June 22nd, 2008, posted by Eric
Hey everyone, I am writing you from Harlem, New York where Art Tatum: Piano Starts Here is entering its last day after an intense week of rehearsal and showcase performances. Back home (Raleigh/Durham, NC), the local paper has run a great article about Zenph’s latest work. I am quoted and featured often, both for my work on the Tatum show, and for my research into bass re-performance parameters.
Here is the link:
http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/1116398.html
Enjoy!
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June 4th, 2008, posted by Eric
Hey all, Zenph Studios has just reached another great milestone: Our second album with Sony BMG hits the streets today. This album marks the first time Zenph Studios has analyzed and re-performed a jazz artist, and not just any jazz artist. the legendary pianist Art Tatum.
From the press release:
Art Tatum’s “Piano Starts Here” album contains material that has been in print for more than 50 years. Yet the original, an incomparable jazz album that highlights the mastery of this singular musician, had been marred by nominal sound quality and other imperfections — until now.
Zenph’s unique technique turns audio recordings into live performances that precisely replicate the original recording, but offer vastly improved sound quality. Listeners are transported back to the moment of creation and experience Tatum’s playing as if they were in the room when the original recordings were made.
Last year, Sony BMG and Zenph Studios re-recorded Tatum’s 1949 concert at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. They placed the piano on the same stage in the same spot that Tatum played and recorded a flawless re-performance on modern equipment before a live audience.
SONY BMG’s new disc is a hybrid surround-sound SACD/CD disc, which plays on all traditional CD players and sounds magnificent on Super Audio (SACD) players. It also includes a binaural version of the re-performance that provides an immersive experience. When listened to with headphones, it replicates what Tatum would have heard while he sat on the piano bench.
The Zenph re-performance also corrects several problems with the original album. For one thing, playback speed was too slow on 12 of the 13 tracks, so after Zenph fixed the tempo, you hear that Tatum actually played faster than has been thought.
And, thanks to Tatum discographer Arnold Laubich, Zenph has restored about two minutes of lost material. The original album omits excerpts from Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess,” which Tatum performed at the concert during the track now titled “The Man I Love.”
I have had the privilege of working on this album from start to finish: it has been an intense and insightful process involving the cutting edge of both computer algorithms and musicology. My name is in the credits for the research and production team, so technically, this is my major label debut :-).
You can purchase the album at Zenph’s online store, Amazon.com. iTunes, or any major music retailer. Please comment back and let me know what you think of the new album, or if you have any questions about the Zenph re-performance process. Enjoy!
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May 20th, 2008, posted by Eric
Don’t look twice: the above photo is the real deal, not a product of Photoshop trickery! Over the past few months I have become the Supervising Producer for an exciting new show that opens at Harlem’s world famous Apollo Theater in June. The show is called Art Tatum: Piano Starts Here and it features Zenph’s jaw-dropping re-performance technology which allows Art Tatum to play live onstage before your very eyes. I’ve been working with the show from the research and writing, to the director hiring, to the casting, to the design (I am also the sound designer), to the rehearsal process, and the promotion. It has been a valuable arts management experience and I get to work with top-shelf Broadway talent along the way!
Zenph Studios is presenting the show in association with Metropolitan Talent Presents (recentclients include The Rolling Stones and The Police…) and has brought many jazz luminaries on board in support of the show including Les Paul, Page Cavanaugh, Little Anthony, and Clark Terry. Zenph is dedicated to jazz education and preservation and is showing this by working with The Jazz Museum in Harlem and donating half the profits of the show to them. Zenph has also been working with Tatum’s estate to donate his piano and other belongings to the Museum! There is a big effort behind this show, and I’m really excited to present it to you:
The show goes up June 19th, 20th, and 22nd at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com or through the Apollo box office (212/531-5305).
I’ve loved working with director Tre Garrett, and actor Paul Butler (who has been in original productions of many August Wilson plays). Here are some shots of us rehearsing with the Zenph piano in Raleigh last week:
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January 9th, 2008, posted by Eric
Happy New Year everybody! 2008 promises to be my most active year yet with 2 albums on the way, one for a salsa group and the other for a soul group. To kick off the year I will be presenting a session on behalf of Zenph® Studios at the annual IAJE (International Association of Jazz Educators) conference called “Art Tatum Plays Again!” Saturday the 12th at 5pm.
Imagine sitting in the same room as Art Tatum while he plays for you on a marvelous concert grand piano. Wild, right? I’ve been a Performance Analyst at Zenph for almost two years now, working closely with the research and coding of these re-performances as well as the first urtext engravings of Tatum scores. I am continually amazed by our work and the implications it has for music education and dissemination.
Here are some pics from the presentation:
Hard at work with John Q. Walker, Zenph founder.
With the Yamaha Canada team and Oliver Jones (Canada’s next legendary jazz pianist behind Oscar Peterson)!!!
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