[Dixielandjazz] Tunes on a CD

[Ministry of Jazz]

Shalom Jazz Fans,

I've been quiet for a long time because I've been very busy, which for the
most part is a good thing. I have missed being involved with DJML, and hope
to come back more regularly. I'm also on Facebook, as are many DJMLers.

My band has produced one CD so far, and I did one solo. The considerations
were different for the two.

1. For the band CD, we picked 15 of our strongest tunes. Since we advertise
that we play classic jazz "from New Orleans to Broadway", we of course
wanted the tunes on the CD to represent a broad sample of our repertoire.
For the opening song, we picked our title tune -- Doctor Jazz -- which is
the name of our band. For the closing tune we did The Saints, which we
generally end our shows with. In between, the main considerations were that
no two consecutive songs are in the same key, or similar styles, tempos,
etc. In this way we organized the songs as we do in our performances, for
variety.

2. My solo CD was a major project, my magnum opus to date. I played 10
different instruments and sang. I organized the CD into 3 sections -- banjo
band, brass band and Dixieland band. The banjo band tunes were all fast
ones. I put the strongest one first (Beer Barrel Polka), then varied keys in
choosing the order of the others. The last song in this section segued from
banjo to brass. The brass band section I did more or less in chronological
order, from Sousa to Joplin to barbershop quartet to Broadway to swing. The
Dixieland section I organized according to keys and tempos, with what I felt
were the best ones first and last. Choosing the songs for this project was
difficult, and the selections changed even while the recording was going on.
The engineer and I had to learn the process of recording multiple tracks and
making them sound like bands. I tried to pick the songs that I felt I could
play best, but I wanted some of my favorite tunes to be on the CD, and also
to get a good variety. It was a grueling process that took everything I had
out of me. We spent a full day of studio time recording and mixing each
song, in some cases spilling over into the next day. Then more days of
balancing, mixing and mastering, and fixing mistakes, until we were
satisfied. I am not a genius on every instrument. Some shine more than
others. I began this project as an experiment and I just wanted to get
through it to record what I could do at this stage of my life. As the work
progressed, it became apparent that the finished disk would actually be
worth listening to for the music, and not just to listen to Elazar stumble
through all of the parts and try to hold them together. I am very proud of
the end result.

By the way, did I mention that I have 2 CDs for sale? Details, sample
tracks, and order info on my website.

Blessings from Jerusalem,

Elazar
Doctor Jazz Dixieland Band
Jerusalem, Israel
www.doctorjazz.co.il
+972-2-679-2537


-----Original Message-----
>How do our DJML groups/artists, with numerous issued CDs, select the 'best'
titles for each recording?
Kind regards,
Bill.