Gallery of Carpet Recording- Additional Isolation Booth added:

Iso Booth # 2:







Iso Booth # 1:







Main Room:




Control Room:

More Double Edge Safety Razor Blades:

1st - Vidyut Super-Max, India - Fast, sharp, no drag or cuts - blade lasts - good shave.
2nd - Gillette 7 O'Clock Permasharp, India - Slight Drag, no cuts - does dull quickly.

* Lord Platinum Class from Egypt still by far yields the best shave.

Nathan Tenebaum From "The Next Big Sound" Tracks for Flashpoint's Music Focused Study on 2 inch Analog Recording Techniques

Neumann U89's in Blumlein on Acoustic Guitar/ 414 EB Silver on Vocals:


Another Pic of the Neumann U89's in Blumlein on Acoustic Guitar
Calrec Condenser (Just for a Safety):


Control Room at Wall 2 Wall Recording:


Music Focus Study Class - Nathan Tenebaum and Myself:


The Neve V51 at Wall 2 Wall Recording:


Joe and the 2 inch:


The Class and Myself in the control room:


www.thenextbigsound.com

Music Focused Study at Wall 2 Wall Recording Continues - Analog Tape Machines

Studer A820 - 24 track:

Double Edge Safety Blades - Results

After the purchase of my new double edge safety razor (Merkur - Open Comb), I decided to sample a variety of blades. I have learned that the perfect shave is a result of finding the correct blade to match your beard. Below is my feedback on the blades pictured above - remember this is based on my beard.

In Order of Preference:
1st - Lord Blades from Egypt - Very Fast, sharp, no drag or cuts -blade lasts - the best shave.
2nd - Dorco Blades from Korea - Very Fast, sharp, no drag or cuts - does dull quickly.
3rd - Merkur Blades from Germany - Fast, slight drag, no cuts - does dull quickly.
4th - Gillette Blades from America - Fast, slight drag, caused one razor cut.
5th - Fan Blades from America/Swedish Steel - Lots of drag, no cuts - very dull -not platinum.
6th - Feather from Japan - Very Fast, no drag, multiple razor cuts - 45 minutes of constant bleeding - the blades are not pictured because I gave them to a fellow wet shaver, maybe he will have some luck with them!


*Lord Blades from Egypt run $4.95 plus $2.00 shipping for 5 blades. I picked up the Dorco's from Korea for $9.89, free shipping for 100 blades!

Keep shaving!

Pic of my Merkur Open Comb Double Edge Safety Razor (Made in Germany):

Chicago Sessions Volume 4 - Paulinho Garcia

Chicago Sessions Volume 4 - Paulinho Garcia - My Very Life

Paulinho Garcia - guitar, vocals; Heitor Garcia - percussion; Geraldo de Oliveira - percussion; Brett Benteler - double bass; Grazyna Auguscik - vocals; Steve Eisen - saxophone, flute; Julie Koidin - flute; Michael Allemana - electric guitar; Ernie Denov - electric guitar; Don Stiernberg - mandolin.

“Singer-guitarist Garcia always caresses the ear, but this disc offers an impressive collection of original compositions steeped in Brazilian musical culture. Each is a revelation.” – Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune, March 2009.

“Alone with his guitar, his voice conjures a romantic figure balancing serenity and saudade (the Brazilian word for “that happy sadness” which has no easy equivalency in English) – a soundtrack for the famous Picasso portrait “The Old Guitarist.” And working with a broad range of Chicago musicians – reflecting relationships forged over 30 years in America – Paulinho’s voice becomes the sunlit jewel at the center of the various small ensembles heard here… The real surprise of this album lies in the fact that so fine a modern exponent of bossa nova as Paulinho Garcia emerges as so effective an interpreter, and so accomplished a composer, of the bossa’s many cousins.” – Neil Tesser (from the liner notes)

