New CD’s added this month!

Jazz

Cannonball Adderley – The Black Messiah
Bob Mintzer Big Band – Latin from Manhattan
David Esleck – Little Ears
Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra w/ Wynton Marsalis – Live in Swing City
Thelonious Monk – Big Band and Quartet in Concert
Thelonious Monk – Criss-Cross
Thelonious Monk – It’s Monk’s Time
Thelonious Monk – Live at the It Club
Thelonious Monk – Monk’s Blues
Thelonious Monk – San Francisco Holiday

Vocal Ensemble

Roomful of Teeth – Roomful of Teeth

Pop/Rock

The Band – Greatest Hits
Donald Fagen – The Nightfly
Jethro Tull – Benefit
Bruce Springsteen – Magic
Bruce Springsteen – The Promise
Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love
Bruce Springsteen – Lucky Town
Yes – Close to the Edge
Yes – Fragile
Neil Young – Freedom
Neil Young – Harvest

Soundtracks

Jason Robert Brown – Bridges of Madison County
Steven Lutvak – A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder
Curtis Mayfield – Superfly

Western Concert Artistic (i.e. “Classical”)

Unsuk Chin – Xi

Additional CD’s added in August!

Jazz

Cannonball Adderley – Walk Tall: The David Axelrod Years
Charles Kynard – Legends of Acid Jazz
Miles Davis – Milestones

Pop/Rock

The Hollies – Greatest Hits
The Pretenders – The Singles
Rick Wakeman – The Six Wives of Henry VIII

Western Concert Artistic (i.e. “Classical”)

Walter Braxton – Dance Suite | The Music of Walter Braxton
Walter Braxton – Five Orchestral Movements from the Music of Walter Braxton
Walter Braxton – Selections | The Music of Walter Braxton (DVD)
Walter Braxton – The Music of Walter Braxton

New CD’s added this month!

Classical

Clara Schumann – Complete Piano Works
Javier Camarena – Recitales
Temianka & Shure – Beethoven – 10 Sonatas for Violin and Piano

Jazz

Donald Byrd – Kofi
Duke Ellington – Festival Session
Duke Ellington – At Newport

Pop/Rock

The Beach Boys – Sounds of Summer
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band – Night moves
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band – Stranger in Town
Canned Heat – Uncanned – The Best of Canned Heat
Cherryholmes – Cherryholmes
Cherryholmes – Cherryholmes III, Don’t Believe
Cornell Dupree – Child’s Play
Don Henley – Building the Perfect Beast

Soundtracks

Stephen Flaherty – Rocky: Original Broadway Cast Recording
Tom Kitt – If/Then: Original Broadway Cast Recording

New CD’s added this month!

7/2/2014

Pop/Rock

The Band – Islands
Jethro Tull – Stand Up
Led Zeppelin – III
The Moody Blues – Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
Simon & Garfunkel – Old Friends
Sufjan Stevens – The Avalanche
Various – The Swing Time Records Story

Jazz

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra / W. Marsalis – Congo Square
Jimmy Smith – Compact Jazz – Jimmy Smith
Jimmy Smith – Compact Jazz – Jimmy Smith Plays the Blues
Wynton Marsalis Septet – Citi Movement (Griot New York)

New CD’s added this month!

6/25/2014

Rock

Lyle Lovett – Lyle Lovett and his Large Band
Lyle Lovett – Pontiac
Steely Dan – Everything Must Go
America – The Complete and Greatest Hits
Ringo Starr – Ringo
Traffic – The Best of Traffic
Harry Chapin – The Essentials
Joni Mitchell – Court and Spark
Van Morrison – Tupelo Honey
Van Morrison – Into the Music
Warren Zevon – Excitable Boy
Warren Zevon – Best of Warren Zevon

Additional CD’s added in May!

5/28/2014

Classical

Berio – Chamber Music
Peter Serkin – Beethoven Sonatas

Instrumental

Michael Daugherty – American Icons

Jazz

John Coltrane – Africa/Brass
Donald Byrd – Early Byrd

Pop/Rock

Foy Vance – Joy of Nothing
Bruce Springsteen – Human Torch
Bruce Springsteen – Darkness on the Edge of Town

Soul Music

Allen Toussaint – What is Success: The Scepter and Bell Recordings
Charles Wright – Express yourself the best of Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
Gladys Knight – The very best of Gladys Knight & the Pips : the early years

Soundtracks/Film Music

Various – BaadAsssss Cinema (The Sounds of Blaxploitation)
Various – The Best of Blaxploitation

New CD’s added this month!

5/21/2014

Jazz

Ben Powell – New Street
Don Pullen – New Beginnings
Eberhard Weber – Silent Feet
Eberhard Weber – Colours
Ken Peplowski – Maybe September
Pat Metheny Group – Kin()
Steve Turre – In the Spur of the Moment
Steve Turre – Keep Searchin’
Steve Turre – Rhythm Within
Terri Lyne Carrington – Money Jungle: Provocative in Blue

Funk, Soul, R&B

Betty Wright – The Platinum Collection
Impressions – Definitive Impressions
King Curtis – Instant Soul: The Legendary King Curtis
Tyrone Davis – The Ultimate Tyrone Davis

Christian/Gospel

Hezekiah Walker & LFC – Souled Out

5/20/2014

Bluegrass

Steep Canyon Rangers – Tell the Ones I Love

Classical

Beethoven – Four Sonatas for Fortepiano
Berio – Sequenzas
Berio – Rendering | Stanze
Messiaen – La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ

