Dupont Circle

A couple days ago, I purchased "Song X" By Ornette Coleman and Pat Metheny. Though it's not smooth jazz (it's quite free and frenetic really), it reminded me of a smooth jazz track I wrote two years ago. I know people downloaded the Pearl Jam cover I posted last week, so I'm excited by the prospect of people downloading, listening, and hopefully sharing some of my music.

This track has one repeating synth/string part which I recorded in one take, with no section counts or breaks prepared. The solo is primarily improvised, but based on an eight measure theme I transcribed the weekend before I recorded this song. There is an underlying keyboard part, mostly doubling the synth chords, and only occasionally adding flourishes. You'd be real hip if you caught on to the horn parts (all layered samples from my synthesizer); the song was really incomplete until that brass section surfaced. In case you're wondering, I titled this song after an area in Washington, D.C. I frequented when I worked there during the Summer of 2004. I would always pass by this large banner: 'Smooth Jazz Brunch - Every Sunday'. Sadly, I never attended said brunch and only have this song to represent my recollection of what is, in my opinion, a pretty swank corner of D.C.


Balaji Mani - Dupont Circle
(right click > Save Link As...)

Lea

Here's a list of highly recommended books I read this summer:

Goodbye Lemon, Adam Davies
Norwegian Wood, Haruki Murakami
Sputnik Sweetheart, Haruki Murakami
Dance, Dance, Dance, Haruki Murakami
Amerika, Franz Kafka
plus various short stories by Haruki Murakami

Appa

Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France
July 2006

"Who Moved My Wine?" Triptych

Trafalgar Square, London, England
July 2006

Jeremy [Pearl Jam Cover]

The first band I ever loved is probably Pearl Jam. I've waited in line to buy Pearl Jam records on the release date. I've joined the fan club. I own almost every album of theirs in three different formats. Borderline obsession, but for good reason.

Somewhere in 2006, I was playing around with some drum samples on my synth, and sequenced a pretty basic jazz loop. While the loop was running, I switched to an upright bass sample and played some pretty standard arpeggios over the beat. I liked how the drum sequence was so far back and light, and the bass was really raw and meaty. For whatever reason, I was compelled to just start playing that infamous bass intro of 'Jeremy' by Pearl Jam (of course the notes were severely swung this time around).

I recorded it immediately, and decided to keep it as a purely minimal track. However, the irony (but how not ironic, considering Pearl Jam might be the reason I play music today) of doing a jazz cover of an old Pearl Jam classic took hold of me. There is actually no live guitar on this at all - I used yet another sample and keyed out the whole song. I threw vocals down in two takes, and my first attempt at jazzifying Pearl Jam surfaced.

I've decided to showcase it here at C-Sides as my first song up for download. More to come soon, certainly; but for now, enjoy this little gem of an almost hypocritical reaction to a faux-grunge fantasy.

http://web.mit.edu/sbmani/Public/Balaji%20Mani%20-%20Jeremy.mp3