Born in Belo Horizonte, Paulinho composed, arranged, produced, and performed in Brazil until his arrival in the U.S. in 1979, where he joined and made two recordings with the band Made in Brazil. In 1991, he founded his own band, Jazzmineiro, whose eponymous 1996 CD received excellent reviews in the Chicago Tribune, Jazziz Magazine, the Brazilian Music Review and many others. Paulinho was the recipient of the 2001 Best Jazz Entertainer Award at the Chicago Music Awards. He tours the world extensively and has a musical partnership with some of Chicago's best musicians including saxophonist Greg Fishman (Two for Brazil), flutist Julie Koidin (Dois no Choro) and singer Grazyna Auguscik.

Paulinho has performed at some of the most renowned jazz festivals in the world such as The North Sea Jazz Festival of Nederland, Singapore Jazz Festival, the Elite and Concord Fazz Festivals of Japan, and the Jazz nadOdra Festival of Poland. His appearance on July 24, 2008 at Millennium Park in Chicago drew 11,000 people, the largest audience for a jazz concert at that venue. With 15 CDs of his own recorded, and extensive participation in other musicians’ projects, Paulinho has established himself as a master of Brazilian jazz.

www.chicagosessions.com

Pure Badger Shaving Brush

Hand Made in England - Pure Badger Hair - "Old Original" Pictured with Stand:




Keep Shaving!

Music Focused Study at Wall 2 Wall Recording

Current Tracking Sessions - Recording I - Flashpoint Academy

Session 2:



414's on Piano - 195 on Vox:


EV 868 on Tuba:




Session 1 :

Beyer M160's on Hat and Ride:


DI - Shadow Hills Pre - 1176 Compression on Bass:


Royer 121 and 57 on Electric Guitar:




414 XLS with Pacifica Pre on Flute:

Merkur Saftey Razor

My New Merkur "Open Comb" Double-Edge Safety Razor. Shaving is no longer a chore, but a fulfilling ritual. Made in Germany.

Keep Shaving!

Pacifica and Shadow Hills Pre's Installed - For Studio Recording I Course

Pacifica Pre's



Shadow Hills 500 Series Pre's

Chicago Session Volume 1 - Reviewed in Downbeat

Click image to inlarge!


www.chicagosessions.com

Remix Artist - Ralphi Rosario At Flashpoint Academy

John Murray, George Luif, Ralphi Rosario and Bernie Mack

Recently Added To My Collection: A Vintage AKG D1000E

Nasty "Tone" - Possibly the worst sounding mic ever! - but hey, its "Vintage"

Flashpoint Faculty and Staff Pic

All of us:

Chicago Sessions Announces December Release!

Disc 3 of Series 1 Scheduled to Ship in December 2008:


VOLUME 3: STEVEN HASHIMOTO'S MOTHRA - TRADEWIND

Steven Hashimoto-electric bass; Neal Alger-electric guitar; Kathy Kelly-vibraphone; Dan Hesler-tenor, alto & soprano saxophone, Michael Levin-tenor & soprano saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute; Heath Chappell-drums.

Steven Hashimoto has been an integral part of Chicago's many music scenes since 1969. He has performed with countless bands and artists at almost every venue in the Chicago area, playing jazz, rock, funk, folk, country, Latin, avant-garde, cabaret, bluegrass, blues, r&b, reggae, cajun, Brasilian, African and theatre music. He has appeared on many recordings, as both leader and sideman, and has appeared at The Chicago Jazz Festival, The South Shore Jazz Festival, Taste of Chicago, ChicagoFest and Chicago's Asian American Jazz Festival. As a jazz musician he has played bebop, hard bop, swing, big band, avant-garde, Latin jazz and Dixieland, and has anchored the late-night jam session at The Green Mill for an amazing 22 years. He formed the band Mothra in 1976; this is the band's fifth recording ("Farewell To Manzanar"; "In Dreams Begin Responsibilities"; "Sansei: Third Generation"; and "Giri").