Christian

Hillsong – The Very Best of Hillsong Live

Funk, Soul, R&B

Candi Staton – Candi Staton
Eddie Floyd – Rare Stamps
Fatback Band – Fatbackin’
Harlem River Drive – Harlem River Drive
Howard Tate – Get It While You Can
The J.B.’s – Funky Good Time: The Anthology
Various – I’m a Good Woman 2: Funk Classics From Sassy Soul Sisters
Various – Move to Groove: The Best of 1970’s Jazz Funk

Jazz

Dianne Reeves – Beautiful Life
Duke Ellington – Such Sweet Thunder
John Abercrombie Quartet – Within a Song
Miles Davis – Four & More

5/19/2014

R&B, Soul, Funk, African JAZZ, and more…

Abdullah Ibrahim – African Marketplace
Abdullah Ibrahim – African Sun
Abdullah Ibrahim – Blues for a Hip King
Abdullah Ibrahim – Voice of Africa
Aretha Franklin – Rare & Unreleased Recordings from the Golden Reign of the Queen of Soul
Betty Harris – The Lost Soul Queen
Don Covay – The Platinum Collection
Ike and Tina Turner – Proud Mary: The Best of Ike and Tina Turner
James Brown – The Payback
Otis Clay – Testify!
Undisputed Truth – The Collection
Various – For Connoisseurs Only, Vol. 2
Various – For Connoisseurs Only, Vol. 3
Various – Heart of Southern Soul, Vol. 2
Various – Heart of Southern Soul, Vol. 3
Various – Heart of Southern Soul, Nashville/Memphis/Muscle Shoals
Various – Land of 1000 Dances
Various – Land of 1000 Dances 1956-1966, Vol. 2
Various – Rare and Unreissued New York Funk, 1969-1976
Various – Rough Guide to South African Jazz
Wilson Pickett – Very Best of Wilson Pickett

Jazz

Esperanza Spalding – Radio Music Society
Gregory Porter – Liquid Spirit
Miles Davis – My Funny Valentine
Mike Jones Trio – Plays Well with Others
Paul Motion – On Broadway, Vol. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Brazil

Paquito D’Rivera – Song for Maura

Bluegrass

Matt Flinner Trio – Music du Jour

Metal/Industrial

Trevor Jackson Presents Metal Dance

Pop

Justin Timberlake – The 20/20 Experience

Christian

Mandisa – Overcomer

How to Start Your Own Studio (For Free)

Editor’s Note: This guest post by one of our student managers, Matthew Gizzi, relates the fun he’s had experimenting and working with audio recording. He uses the Zoom H2, which is available for checkout at the Music Library, to record demos for later use in his studio projects. Read on to learn more about the ways to use the Zoom H2.

For the better part of a year, the music library has had a small collection of H2 Zoom recorders, which are available for purposes ranging from recording private lessons to large concerts to more studio oriented recording and demoing.  Personally I’ve used them and relied on them heavily to aid my songwriting process.  They are incredibly versatile and I’d definitely recommend taking them out for a little while just to experiment with.

Originally, adding them to the library collection was a move to bring the music library into modern times.  Before the H2, we had a collection of boom boxes and tape recorders that add some recording capacity, though the quality and practicality left much to be desired.  Now though, the recorders come in a carrying case that is less than half the size of the tape recorders and still carry enough tools to help out with most jobs you’ll encounter.

H2 in use for singer-songwriter with guitar

The H2 is handy for recording your singer-songwriter demos! The stand is included with accessories for the H2.

As a musician and songwriter, I’ve noticed a number of ways the recorders have helped me.  First, I’ve learned a lot more about the instruments I play and how it is they produce sound.  Using the H2 as a 3rd ear of sorts that I can place anywhere in the room, I’ve learned how my acoustic guitar, for example, sounds from different angles.  I’ve learned how to focus the microphone to get the fullest range from Booker’s pianos, and I’ve learned how to mike an amp to get the best tone for both clean and overdriven sounds.  Through experimenting with a recorder I can use for free, I’ve learned a lot that has certainly come in handy now that my studio has grown to include more professional equipment.

H2 buttons, dials

This is the Zoom H2, front display with buttons, and the inputs and other controls on the sides.

Also handy was the fact that I could really break into multi-instrument songwriting.  Once I had one track already recorded, I could easily play over that to come up with whatever harmonies, solos, extra instruments, or choruses I thought I liked.  As a result, my music began to become much more epic and larger in scope, something that I have certainly enjoyed playing around with.  The recorder comes with a built in metronome with count in, so you will have a good reference point to make sure all your tracks line up.

piano recording via Zoom H2

Need to recording acoustic piano in a practice room? Try the Zoom H2!
Rights to photo belong to kevinselby.com.

The last thing I’ll mention about the H2 is that is has a lot of flexibility.  It is great at recording acoustic guitar, but you can also widen the recording area to capture a full band rehearsal, or record a music lesson so you can always return to some good advice.  It is unlikely that you will check it out and find it cannot do what you want it to.  So I’d say: challenge yourself.  Check out the H2 recorder and record that demo for use in your portfolio, write a multi-track song or grab some friends and cover a great tune.  You have quite a few options when it comes to the music library’s Zoom.