June 25th, 2008, posted by Eric
Lauren and I stayed in town for a few days after the show load-out to decompress and catch up with long-lost friends. I’ve been sleeping and taking lesiurely strolls around the city, a welcome change of pace from the intensity of the previous weeks. Today we fly home, so I am taking a moment to look back on my return to the theatre world.
The show had a great run and John Q. Walker (Zenph founder) couldn’t be happier. For such a small software company to write, hire, design, promote, and produce a show and have a strong NYC opening in only four and a half months is quite a feat; I need to take a moment to be very proud of that.
On opening night I was approached by jazz pianist Phineas Newborn Jr’s widow and son, who were both very moved (even by the live playing of Art Tatum alone) and couldn’t wait for Zenph to bring Phineas back to the stage. Sunday’s show was buttoned with a ceremony where Zenph conducted the donation of Tatum’s estate by Geraldine (Tatum’s widow) to the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, which includes not only Tatum’s suits and Grammy, but also his Steinway piano!
This is the first time I’ve managed/produced such a large project, and it turned out I was more than capable (not without a requisite amount of anxiety). I was also happy to be a theatrical sound designer again, a hat I haven’t worn since college. Although I don’t feel destined for a career as a Broadway bigshot (too much inauthenticity), the real-life (and sometimes sobering) education I received while managing this show will certainly apply to many areas as I move forward in an entertainment industry career.
But now it’s time to put down the cell phone and the business cards and return to the practice room. Learning about music administration on your feet comes at the price of time to compose, arrange, and hone your craft. For the second half of this summer I will re-center myself, return all the way to my artistic roots (perhaps for the first time), figure out what it really is that I want out of an artistic life, and go from there.
I have been blogging about Zenph and Orquesta GarDel, and soon I will introduce you to The Beast, a hip hop/jazz/soul collaborative that I have been writing and performing with since last summer. I’ve been longing to consistently rehearse and perform with a jazz trio, a project which might finally materialize in the next few weeks. I feel long overdue for my next round of original jazz compositions, I just need a vehicle to perform them.
When I read back on what I have just written, how can I not feel an extraordinary sense of gratitude for the people, gifts, and opportunities in life?
Thanks for all the support and well-wishes over the past few weeks, and stay tuned for some new developments! Downtown Durham will be a welcoming sight.
Posted in EWHArtist, Personal | No Comments »
June 22nd, 2008, posted by Eric
Hey everyone, I am writing you from Harlem, New York where Art Tatum: Piano Starts Here is entering its last day after an intense week of rehearsal and showcase performances. Back home (Raleigh/Durham, NC), the local paper has run a great article about Zenph’s latest work. I am quoted and featured often, both for my work on the Tatum show, and for my research into bass re-performance parameters.
Here is the link:
http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/1116398.html
Enjoy!
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June 11th, 2008, posted by Eric
Hey all, today is a great day for the salsa band that I co-direct (as well as arrange and play piano for), Orquesta GarDel. We are the cover article for the Independent Weekly, the Triangle’s premiere alternative weekly newspaper (North Carolina’s Village Voice, if you will).
Here is a link to the article, which traces the story of the band’s founding to it’s future aspirations and cultural significance in the larger Triangle music scene.
I am so proud of this giant, hard-working band of musicians from many backgrounds. It is great to be able to share our story with a wider audience.
Please read the article, check out GarDel’s music, watch for new shows, and let me know what you think! I’ve never been quoted so much before…
Posted in Orquesta GarDel | 3 Comments »
June 4th, 2008, posted by Eric
Hey all, Zenph Studios has just reached another great milestone: Our second album with Sony BMG hits the streets today. This album marks the first time Zenph Studios has analyzed and re-performed a jazz artist, and not just any jazz artist. the legendary pianist Art Tatum.
From the press release:
Art Tatum’s “Piano Starts Here” album contains material that has been in print for more than 50 years. Yet the original, an incomparable jazz album that highlights the mastery of this singular musician, had been marred by nominal sound quality and other imperfections — until now.
Zenph’s unique technique turns audio recordings into live performances that precisely replicate the original recording, but offer vastly improved sound quality. Listeners are transported back to the moment of creation and experience Tatum’s playing as if they were in the room when the original recordings were made.
Last year, Sony BMG and Zenph Studios re-recorded Tatum’s 1949 concert at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. They placed the piano on the same stage in the same spot that Tatum played and recorded a flawless re-performance on modern equipment before a live audience.
SONY BMG’s new disc is a hybrid surround-sound SACD/CD disc, which plays on all traditional CD players and sounds magnificent on Super Audio (SACD) players. It also includes a binaural version of the re-performance that provides an immersive experience. When listened to with headphones, it replicates what Tatum would have heard while he sat on the piano bench.
The Zenph re-performance also corrects several problems with the original album. For one thing, playback speed was too slow on 12 of the 13 tracks, so after Zenph fixed the tempo, you hear that Tatum actually played faster than has been thought.
And, thanks to Tatum discographer Arnold Laubich, Zenph has restored about two minutes of lost material. The original album omits excerpts from Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess,” which Tatum performed at the concert during the track now titled “The Man I Love.”
I have had the privilege of working on this album from start to finish: it has been an intense and insightful process involving the cutting edge of both computer algorithms and musicology. My name is in the credits for the research and production team, so technically, this is my major label debut 
.
You can purchase the album at Zenph’s online store, Amazon.com. iTunes, or any major music retailer. Please comment back and let me know what you think of the new album, or if you have any questions about the Zenph re-performance process. Enjoy!
Posted in Zenph Studios | 1 Comment »
