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Keywords:
A Bit Of Light (14), jazz (376), jazz fusion (38), jazz vocal (6), vocal (146), clarinet (28), electric guitar (31), saxophone (28), tenor sax (10), piano (602), keyboards (34), collaboration (102), McBoy (18), bbarner (5), jazz guitar (9), electropop (31), tobin (67), NuJazz (38)
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Description:
Collaboration with McBoy (all guitars) and Bill Barner (clarinet/saxes). Starts off as a jazz piece and morphs into a dance/rock fusion. Tried to capture the sense of play in the musician's head as yet another relationship slips away. Playing keeps the spirit afloat. McBoy and I picked a guitar sound in the first half that sounded introverted, to go with the lyrics, and then he flipped some foot switches and changes it according to mood. Bill's playing is a delight, as usual, even as he follows a tricky piano part.
Previous collaboration with Bill Barner: Secret of Life (Celtic jazz)
Artwork: Illusion, 2001 © Brian Andreas. For more whimsical art by Brian, see:
http://www.artsforge.com/storypeople/
This track was remastered and appears on my 2007 release, A Bit Of Light, available through The Lost Records.
Lyrics:
LET ME PLAY
I know I know I
I can’t feel
I know I know I want to
I know I know I
I can’t deal
I know I know I used to
I know I know why
nothing’s real
I know it used to...be you
I know I know why
I know nothing
I just want to
Just let me play, play, yeah
Just let me play, yeah
I wanna wanna play you
I wanna wanna play you
I wanna wanna play with you, yeah
But when I hold you
I don’t wanna feel so helpless
When I’m near you
I don’t wanna feel alone
When I touch you
I don’t wann feel so empty
When I say, “I love you,”
I don’t wanna say it alone, no,
I don’t wanna say it alone, no I
No I don’t wanna say it alone...
Hardware:
Roland A-90ex keyboard (pianos)
Roland JV-1080 (synths, bass)
all guitars by McBoy
clarinet and tenor saxes by Bill Barner
Software:
This song began in Digital Performer, where I recorded the piano/keyboards, bass, drums, dance synths (in part 2), and vocals. I then sent the track to Bill and McBoy who recorded their parts in GB. I combined the parts in Live (becuz I needed to fix timing, cut and paste some licks, and transpose some notes in the guitar lines). Final mix in Live. Mastered in Peak.
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Sweet, funkadelic jazz-pop &mdash 04/21/05 - 02:04:06 PM
Like the funky Wes Montgomery open. Very excellent
guitar by McBoy. And the reed is way cool, too. Nothing
like a fine clarinet. Flows nicely over the halting rhythm of
this piece.
Good ensemble feel. Excellent collaboration. Very catchy
ending. [ Reply to This ]
Sweet, funkadelic jazz-pop &mdash 04/21/05 - 02:18:08 PM
Thanks. Yes, we were going for something like that in the guitar line. And I
was going some Herbie Hanc ock in the piano, altho it started more like
Gershwin in early drafts. The A section piano part used some cool voicings...
all written out to make them work right. The other guys all played by ear. The
ending is a cacophony: Trying to drown out the silence in the relationship by
filling my head with music... how else is a musician supposed to deal, right?
(That, or go dancing with Richard). [ Reply to This ]
Sweet, funkadelic jazz-pop &mdash 04/21/05 - 02:21:29 PM
Mellow &mdash 04/21/05 - 03:02:32 PM
vocals Tobin. Very nicely sung with some great harmonies
coming in. Sound like you actually had fun with this track.
Bill, wonderful Sax... nice to hear your talents again here
on Mjs. Mcboy.. I always dig your playing..
A wonderful chilled Gershinesque collaboration...
10's across the board Guys..
v impressive.
Slimmie [ Reply to This ]
Mellow &mdash 04/22/05 - 09:20:57 AM
Fun, yes. I had great fun. A nice change from my more serious stuff. But the
best fun was hearing the additions to the tune as they came in. Great fun
working with such talent. [ Reply to This ]
Excellent &mdash 04/21/05 - 03:18:26 PM
Clarinet style and tone reminds me of some of Don
Byron's work. Guitar is also very good. The song is very
well produced - everything is clear and well balanced to
my ears.
