Month: October 2016

Broadjam Artist: Chet Nichols
Song: Lady, Oh, Lady (Folk/Solo – from “Waving Prairie”)

Reviewer: stefo

Positive Comments: beautiful toned vocal. well executed guitar. nice piece of folk . the vocal really is the thing which sells this track.

Constructive Comments: i would like to have heard a change in the chord maybe a bridge or change of tempo etc. the lyrics are also a little predictable but for me the vocal is fantastic . nice piece of traditional folk.

Broadjam Artist: Brenda Craven
Song: Fallen In Love

Reviewer: Josh Walker

Positive Comments: This is a nice smooth jazz/easy listening tune with a laid back groove and nice piano melody and soothing pad sounds. i like the jazzy 7ths and 9ths harmony – it fits the sound.

Constructive Comments: I assume this is just a rough recording to get your ideas down. If you want to do a studio quality recording, you may already know you need to ditch just about every sound on there – probably except piano and pad.

Broadjam Artist: Margie & Art Corey, S. & A. Corey
Song: Now You’re Free

Reviewer: Josh Walker

Positive Comments: This song is really different. It’s hard to classify, from the electronic rhythm section to the jazzy sax and Frank Zappa sounding vocals. I like original stuff, so this is a plus in my opinion, but it might be hard to market.

Constructive Comments: The recording is very faint – it needs some mastering to boost the levels and put some sheen on it. And as I said above, you’ll probably have a hard time finding your audience for this song unless you already have a following. But I like the song!

Broadjam Artist: Marc S. Pate
Song: Take Me (duet)

Reviewer: Josh Walker

Positive Comments: This sounds like a jazzy tune with a 60’s Carolina beach music flavor to it. The drums and bass lay down a nice laid back shuffle groove, and the electric piano has a really nice feel as well. The tritone sub chords in the harmony and off beat hits along with the shuffle feel remind me of Myrtle Beach Days.

Constructive Comments: I can’t put my finger on it, but the recording sounds demo-ish. It might be the electric drum sounds. The vocals sound nice, as do the electric piano. It must be the drums. Maybe use live drums and that’ll certainly help. I’m not sure where this type of song would fit marketing-wise – it’s not quite jazz, but it’s not really rock or R&B either.

Broadjam Artist: FRED GROSS
Song: Liberty Jam

Reviewer: Josh Walker

Positive Comments: To me it straddles the line between a bluesy rock instrumental and jazz. It has a nice aggressive groove and guitar sound – sort of a Santana sounding guitar tone. The drummer has some nice chops and a clean sound.

Constructive Comments: The recording sounds like a demo – maybe get a mixing guy to work on it if you want to do something with this. Sometimes the piano gets just a little too loose from the groove, but that’s just a minor thing. He/she’s got some good rock chops!

Broadjam Artist: Vittorio Bianchi
Song: Maiden Voyage

Reviewer: Josh Walker

Positive Comments: As a drummer, the first thing that stood out to me is the really nice drumming and drum set sound. This sounds like a spacey retro 70’s instrumental with updated sounds and recording. I love the electric piano sound as well. The arrangement is really nice – I assume a funky version of Maiden Voyage? Well done!

Constructive Comments: Nothing from here…great arrangement!

Broadjam Artist: Chet Nichols
Song: Malibu Sunday-Short Intro (#1 Smooth Jazz)

Reviewer: Josh Walker

Positive Comments: To my ears, this straddles the line between jazz and pop instrumental, but it probably is marketed better as a jazz song. I like the arrangement, and the hook stays with you. The B section sounds really cool and complements the A section well.

Constructive Comments: The only thing I hear in this are the quality of sounds, especially percussion. Maybe use some more realistic sounds and you’ve got something really good.

Broadjam Artist: Paul Messina
Song: Omni Play

Reviewer: Josh Walker

Positive Comments: This a nice soundscape and reminds me of Thievery Corporation. The ambient harmony and interweaving saxes adds some cool colors to it. I really like the percussion as well. Everything sounds high quality to me. I’m not sure if this is written for movies and TV or just as an independent project, but it sounds great!

Constructive Comments: Nothing quality-wise from me to add – I have no idea of its usefulness in a TV or movie, but I know as an album, electronica and ambient music fans will eat this up.

Broadjam Artist: Ronald Arduini
Song: CHOOSE A WAY

Reviewer: Josh Walker

Positive Comments: This is a cool, original jazzy tune and has potential. The vocalist sounds familiar, like I’ve reviewed this composer before, but it’s an unconventional vocal style. It may not work for everything or everyone, but I like it with this song. I also like the arrangement. I like the switch to a double time feel later on the song.

Constructive Comments: The biggest issue is with the quality of instruments – almost everything could use an upgrade, from the piano to the bass and drums. It really hampers the song, which I think is pretty good. But if your purpose on here is simply to get your songs and ideas out, then I could see not sinking money into a really good workstation like Protools or something.

Broadjam Artist: Earl.C.Webb
Song: ROUTE 66

Reviewer: Josh Walker

Positive Comments: The instrumentation is appropriate for this genre, and the vocalist has an R&B sound that goes well with this jazzy blues. The rhythm section is laying down a good groove and feel as well. Nice!

Constructive Comments: I’m trying to figure out what this was recorded on – I assume this is a demo of some kind? Is this an old recording on a four track or eight track? If you want to do something with this, maybe get it cleaned up by a mixing/mastering guy. Other than that, it sounds like a standard interpretation of this jazz classic.