Invisible Hemisphere

Happy Birthday

Day 9
song: Karlita
artist: Crossroads Collective/Jazz Mafia

written by Adam Theis, Trance Thompson and Tym Brown
produced by Adam Theis and Joe Bagale
recorded at Jazz Mafia Compound
mixed by Joe Bagale

personnel:
Trance Thompson: lead vocals/vocal arrangement
Tym Brown: lead vocals
Sarah Schweppe: background vocals
Matt Wong: piano 
Adam Theis:  trumpet, trombone, sousaphone, percussion
Drums: Joe Bagale

This tune began about 3 years ago when I was asked to produce some horn tracks for an artist from New Orleans.  I did my best to rep the Bay as a horn player and do really cool stuff in a Nola style; I was happy with what I came up with.  A year later the song came out and they only ended up using one small phrase from all the material that I had written and recorded. This is an unfortunate situation that's happened to me on more than one occasion but this is the first time that I turned it into something that I'm really happy about! 
I took all the files that I had recorded, took away the music so that just my horns were left with a click track and a bpm (beats per minute=tempo). So, I set forth on creating a new groove, harmonic structure, melodies, song form, arrangement and then started producing it.
   Yes, it's kinda weird, what's the difference between what I'm explaining and just writing a song from scratch?  Well, usually horns are one of the LAST things to be put on a song in production, like the icing on the cake. So, it was really a trip starting out with JUST the horns and working backwards; It led to new ideas that I've never thought of.
Once I found a street beat drum rhythm I liked, I programmed a demo part for that. Next i created a pre-chorus and a chorus. For the chorus I sang non-sensical syllables and sounds in a melody with no words and ran my voice through all sorts of gritty effects to a point where I actually enjoyed hearing my own singing voice for the first time ever I think!
   After recording more additional horn parts on the new sections of the song and arranging it all, i sent it to my main man Trance Thompson. After a little while I received a great demo back and we decided to play the song live at our New Years gig and try it out, which also helped shape the arrangement more.
   Trance recorded the finished vocals last week, we recorded the drums and percussion yesterday morning and the song was mixed an hour ago. The creation of this song is a solid reminder to me to always keep the options open, especially when things don't seem to be working out the way you had planned! Maybe it will just lead to something WAY BETTER.

Karlita - Crossroads Collective/Jazz Mafia

Boplicity (COVER)

These are pieces arranged on Ableton Live using drum samples, live cello parts, sliced cello parts, and vocal samples. These pieces are not complete, I would like them to have vocal and  instrumental solos. I will eventually add Cello parts to many, but I am open to anyone wanting to add or remove things. just DM me for the stems. Thanks and enjoy.

On A Day

Nervous Tic

MidFright

MeMeandMe

Ludwig

Foriegn Hubby

Double Stuffed

Founded in 2000, the collective known as Jazz Mafia is one of the most ubiquitous names in innovate music on the West Coast, including such artists as: The Shotgun Wedding Quintet, Realistic Orchestra, Joe Bagale, Jazz Mafia Symphony, Brass Bows & Beats and founder Adam Theis. 
 This talented group of musicians seamlessly combines Latin polyrhythms, boom-bap rhymes, melancholy ballads, swinging jazz and blistering solos, while at the same time adhering to symphonic structural elements. All spun together in the spirit of a Jazz Era big band- but conducted with a maestro's sense of timing, timbre, and mood- the experience is akin to watching the New York Philharmonic back a street corner B-Boy battle in the heart of downtown Oakland.

The "Brass, Bows & Beats" premiere sold out two shows at the Palace Of Fine Arts as well a sold out a six-show run at Yoshi's in San Francisco. The 60 piece incarnation of Jazz Mafia's "Brass, Bows & Beats" that premiered at the Palace of Fine Arts was recorded and released as a live album in June 2010. 2010 has been a break through year for Jazz Mafia, with performances at the Newport Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, Playboy Jazz Festival (Hollywood Bowl), and the Monterey Jazz Festival. 

The original 60-piece Palace ensemble can be pared down to a tighter core of 40 to accommodate and emphasize more intimate settings. The piece marks a coming of age for The Jazz Mafia as a new voice in composition. Jazz Mafia Symphony is a monumental achievement displaying an exciting barrage of compositional elements, which the composers ingeniously weave together through a complex blend of skill, talent and courage. An eager and quickly growing global audience awaits their further contributions. A creative force on the Bay Area music scene for more than a decade, the loose-knit band of jazz cats, MCs, arrangers and composers known collectively as The Jazz Mafia, is fast emerging as the most prolific musical organization on the West Coast. Launching some of the Bay Area's most innovative and stylistically expansive ensembles, these musicians contribute their varied talents to a cross-cultural mix of new beats and melodies, blended with instrumental virtuosity. The Jazz Mafia Horns have recorded in the studio with Carlos Santana and backed artists such as Zion-I, KRS One, and Thomas Dolby. Other bands in the JM pantheon include The Shotgun Wedding Quintet, the incredible Realistic Orchestra, Supertaster with Joe Bagale, Brass Mafia, Jazz Mafia Trio, Spaceheater, and The Shotgun Wedding Hip Hop Symphony. With top-tier brass players and an always premium rhythm section, and dealing in jazz, funk, hip hop, soul, R&B and more, The Jazz Mafia form one of the most powerful assemblies of virtuosic performers on the West Coast.

Karlita - Crossroads Collective/Jazz Mafia

Jazz Mafia

Recent comments

BAD MEANING GOOD

Low Country Kingdom

David Sturdevant

Related tracks