The vocals here are good - but I found myself wishing
that there were an instrumental-only mix also available
(with clarinet replacing voice). [ Reply to This ]
Excellent &mdash 04/22/05 - 09:24:48 AM
Thanks, Mungo. I know what you mean about my voice. Every time I hear
myself sing I want to dub it over by something. Plus, Bill's clarinet is so
stellar, it would be a most definite improvement. If he could just get the thing
to play words too. An acoustic clarinet vocoder! [ Reply to This ]
Laidback Groove &mdash 04/21/05 - 03:35:20 PM
I like the nonchalant mastery of instruments & vocals
building into a progressive rock/jazz crescendo,
great calaboration guys! [ Reply to This ]
Laidback Groove &mdash 04/22/05 - 09:37:54 AM
Thanks. All I told the guys was to make it "feel like play." They did a great job,
not just capturing the spirit, but freeing it too. [ Reply to This ]
Wow &mdash 04/21/05 - 11:19:51 PM
Smooth, stylish and very interesting.
Great performances to all involved.... What a great mix. [ Reply to This ]
Wow &mdash 04/24/05 - 09:18:04 AM
Thanks for the comments. I mixed down everything but the guitars and
woodwinds first, and then had to bring out the piano in the main track using
EQ since I misjudged and it was a little too soft. Luckily, boosting a few mid-
range bands did the trick. Plus, the tracks the guys sent were really clean. I
brought the clarinet up slowly so that its first entrance isn't too surprising.
The mellow guitar sound was easy to lay in. [ Reply to This ]
No Surprise &mdash 04/21/05 - 11:23:34 PM
Like jumpin off the high dive into the deep end of the
talent pool.... [ Reply to This ]
No Surprise &mdash 04/22/05 - 09:27:27 AM
Good lyrics too &mdash 04/22/05 - 06:19:36 AM
Not forgotten in all this effortless display of talent (great
clarinet, guitars, piano playing), are the lyrics. You capture
the loss for words during the end of an affair in the first
have and make a perfect condensed list of things you
wished would be different in the second half. I also really
like those last disco train toot sounds. With such a full and
inventively simple song, it ends in chiillingly ice crystal
echoes that reminds me of the "silence" inside all which
the "playing" is meant to cover over. Very effective. [ Reply to This ]
Good lyrics too &mdash 04/22/05 - 09:52:16 AM
Thanks for noticing the little things like the end toots. The vocals are just a
reinforcement incidental in a song like this, where the playing says it all. Call-
and-response on a karmic level. Just have to thank McBoy and Bill again, tho,
for making this track live. [ Reply to This ]
Dazzling... &mdash 04/22/05 - 10:29:19 AM
Very clever mixture of textures and rhythms. Sort of
musicianship that ham-fisted people like myself can only
goggle at. And then it pulls together into the second
section very nicely, with that descending bass line. It's
almost like a song about how musicians retreat into
playing music when they should be talking to people... er.
Prolly way of the mark there... [ Reply to This ]
Dazzling... &mdash 04/22/05 - 12:21:04 PM
Right on target. A song written about how musicians deal, and what gets
them into the pickle in the first place. And that once you start playing, only
the string of notes seem to matter. Until the music stops. [ Reply to This ]
Nice rythum, singing &mdash 04/22/05 - 10:48:28 AM
Nice guitar, like the singing, like the whole tune.
The singing is just outstanding.
Great tune.
You guys are just incredibly creative on this tune.
[ Reply to This ]
Cool Jazz &mdash 04/22/05 - 01:05:20 PM
I was listening to this and when I got to about the 3/4
marker, I thought, "Right here vocal harmonies are
needed". And then they gloriously appeared! Yeah, man.
This is cool. Last three organ toots are unnecessary as far
as I'm concerned...although it is in the "playful" character
of the song.
