Summertime Synth

“Summertime” - Composed by George Gershwin for the opera Porgy and Bess 

Charles on Trombone, accompanied by his synthesizers 

Link to Video on YouTube:  https://youtu.be/n8-MAD9xB_k

"Summertime," by George Gershwin, has always been one of my favorite tunes, and over the years it has become a Jazz Standard with many having performed the piece, including Miles Davis and John Coltrane.  In fact, Miles Davis did an entire album of the music from Porgy and Bess.   

In any event, I have always enjoyed playing this one, and rarely would I be out performing in public without bringing this one out at some point in time.  

I was playing this tune previously with a backing track, but since the pandemic has kept me from playing out I have turned to working with my synthesizers, and created this rendition of Summertime. 

The trombone I am using is my King 3b+.  It is a cool horn, and has a gold brass bell which gives it a nice sound. The horn is about 36 years old.  I am the second owner. The first owner, Jock Ellis, played this horn professionally in the Los Angeles area.  Jock Ellis played with Frank Zappa on a few of Zappa’s albums. 

The drum track is by the Arturia Drumbrute Impact.  I ran it through a TC Electronic Dark Matter Distortion, and also added a bit of reverb for the main track.  The Korg Monologue covers the changes, with one oscillator tuned to the root of the chord, and the other tuned to the fifth, but down a fourth.  Those of you who are fans of music theory will understand that one.  I ran the Monologue through a Boss RV-6 Digital Delay.   Finally, about the mid-point, I bring in the Behringer TD-3 for an acid bass line to finish it out.  

Finally, I always like to give credit to those that serve as the inspiration for my projects, and this one goes out to Jonathan Graves and Amanda Corbu, of CorbuCorbu, for their inspiration for me to fill in some holes on this project that allowed me to complete it.  Check out their music at their YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/corbuvision, and their Bandcamp page: https://corbu.bandcamp.com/, and of course on all the streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.  They do phenomenal work, you will enjoy their unique and unmistakable sound.      

Thank you so much for checking out the video (link above) and for all of your support.  I sincerely hope you enjoy my version of “Summertime.”  It was a fun project to bring together. 

Recorded January 17, 2021.   

To learn more about the tune “Summertime,” see the Wikipedia article at:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summertime_(George_Gershwin_song) 

To learn more about the opera “Porgy and Bess,” see the Wikepedia article at:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porgy_and_Bess 

Photo Credit:  Photo by stein egil liland from Pexels (Title and Ending Page) 

Check out a few of my other videos on my Charles Neuzil Music YouTube Channel if you have an opportunity, particularly if you are interested in the pairing of the trombone with synthesizers. Follow me on Instagram, and visit my website. Thank you! 

WEB www.charlesneuzilmusic.com 

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IG @charlesneuzil 

YouTube - Charles Neuzil Music - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChl-UPZhcj9MVXyDv8VJerQ 

 

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