Warning: This is an unapologetic ode to gated reverb drums Here’s a Spotify playlist of some of the best gated reverb songs: http://spoti.fi/2vH7ZZL
How smooth jazz took over the ‘90s
Smooth jazz seemed like it would dominate forever.But then, everything changed.In the early 2000’s Arbitron, the firm that measures audiences, introduced a new technology,The Purple People Eater —I’m sorry I meant to say the “Portable People Meter.”It’s this little beeper — people believe it killed smooth jazz.PPM, which is still in use today – is an electronic beeper that captures audio tones masked inthe signal of radio broadcasts. Basically, it picks up audience listenership automatically.It replaced a decades-long practice of using paper diary entries to measure audiences.“People would write down for a week what they listened to and they would turn it in. Very easy for people to do.”“It went from that to,what we want to ask you to do is wear this on your belt all dayand we want you to do this for a year.”But it often didn’t work with smooth jazz.The format’s soft, ambient sound didn’t allow for the signal to be consistently maskedin the music without being discernable to listeners – if the signal wasn’t embedded,the beeper just couldn’t register it.Polling site Fivethirtyeight tracked the number of six large-market smooth jazz stationsbefore and after PPM – in each instance they either changed formats or shutdown entirely.But it might not have been all PPM’s fault“I think it’s a reflection of what our economy did.Our station went off the air when everything crashed.”Smooth jazz radio was music for ordinary, everyday people trying to get through theirday stress-free.It certainly never cared about critics during its solid 20 year run, and unlikestraight-ahead jazz, it didn’t care so much about challenging the listener either.And it’s why from the 1960s to the ’90sanything written about the music looked like this:But dig deep into smooth jazz’s history and you’ll find some really exciting music.“There was an album Herbie Hancock did call the “New Standard.”“Oh man that was good.I’d come off there talking about that.”“I was like, Oh this is what this is why I’m doing what I’m doing.”Or go even further back to Grover Washington Jr.’s “Winelight.”“And just listen to it as you’re cooking dinner or something.”“It’s just chill, man. And it’ll give you a feeling for why people fell in love with this music.For such a long time.”
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Making sense of John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps.”
Down in the River to Pray (Tuba/Euphonium)
The University of Texas Tuba/Euphonium Studio
Charles Villarrubia, Associate Professor Tuba/EuphoniumEuphonium
Alex Avila
Jose Flores
Luke Gall
Eric Gonzales
Fabian VargasTuba
John Flores
Clay Garrett (soloist)
Keith Packman
Danny Trumble
Ben Vasko
T.J. WestTaylor Rudd, Director of Photography
Mario Mattei, Camera Operator
Jacob Ryan Hamilton, Aerial Photography
Joshua Gall, Recording Engineer
Ani Villarrubia, Production Assistant