Excellent collab. I wish I could say more but I'm not
schooled in jazz. But I do appreciate good jazz. [ Reply to This ]
Cool Jazz &mdash 04/26/05 - 09:03:30 AM
I actually edited out another verse of harmony singing in the final section
because I thought there were too many repeats, but I know the section and I
started harmonizing a line earlier, but it might have stepped on the guitar
entrance. Thanks for your anticipatory listening. [ Reply to This ]
One Great... &mdash 04/22/05 - 01:52:59 PM
Groove! I'm sitting here snapping my fingers, eyes closed, while deciding what to type next. Top-notch piece. Another keeper. Great playing, singing and mixing, Tobin. Bravo to McBoy and Bill for their contribution. [ Reply to This ]
One Great... &mdash 04/24/05 - 09:28:47 AM
Very cool: snapping your fingers, eyes closed. I like listening that way too.
Thanks for the comments, very appreciated. It is tough playing to a bed
already made, or play a duet with someone you can't even hear, but McBoy
was able to send me multiple takes and I cut and pasted, moved some timing
issues, reused a few of my favorite licks over again, and even changed a few
notes. Live is a great program for those sorts of fixes. Isn't this computer age
cool? [ Reply to This ]
Trio sublime &mdash 04/22/05 - 03:02:15 PM
Those chord voicings in the piano are boss. That first section is sublime. Second section sort of turns easy, good transition, and I htought it was well done, but the jazz secion is so good. Really enjoyed the way the clarinet and guitar interplay, and the piano holds it all in with much more than normal comping. Quite a job. Bravo. [ Reply to This ]
Trio sublime &mdash 04/24/05 - 09:34:24 AM
Thanks for noticing the piano back there. The piano substitutions went thru
several drafts before arriving at this incarnation. The first was squarer, a bit
like Gershwin's I Got Rhythm. This version is more like Herbie, swings better,
and is cooled out. It often take a few drafts to get it a bit hipper. Again,
deceptive complexity trying to sound simple. Kind of amazed that Bill made it
sound so effortless to play to. [ Reply to This ]
Take me back &mdash 04/22/05 - 07:57:34 PM
to summertime jazz festivals in Vermont. Here's the sad
part: My mind was closed and I didn't let myself just enjoy
the wonderful music. What a fool I've been.
This is great, guys. A sonic Scooby-Snack™! [ Reply to This ]
Cool, Daddyo &mdash 04/22/05 - 09:11:22 PM
Lots of great things about this. I could go on about it but
I'm just diggin' it too much to get caught up in th WHY of
what i dig about it. Nice to hear you sing jazz, Tobin.
Great playing, guys. Very cool. [ Reply to This ]
Cool, Daddyo &mdash 04/24/05 - 09:12:14 AM
Thanks, Peter. I'm definitely not a jazz singer, but tried to do the song justice
without going to far afield. I did wear a turtle neck while singing, tho. [ Reply to This ]
Vocals &mdash 04/23/05 - 06:04:37 AM
Vocals &mdash 04/24/05 - 08:48:35 AM
...and I'm really glad you did. Thank you so much for the great playing, the
great attitude, the fun and style you bring to our collaboration. [ Reply to This ]
Vocals &mdash 04/25/05 - 01:50:57 PM
Actually, I picked the artwork mainly becuz it reminded me of you. Mcboy
chilling after the recording session... [ Reply to This ]
Vocals &mdash 04/28/05 - 07:50:35 AM
Jazz for non-jazz lovers &mdash 04/23/05 - 11:02:25 AM
I love it when you write detailed, long engaging lyrics, and now I see you writing short and sweet lyrics, and you hit the nail perfectly this way too. Bravo to the guitar playing that grooves so well and the clarinet solo that lifts the whole thing to new heights. Can't imagine the song without every sing detail you guys have put into it, which is supposed to be a compliment. The whole you've crarfted is unique and very engaging. Jazz for ex-lovers (even if they don't love jazz.) [ Reply to This ]
Jazz for non-jazz lovers &mdash 04/24/05 - 09:40:47 AM
Yes, this was intentionally fusion in scope, trying to cross genres into
something other than jazz in the end. Part of that came from my own
