Blue Elephant (jazz ballad)

I wrote this tune a year ago or so for school. It's a very "white", cool and laid-back jazz ballad for Baritone saxophone (The sax VST-plug is called SaxLab 2 and is great). I aimed for a very Gerry Mulligan-kinda-sound.This was written back when I first got my own fretless bass, so naturally I had to record my own bass solo. :DHope you enjoy.p.s Ignore the drum-snare intro. I was horrible at programming drums back then, so I just did something. It's awful, I know.

Blue Elephant (jazz ballad)

The snare drum intro wasn't that bad, hahaha. It's nice to see an ACTUAL lead sheet as opposed to all the fully-written out "jazz" that I've mostly seen on this forum.

Everything sounded pretty good, the only thing that was a little weird was the repeated E at the very end of the head. It just doesn't sound "right" to me, if you know what I mean. But other than that, great job, and it's a pretty nice recording too.

Hello there! I don't play jazz a lot,I'm just an ocassional listener as I love jazz guitarists.

But I have to say,I just love jazz ballads and this one is just great! You have very beautiful tone with your saxophone,really.I would listen to this instrument whole day.So lovely to me.If I wasn't a guitar player,I would definitely like to be a saxophone player.Well who knows,maybe one day,I'll pick up also a saxophone :happy:

Thank you,I'm really happy to hear this nice piece of music.I just love it.

There's almost nothing to criticize,nothing to change.It's great as it is

Cheers

/Oliver <img src="http://network.youngcomposers.com/elgg/ipb/public/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif" alt=":)" />

10/10

I'm sorry to say it straight out: it doesn't swing. The drummer plays a completely different song: hits all wrong and out of place. I don't like the tone of either the sax nor the drums. I like the tone of the fretless, even though it's way out of style for this.

The chord/melody at 4 and 12 (E is cheesy. Melody being the root on a tritone substituted chord sounds too 'bad-play-a-long-cd'. Somewhere you have a dominant7(b9) with the root in the melody - sounded wrong, like: hey the piano player doesn't listen to melody.

The piano accompaniment could use some rhythmic and harmonic inspiration.

Should this be a baritone? Make use of the register down there! Sounds like a tenor-sax.

That was all I had on a run-through, and I'm sad to say that it doesn't beg to be listened to again.

Why? I do like his tone.It's sweet

of course there are things,thay might be better,but the whole song is good I think

I don't know why you like such an artificial tone.... I spend hours a week playing with saxofonists (professional ones) and I have made myself a reference as to how a sax sounds and reacts

I don't know why you like such an artificial tone.... I spend hours a week playing with saxofonists (professional ones) and I have made myself a reference as to how a sax sounds and reacts

Who knows..Maybe I didn't spend much time listening to saxophonists.If I did,I'd propably have same opinion as you have.But that's just my fault,I'll keep an eye or two listening more to professional saxophonists

sorry I mean EAR :D

Bryla, did you read the info?

The drums are just a place-holder. It's just a loop.

The sax is a VST-synth. Of course it sounds artificial..

And I wasn't very good at piano-voicings back then. I just recorded the changes and improvised a melody afterwards.

This was written back when I had little, to no experience in jazz theory as a school assignment to utilize II-V progressions.

This is by no means a recording I would use to market myself. It's just a sketch of a tune that would sound 100x better with real musicians.

Okay. But still I have some valid points regarding the chords vs melody and especially the register of the sax! Just a simple thing like choosing a baritone-like key makes a difference. Think about concert C. Thats a bari's A! Concert Ab is much better suited for him.

and btw: your OP doesn't say anything to justify this.... sorry

Okay. But still I have some valid points regarding the chords vs melody and especially the register of the sax! Just a simple thing like choosing a baritone-like key makes a difference. Think about concert C. Thats a bari's A! Concert Ab is much better suited for him.

and btw: your OP doesn't say anything to justify this.... sorry

Fair Enough.

nice atmosphere, i feel there is some jazz in there. alot of other stuff are missing, but its pretty good considering you're not a jazz player. i would get a more focused melody for it, and sometimes the upright bass goes over the melody(like its part of it, but not intended).

I'm a jazz player :(

sorry then, i couldn't hear any swing there, what is your main instrument?

sorry then, i couldn't hear any swing there, what is your main instrument?

Trombone.

Studying jazz at the moment and have had lot of progress since this was made.

awesome, i think if you get even a simple mic and record the melody on your main instrument it would make huge difference.

but you probably can compose other stuff now