*Apologies for the late notice! Please note this event is this Thursday,
Dec. 17th.*
* ARSC New York Chapter
<http://www.arsc-audio.org/chapters/newyorkchapter.html>*
*DECEMBER 2015 Meeting*
7 P. M. Thursday, 12/17/15
At the CUNY Sonic Arts Center
West 140th Street & Convent Avenue, New York
or enter at 138th Street off Convent Avenue
Shepard Hall (the Gothic building) – Recital Hall (Room 95, Basement level)
An elevator is located in the center of the building
*THE ART OF RECORDING THE BIG BAND *
*Presented by Robert Auld*
The jazz big band was born in the twenties, came of age in the thirties,
enjoyed its greatest popularity in the forties, and went into popular
decline in the fifties. In the sixties the big band enjoyed a comeback of
sorts, but was displaced from the front pages by The Beatles and other
things. In the seventies it looked like the big band would either expire or
be transformed out of recognition. And yet it persists; people still play
in big bands, still dance to them, still record them. It has proved a most
durable ensemble.
Robert Auld's interest in the big band dates from childhood. His father was
a Benny Goodman fan, so he grew up with his music in the house. Auld became
a musician, and played in big bands. He was interested in audio recording,
and he tried recording big bands. Auld was not very satisfied with the
results, so he paid attention to how others were doing it.
In 1997 Robert Auld wrote an article for his website titled, "The Art of
Recording The Big Band", which surveyed the history of how jazz big bands
had been recorded over the decades and made some recommendations for best
practices. This presentation grew out of that initial article, and includes
both audio and visual samples to illustrate my observations. Starting with
the dance bands of the twenties, Auld worked his way up to about 1960 and
then paused to consider a modern big band recording session, which he
engineered, that sought to re-create the recording techniques current at
that time. Finally, Auld considered modern studio multi-tracking, and the
practical and aesthetic challenges such methods pose for big band recording.
ROBERT AULD is a freelance audio engineer who has worked around the New
York area for the last quarter century or so. He has experience in digital
transfers of historical disks and tapes, remote recording of both large and
small projects, studio music recording, and recording of voice-over work
for broadcast and the internet. He is a member of the Audio Engineering
Society and a past chairman of the New York Section of the AES. He has
given presentations on historical subjects at several AES conventions, and
at AES section meetings. He has also written on audio-related technical
subjects for Recording Magazine. Mr. Auld was educated as a musician at the
Mannes College of Music and the Manhattan School of Music, and worked as a
professional trumpeter from the mid-seventies until the year 2000. He notes
that in this respect he is in good company; some other audio engineers who
were trumpet players include Bob Ludwig, Jack Renner and the late Doug Sax.
*OUR NEXT PROGRAM WILL BE ON 21 JANUARY*
*“A Photo History of WNYC AND WQXR” Curated by Marcos Sueiro Bal*
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DIRECTIONS TO THE SONIC ARTS CENTER
Subway: Take the 1 train to 137th Street City College and walk north to
140th St. & Broadway,
then go east to 140th St. & Convent Avenue. Take the A, B, C, or D trains
to 145th St, go south on St. Nicholas to 141st St, (one long block), then
west one block to Convent Avenue, and south one more block to 140th &
Convent Avenue.
Bus: M4 and M5 on Broadway; M 100, 101 on Amsterdam Ave. (one block West of
Convent Avenue)
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The Sonic Arts Center at CCNY offers 4-year Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees
in Music with a concentration in Music and Audio Technology. Their program
provides an in-depth curriculum emphasizing real-world skills with a
project-based approach. Students enjoy a well-rounded program, with
emphasis on audio technology, music theory, orchestration, and history to
help them compete in a field that today demands an ever-growing and highly
diverse skill set.
*All ARSC NY Chapter meetings are free and open to the public.*
*Voluntary contributions to help defray our expenses are welcome!*
*To join ARSC, visit http://www.arsc-audio.org <http://www.arsc-audio.org>*
BEST WISHES FOR A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A PEACEFUL HOLIDAY SEASON
Kimberly Peach
ARSC Web Editor
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