[Dixielandjazz] Editing & mastering

[Jim Kashishian]

Marek wrote, and others before him have made similar statements on djml:
>Moreover, if the recording is to convey the live ambiance, it should bring
it as originally heart, warts and all.  Otherwise it is often stogdy and
lacks the live feeling.

Work will have been done on any live or studio recording.  Eq, compression,
filters, gates, reverb, noise reduction....all part of a normal recording.
Gobs of takes will have been taken, and many times bits are "sewn together".
After the recording is done, some songs will be used, others not perhaps,
and the playing order may be changed around for sake of listening interest.
Plus, balance can be improved upon, plus nasties can be removed. Editing can
be done so that there isn't even an interruption in applause (in the case of
a live recording).  It is an art in itself, the recording process. 

"Leave it all in, leave it all in", shout the purists.  Yeah, right!  I
don't need any bad fluffs I've made being stored for posterity if they can
be easily removed.

Seriously, this type of work is done in all types of music & other audio
recordings.  If the job is done professionally, no one should notice
anything whatsoever. Goodness knows it is done in film, where a great
overall performance is created by actually filming bits & pieces completely
out of sequence.

I once did a huge job of assembling half of a cd that had been recorded in a
studio with the other half of the music recorded live....with the idea of
presenting a "live recording" for a well-known group.  When I handed in my
really large invoice to the record company I said "if you can hear what I've
done, I didn't do my job properly"!  That may seem strange, but that is how
it should be.  The listener should never be aware that anything special was
done.

I know I won't convince many, but it is a fact of life.  In fact, it has
given me a very good life, and I found the work extremely satisying
artistically speaking, because that is the way I approached the
job....artistically.

Jim