experiences in discovering the therapeutic uses of dancing at clubs to music I
would never otherwise listen to, and realizing how groovy it can make you
feel. I wanted to kind of morph from club jazz into a night out sense,
stepping outside to express the final section's sentiments. All part of the
esoteric visual-emotional journey I go on while coming up with a song
concept. [ Reply to This ]
Jazz for the non-jazz ex-lover &mdash 04/23/05 - 11:04:49 AM
I love it when you write detailed, long engaging lyrics, and now I see you writing short and sweet lyrics, and you hit the nail perfectly this way too. Bravo to the guitar playing that grooves so well and the clarinet solo that lifts the whole thing to new heights. Can't imagine the song without every sing detail you guys have put into it, which is supposed to be a compliment. The whole you've crarfted is unique and very engaging. Jazz for ex-lovers (even if they don't love jazz.) [ Reply to This ]
Smoooth!!!!!! &mdash 04/23/05 - 03:01:51 PM
What an all-together hot tune. All the players smoke, the
lyrics are cool and you sing great, with lots of soul, man.
Practically everything I've learned about songwriting since
I discovered this site 2 months ago is from digging back
and reading lots of comments you've made on tunes.
Exceptionally educational. I'm motivated and you're a big
part of that. Thanks! [ Reply to This ]
Smoooth!!!!!! &mdash 04/24/05 - 09:44:03 AM
Thank you very much for the kind words. It is great to know that the
structure and participation of Macjams is able to provide instruction and
inspiration as well as entertainment. I know I get all those same things from
this unique space. It is wonderful to know others do to. [ Reply to This ]
Outstanding &mdash 04/25/05 - 10:47:56 AM
I have to reiterate alley-oop's sentiment. Listening to
your stuff, and that of your collaborators, is like getting a
quick lesson, both in performance and production. Really
sweet tune. [ Reply to This ]
A cool track. &mdash 04/27/05 - 08:23:06 PM
This sounds like it might have been at home in the movie
"West Side Story." Sounds a little bit like "Cool." ("Boy,
boy, crazy, boy!")
I like it all, but especially the clarinet. You just can't
synthesize that sound. [ Reply to This ]
A cool track. &mdash 04/29/05 - 07:09:45 AM
Yes, the clarinet is my favorite part too, hands down. Thanks for the WSS
reference, even tho I never related the two, since it grew more out of a
Gershwin-esque early draft, but anything that might sound like Lenny's music
is a compliment. Thanks. [ Reply to This ]
Nice Fusion &mdash 05/03/05 - 03:03:31 PM
TOBIN,
Wonderful composition! almost felt a little Herbie
Hancock on the piano, love the clarinet, and of course
mcboy's Guitar!!! Dig the hipology you shine upon us.
Thanks for sharing [ Reply to This ]
. &mdash 03/23/07 - 08:28:11 PM
The instrumentation and music bed in this are exceptional. In fact all instruments are tremendous until the overdriven guitar solo.... the phrasing is a bit of a let down compared to what had proceeded it, it is almost as though another player took over. The note choices and delivery were a little off and threw off the cohesiveness of the piece after its entrance. Again this piece needs melody. I appreciate your efforts.... and maybe it is just that I dont get your concept of melody but this comes off as incomplete to me and is a bit dissapointing as with such a great bed of music underneath I would have expected this to be a cinch for you to really dig deep down and blow off the roof with a world class melody line. Regardless of my desire for a melody this still is very very good and temendous playing by Bill Barner... that cat can blow!!!!!!! [ Reply to This ]
awesome track &mdash 09/02/07 - 05:53:45 AM
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guitar by McBoy. And the reed is way cool, too. Nothing
like a fine clarinet. Flows nicely over the halting rhythm of
this piece.
Good ensemble feel. Excellent collaboration. Very catchy
ending.
[ Reply to This ]