, an audio interface, a mic, five guitars, two electric basses and a double bass. I increasingly find I am leaving the VSTs alone and just recording real acoustic and electric instruments. The IT based stuff just takes me so long to bear fruit compared to a straight guitar.

I used to run a Jazz jam session at the Four Bars Inn years ago. It moved to the Sandringham Hotel but I don't know if it is still running. Why not approach the Cardiff music shops and ask if they know of any sessions?

Different tune every gig.

What gear do you all use? Whatever I can find. Do you use a pro studio at work, or is it done at home on a studio held together with string and chewing-gum? The string and chewing gum model in my case. How long do you spend on it? It varies but usually several hours. What's the creative process and how do you put it together? I walk around for days mulling over ideas until something plausible presents itself and I then try and manufacture something that sounds like my original idea. How can somebody do this on a shoe-string budget? Guerilla Recording. I have submitted everything from one take on a Zoom H1 to stuff I emailed to a friend to add real drums on HIS home studio. SKol has gone international at times. It's all part of the fun.

Discipline, my friend. Discipline.

[quote name='keeponehandloose' timestamp='1485605038' post='3225230'] My internet is a bit slow !@@ [/quote] I actually laughed out loud.

Voted. Me too. I always look for a soundtrack.

http://youtu.be/LcHIvCTyeWo

http://youtu.be/9_Ab0ci6UGQ So many to chose from.

Lee Sklar.

You are always welcome at Jazz East events, mate. Come down any time and we can talk sh*t 'live' instead of on here!!!

That Suitcase album is absolutely superb. AJ is so far in advance of most players in terms of harmony and note choices, it's unreal.

My wife bought me a Harley Benton electric acoustic for Christmas. It's great. I am really enjoying it.

Andy Watson is down that way. I would recommend him highly.

Bass. It's a f***er.

Most musicians continue to play long after they have moved away from any limelight, however dim, they may have once enjoyed but there are some that just walk away. I remember loving Andy Mccullogh, the drummer from prog legends Greenslade. He left the music industry and went into sailing, running some sort of maritime tourist thing in the Med (or something like that). Seems a shame to me but I guess he had his reasons. Any other players you liked who disappeared?

I never understood why Tales of Topographic Oceans was so vilified.

I used to like jamming along with Bloodsucker from Deep Purple in Rock but I still go back to Burn occasionally.

Bought mine in 1986 for £740 (Monkey Business)

Dark Side Of The Moon - turgid nonsense

By a country mile.... Herbie with Wynton Marsalis, Ron Carter and Tony Williams. One of the most important LPs that I heard early on as I got into Jazz, played to me by a drummer friend. I bought the CD a couple of years ago and I could remember so much of it note for note. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xM1kUW3CI4

I have loads of these to the point where, if I hear a track out of context, I expect the next track I hear to be the next one on the LP. I think that the 70s link is obvious. We all valued music a lot more highly in those days but we also had infinitely less access to massive amounts of recorded music so listened to the fewer Lps we had far more intently. Now, with Spotify and YouTube, people can listen to almost anything at anytime without paying a penny. This has to be a good thing but you lose the intimacy you get from knowing your collection of 20 LPs inside out. Another Close To The Edge, Greenslade Time and Tide, Al DiMeola Land of the Midnight Sun, Brand X Product, Bruford Feels Good to Me, Genesis Seconds Out. The list is massive.