STME58
579 posts
Nov 08, 2013
10:52 AM
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I was able to attend a jazz concert last night featuring the trombonist Bill Watrous. When I got there the sign on the box office said sold out, but someone opened the door and let me in and I ended up in a seat in the orchestra pit area bead center and only about 15 feet from Mr. Watrous. There is just no substitute for a live performance. I learned a lot by watching and I really enjoyed the performance.
There was no harmonica but I did see a problem frequently complained about on this site. In spite of being front and center with the bell of his horn right over a mike, Mr. Watrous was sometimes nearly drowned out by the power of 4 saxes, 4 trombones and 4 trumpets. While I would have liked to hear the featured performer more clearly, the overall quality of the music was excellent.
One thing I noted in the sax section was that all of the players had 3 instruments, one of which was a flute. The next time I think of complaining about carrying so many harps I can think bout the person with the tenor sax, oboe and flute or the bari sax, base clarinet and flute!
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The Iceman
1262 posts
Nov 08, 2013
11:37 AM
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I would suspect that where you were sitting contributed to the low trombone in the mix...
On stage, monitors blow back at musicians so they can hear the mix they need.
Front of the house mix probably adjusted the trombone up.
Your seat may have been too close to catch the house mix, so what you heard was coming from the stage, methinks.
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The Iceman
Last Edited by The Iceman on Nov 08, 2013 11:37 AM
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droffilcal
52 posts
Nov 08, 2013
12:15 PM
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To add to what Iceman said, Watrous is a player whose sound and style is more or less dependent on amplification -- he's a fantastic player whose sound does not project acoustically, so what gets out to the audience is almost totally up to the mix that the sound guys put together.
He's kind of like a harp player in the way he interacts sonically with a large/loud group.
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STME58
580 posts
Nov 08, 2013
2:42 PM
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Iceman and droffilcal,
Your descriptions match what I experienced last night. The concert was so professionally done I could not imagine that the sound person had just missed it.
However, the crowd was larger than planned for. They even put about 30 chairs up on the stage. My seat was one that was put in at the last minute.
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