We would like to share these videos featuring live in studio recording of  the Vince Lahorra Quartet, a jazz quartet in the Philippines featuring a saxophone, upright acoustic bass, upright acoustic piano and acoustic drums. The music on these videos are 1-take recordings only, no overdubs!

This session came about as further studies of classic jazz recording techniques in quartet and trio settings. Another objective is to test our studios sonic capabilities and qualities in live recording situations where very dynamic voices/instruments are involved. Imagine the challenge of forging balance between the power of the drums and the rather weak volume of the bass – yet still retaining the sonic qualities of both instruments.

The musicians on this session are Vince Lahorra on saxophone and also the music arranger, Dave Harder on acoustic upright bass, Mel Santos on acoustic piano and Lawrence Nolan on drums. Enjoy the jazz music and the videos. The Vince Lahorra Quartet plays their jazz set regularly at the Power Plant Mall in Rockwell, Makati.

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

On this mix (Over The Rainbow: music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg) the mics that made it to the mix are AE r84 on sax, Beyerdynamic M160 on bass, Oktava Mk-012 and a bit of Neumann u87 on piano, Peluso r14 ribbon mics (overhead) and AEA R92 (front) on drums, Rode NT2K and MXL room mic. The mix is traditional/classic style where the lead voice is very prominent and the rest of the instruments very subtle. Use of headphones recommended.

I Only Have Eyes For You

This mix of I Only Have Eyes For You (composer Harry Warren, arranged by Vince Lahorra) features a more modern approach with the drums and other instruments also in prominent balance in the mix. A different set of mic was chosen for the acoustic upright bass sound. This song features extended solos from the piano, bass and drums – a must listen – all 1 take!

Night And Day (Cole Porter)

This mix of Night And Day also takes a modern approach, primarily to highlight the Afro Cuban rhythm feature of the arrangement, the upright bass and drums are driving and pulsating while the piano playfully divides the rhythm into surprising accents. The acoustic upright bass and drums have extended solo sections again.

All of the above songs were recorded in a 4-hour session, which included set-up of lots of mics, optimization of microphone placement, selection and gain-staging, and including at least one run-through of each song. This is really to close to the way jazz records were made in the old days (50s/60s) where musicians would setup altogether in one room, run through the arrangement a couple of times, balance (mix) engineers do their adjustments and then the ONE TAKE – LIVE – cut to a single track tape… real music, those were the days.

We hope you enjoyed the music, video and text of this post. Please spread the link in support of and to promote jazz musicians and jazz recordings in the Philippines.