My New Years resolution... try to record at least 1 song per week.
This week... "Samba Da Fifi", by me, Steve Mohacey. This is the first song I ever wrote. It was written for my wife (then the elusive girl, who had no idea I felt the way I did), back in late 1985/early 1986. I didn't have the nerve to play it for her (what a mistake). 4 years later, we were married, living in Monterey, CA. I was with the US Army's 7th Infantry Division (Light) Band. One day, I dragged Karin up to the band hall, brought the song in, and had the jazz combo play it for her. One of the guys (thanks Ray) said, "You should call this "Samba Da Fifi"... and the name stuck.
Saxophone was recorded using a Sennheiser 441 with the "FETHEAD" to boost the gain.
Backing tracks via Band In A Box 2024 ultrapak for Mac.
Recorded in Logic Pro 11.
Selmer Reference 54 Tenor sax. Mouthpiece- Dave Guardala MB1 (handmade). Reeds- Boston Sax Shop Black Box 3.5 (BEST REEDS EVER!!)
Filmed on iPhone 15 Pro Max.
This video was edited using Final Cut Pro
Key of C Major. Tempo is 240 bpm.
Memo: This samba style features an acoustic trio of guitar, bass, and brushed drums with the addition of an electric piano playing held chords. -Examples: Samba Pa Ti, Insensatez, Genre "Intensity" Score=40/100 _TELE.STY. Tele Samba Quartet All RealTracks. Quartet. Tempo=235 (220-260) Instruments: Ac.Bass, El.Piano, NylonGuitar, Drums RD: SambaBrazilFastBrushAlex: a: SambaBrazilFastBrushAlexb: SambaBrazilFastBrushAlex :Alex Acuna RT717: Bass, Acoustic, Samba Ev 190 , Neil Swainson RT2495: Piano, Electric, HeldChords 120 , Miles Black RT3256: Guitar, Nylon, Rhythm SambaRamon Ev 240 , Ramon Stagnaro
Beautiful! Nice composition, great solo-ing, and smart use of the BIAB trio -- you don't really need anything fancy to make something like this come alive! Production is first-class. Completely enjoyed it.
PS--makes me think that on Valentines Day we should have had a "Here's what I wrote for my spouse/sweetheart" posting day!
Windows 11, Intel Core i5-8600T 2.3Ghz, 16 gig ram, BIAB 2025 MegaPak, SampleTank 4, Keystation49 Kybd, Neewer NW-800 mic
Steve, cool composition and lively playing. The BiaB jazz trios like this one usually sound great, and the EP was a great add. Great job! Also love how tidy and music-focused your studio is. If only...
DC Ron BiaB Audiophile Presonus Studio One ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM Presonus Faderport 16 Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
It's a style I love very much, and I partly learned to love the saxophone with Stan Getz and then the great jazz saxophonists. When I was young, we only talked about electric guitar, but that was blinding ourselves, and over time, I learned to love all instruments when they're played by great artists. Thank you for championing your instrument and your beautiful music so well. Laurent
Some favourite Waoist Adages: #1: Play on the Way. #13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you. #58: Bring consciousness to it. #63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made. #92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
Definitely lots to like about this very creative musical piece. Really enjoyed your performance. Masterful playing.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
Steve, Not only did you make a really good backing track and play your saxophone beautifully, you also recorded it very, very well. Sounds absolutely professional
Beautiful! Nice composition, great solo-ing, and smart use of the BIAB trio -- you don't really need anything fancy to make something like this come alive! Production is first-class. Completely enjoyed it.
PS--makes me think that on Valentines Day we should have had a "Here's what I wrote for my spouse/sweetheart" posting day!
Tano- thank you for the vote of confidence. I wanted to keep the recording close to what I'd usually have out on a live date. As far as the production goes, I'm feeling much more confident with Logic and Final Cut Pro. I usually record in the evenings, so lighting is from the overhead ceiling lamp. For this one, I did it in the late afternoon. I think I get better results with the overhead lighting.
Steve, cool composition and lively playing. The BiaB jazz trios like this one usually sound great, and the EP was a great add. Great job! Also love how tidy and music-focused your studio is. If only...
Thank you. The studio is to the far right of my loft. On the far left, I have a PC setup for everything else. I am trying to keep the studio space dedicated to ONLY music.
It's a style I love very much, and I partly learned to love the saxophone with Stan Getz and then the great jazz saxophonists. When I was young, we only talked about electric guitar, but that was blinding ourselves, and over time, I learned to love all instruments when they're played by great artists. Thank you for championing your instrument and your beautiful music so well. Laurent
Laurent- As a working saxophonist, it is expected that I play flute and clarinet as well. These are standard doubles for saxophonist.
I am also a middle school band director. I've learned to play oboe and bassoon as well (though not to the same level). I also play trumpet/French horn/trombone/euphonium/tuba/drums. My keyboard skills are pretty basic. I can teach beginner guitar and bass, but have found that it is best for me to get a specialist to work with my jazz band kids on these instruments.
Steve, Very cool tune. Excellent playing. Clear mix and listens very well. Thank you for sharing, Misha.
P.S. I discovered Fethead couple of months ago. Neat little gadget.
Misha- Thanks for listening. The Fethead made all the difference in the world. The Sennheiser 441 is an absolutely fabulous mic for recording and playing live. But my chief complaint has always been that I had to push the gain so much that it was noisy. Fehead to the rescue.
Steve, Not only did you make a really good backing track and play your saxophone beautifully, you also recorded it very, very well. Sounds absolutely professional
I'm still learning about Logic Pro 11. But I think I have figured out how to mic and record the tenor sax. I need to dial in the rest of the saxophones better. But that is a project for when the school year ends and I have some extra time on my hands.
Ah, somma say Sambas are for Summer, but I say they make me move in every season. Nah, just kidding about the somma says stuff. But, no doubt this is some outstanding music here, Steve. Your ability and craftsmanship on those reeds is something special. I really dig this one-take samba. SO glad you share these wonderful pieces here. Thank you.
Enjoy whatever happens! marty
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@babumusic51 SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/marty-straub Band in a Box, Reaper, Cakewalk, Ozone 12, EZDrummer
Thanks for having a ReverbNation link to follow. This sounded great. Crystaline sound. Impressive.
BYOBand-
Thanks for visiting the ReverbNation site. I've been on that platform 2010. I've never tried to sell any music from the site. I mainly use it to publish my gig calendar (it used to have an app that would put up the play list and show calendar on my band facebook page... that no longer exisits). It still interfaces with my band facebook page, but only for publishing show dates and announcements. It also used to work with twitter... but that no longer works either (thanks "X").
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With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
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