Video, Softly as in a Morning Sunrise, TL Trio

Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise is a song with music by Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein II from the 1928 operetta The New Moon.

It has been recorded by artists as:

• Dorothy Ashby – Django/Misty (1984)
• Chet Baker – Chet Baker – Wolfgang Lackerschmid – Ballads For Two (1979)
• George Benson – Irreplaceable (2004)
• Ron Carter – Where? (1961)
• John Coltrane – Live! at the Village Vanguard (1962)[1]
• Bing Crosby – New Tricks (1957)

This track was recorded live in Barcelona , Spain at Aurha Studios.  Featuring my famed ex students Xavi Reija on drums and Jordi Franco on bass.

In the video notice how you can hear with extreme clarity each instrument. This is difficult to achieve in a live recording, where all microphones are picking up signal from all instruments, especially the drums and bass. Notice that there is no physical separation between instruments, we are using amplifiers and we are not using headphones.We are recording in a manner where we break the rules of how to record with clarity.

The clarity is a consequence of how we play. Each instrument, musicians define their role with extreme individuality. Notice how the drum starts off with a two bar melodic motif and the guitar and bass create their own two bar melodic motif that compliment each other with extreme melodic value. 

In other words, the more melodically we play ( including the drummer) the more of a spatial sound we create, the better the groove, the lower the volume and the easier it is to mix.Also you can record with fewer mics and hardly any compression in the mix buses.

I asked each musician to play in this manner which is not a standard in the style and it took us a few hours of rehearsal to get the ideas flowing. This manner of interpretation requires the musician to go beyond the normal scope of playing and to dog into their personal expression to make it work.