Jazz for aficionados

Orpheus, you bring up a great topic for discussion. Unfortunately, I may be away from this board for several days - about to have one of the busiest weeks of my entire season. Also, you have now touched on Frogman's area of professional expertise, so I will leave this particular field to him.

I will, however, comment that many of the very finest players in the world right now are the ones you hear in the movies. The top studio players in LA are a very small group - only a pool of about 300 musicians total record most the movies you see nowadays. As Jim Thatcher, the top studio horn player told me once - "I go to work every day having no idea what will be on my stand - I just know that I will never see it again." These fantastic musicians literally spend their time almost totally sight-reading. They are very good at it, and have to be, otherwise they are wasting very valuable studio time. They are also the highest paid orchestral musicians in the world, the best of them making a MUCH higher amount per year than the very finest principals of the world's finest orchestras. Thatcher has had many famous horn solos in the movies written expressly for him by people like John Williams. One he is particularly fond of is a solo in the movie Always. Very long and lyrical, and also extremely high in register, making it infinitely more difficult. He once told me - "That's MY solo, and no one else will ever play it." A very different world/life from the average orchestral musician, that's for sure.

Rok, while we're waiting for Frogman to expound on "studio players" or "pit musicians", as I referred to them; I'll explain how I have pristine sound in every room that I want it, generated from the play list on my computer.

I don't remember what sound cards I use, but I'm sure you've already taken care of that. let's begin with computer out to HRT Music Streamer II to Intelix Audio Balun, Max distance 2,500 ft, out to Cat 6 cable the distance of the house. This is fed to a balun at the receiving end, and interconnect to preamp. The "baluns" are available from "Parts Express", $55., and Cat 6 can be purchased cheaply in your desired length. 2 ft. of your favorite interconnect completes this pristine signal to the pre, and it's as good as a signal 2 ft. from the pre.

Enjoy the music.

Hi Orpheus - studio musicians and pit musicians would have pretty much a completely opposite existence, musically speaking - they are not at all the same. A top Broadway pit musician, for example, will typically play the same show 8 times a week for sometimes years - over, and over, and over, and over again. A top LA film studio musician will never play the same thing twice. If the music is very easy, sometimes they will turn the recording light on right away before there is even any rehearsal. On a usual session, they would probably read through most of the music just once, and then start recording it. If the music is truly difficult, they may have a couple of readings, and some actual rehearsal, before recording it. But basically, they are incredible sight readers. I just wanted to clarify that there is a huge difference between the two types of work - opposite extremes, in fact. A symphonic musician, like myself, is something in-between. The amount of rehearsals we have depends on the type of program we are playing. For a symphonic concert, there would be typically four or five rehearsals during the week, and three performances on the weekend. For a pops show, there would typically be only one rehearsal, the same day as the first performance of the weekend. An opera orchestra will have several rehearsals before the production opens - the first few just the orchestra alone, then a few with the singers, but not in the pit, then a couple of dress rehearsals.

I will let Frogman answer your questions about the woodwind doublers you see in the pits of theaters.

Rok, send me a bottle with a note in it, anything to let me know you're OK.

All good things must come to an end, and so it is with this thread. Without the Rok's input it's dead. I've had fun and I thank every one for their input.

Enjoy the music.