Support Chicago Jazz at www.chicagosessions.com

Hear Samples at www.chicagosessions.com

An Afterlife Crisis Review

Tracked Bernie Mack at The Gallery of Carpet Recording
Mixed by Bernie Mack at The 3rd Bedroom
Mastered by Nick Eipers
Music by Steve Mayfield
Author Steve Mayfield

Editorial reviews:
Norm Goldman:
Afterlife Crisis (Novel with Soundtrack)

By Norman Goldman "Editor of Bookpleasures.com"

In his debut novel, Afterlife Crisis (Novel With Soundtrack), Steve Mayfield spins a tender and humble narrative while exploring what makes someone a good, caring, and compassionate human being.

Mayfield's story uses the framework of a fifty-four year old Frank Moon who has just suffered a fatal heart attack. Two minutes after his demise, his soul is sucked into the "Passage," and winds up somewhere called the Resting Place where "there is only love and support now and forever." It is here where Frank meets a visionary, Luna, who explains to him the meaning and importance of "warmth", which incidentally is not the temperature but rather the human state.

Luna informs Frank that as everyone goes through an individual, unique life experience, the person's deeds and activities gradually build a character and a distinctive soul. Moreover, one of the most vital ingredients of that soul is "warmth." Frank is a trifle baffled as to what all this means and Luna then goes on to clarify that warmth consists of four features: compassion, tolerance, risk and knowledge.

Luna also informs Frank that it is fairly easy to measure warmth as we all have degrees of compassion, tolerance, risk and knowledge. In fact, it can even be learned and improved. Frank is now quite interested in knowing how he scored whereupon Luna tells him that before she gives him his results, she would like to revisit with him some of his warmth-forming experiences during his lifetime on earth. And Frank is also reminded that life is not what we think or pray about but rather what we do or in other words, actions speak louder than words.

As we read about these experiences, we get a good picture of Frank's character and some of the fine deeds he had performed during his lifetime. These include the preventing of a gang rape of a young teen-age girl and the rejection of racism that was prevalent among a good majority of his classmates. We also get a peek into some of Frank's crabby moments such as the time he lost patience with an Internet support service technician who was trying to help him with his Internet problem. Each experience is linked to one of the elements comprising "warmth" and when they are all added up, Frank does succeed in coming up with more than a passing grade. As a result, Frank is called up to return to earth and perform one more very important task.

Afterlife Crisis is narrated with a style and execution that is surprisingly uncomplicated for such a complex subject matter. In addition, what stands out about this novel is Mayfield's creativity as he interweaves excerpts from the seven song lyrics extracted from a CD that accompanies the book. These inspirational epigraphs initiate most of the chapters, and as Mayfield informed me when I interviewed him, it was the music that inspired the book. This is something that we often don't encounter, as it is usually the other way around where songs have been inspired by literature.

In addition, what I found most rewarding was that the epigraphs effectively whisper to us the principal themes that are to follow in each of the chapters. This is quite a delicate task, however, Mayfield has pulled it off with flying colors with a wonderful book with wise and heartening advice that makes us stop and ponder the kind of legacy we would like to leave our family and friends.

--Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor Bookpleasures


Steve Mayfield

Chicago Sessions Announces November Release!

Disc 2 of Series 1 scheduled to Ship November 2008:



VOLUME 2: MARSHALL VENTE TRIO MARSHALL ARTS
Marshall Vente piano, electric piano, cuica, Tibetan cymbals, gong; Trio: Scott Mason acoustic bass; Isidro Isi Perez drums; Tropicale Trio: Jim Batson acoustic & electric bass; Luiz Ewerling drums; Special Guests: Glenn Reitsma acoustic & electric guitars; Joe Sonnefeldt steel pan, congas, udu, shaker; Chip Gdalman alto flute.

Support Chicago Jazz at www.chicagosessions.com

Hear Samples at www.chicagosessions.com