PG Music Home Forums General Discussion User Showcase Whol' Lotta Bossa Goin' On!

****** Song Summary *************
Title: Whol' Lotta Bossa Goin' On!
Key = Am, Tempo @ 170, Length = 2:29
Style is _B140_GB.STY (Contemporary Med. Bossa) interpolated with three varieties of Afro-Cuban/Latin styles from Band-in-a-Box.

RealTracks in style:
Ron Carter on Bass, Acoustic, Bossa,Ron Ev. 140, #2284
Oliver Gannon, Guitar, Nylon, Soloist, Samba Ev. 190, #1094
Oliver Gannon, Guitar, Electric, Rhythm, Bossa Ev. 140, #467
Gary Smulyan, Sax, Baritone, Soloist, Bossa, Gary Ev. 140 #2142
Craig Scott, Bossa Brushes: a: Sidestick Brushes b: Sidestick, Ride
Loop(s): Guiro [Percussion Loops\Loop124bpm Guiro 8ths 4 bars.wma]

Other instruments include a vibraslap from Sonic Foundry Latin Loops, and a kick drum loop from Zero G’s Nu Bossa sample pack.

The song form is…I don’t know, really, but it includes a 16-bar intro, followed by a pair of 8-bar verses of vocalese lyrics performed by me. A 4-bar bridge occurs with a style change to BOSSONM.STY (Son Montuno w / bossa drums). Gary Smulyan solos on baritone sax for 16 bars. A second 4-bar bridge comes in with another style, _SONMOPC.STY. (Son Montuno). Oliver Gannon solos on nylon guitar (he sounds like he could have performed on the soundtrack for the 1959 film Black Orpheus!!!) for 16 bars, followed by a third and final bridge of SONTRIO.STY (Cuban Son Montuno), after which the pair of 8-bar vocalese lyrics are re-visited and lead to a 4-bar ending.

To forum member ‘rayc’: You seem to be the resident mixologist/sound engineer on the forum, so I’m particularly interested in your comments on the production, though I welcome comments from all others concerning that aspect.

The song is dedicated to the late João Gilberto (June 10th, 1931 – July 6th, 2019), the Brazilian singer, songwriter, and guitarist, who according to Wikipedia “was a pioneer of the musical genre of bossa nova in the late 1950s. Around the world he was often called "father of bossa nova"; in his native Brazil, he was referred to as "O Mito" ("The Legend").

https://www.soundclick.com/music/songInfo.cfm?songID=13929290

Loren,

A very enjoyable piece.

All of the instruments have a real "presence"...crisp and clear. The percussion really brings it to life.

The vocals sound really cool panned as they are. They really "pop" - sounded like there were two people standing here in the room on either side of my.

fj

I feel you used the Styles really smartly in this song! Great job.

Firstly--a masterful use of the program here. The style changes are delicious. Though I had trouble keeping up with your description at such a high tempo, the results/rhythmical changes were inventive and fun to listen to. Both sax and guitar solos were coherent and beautiful. The vocals were well done, and the panning was effective. I especially liked the descending line at the end of the piece. I'm not a Bossa expert, but if the point of the thing is to produce a feeling of happiness mixed with sensuality, then you've nailed it. Greatly enjoyed.

Very nice. Smooth as butter, and very nice arrangement, kept it interesting. Really enjoyed listening to this!

Steve

That was a whole lot of Bossa indeed.
I'm just a home recording song writer like everyone else - being a retiree probably gives me more time to muse though.
My 1st thought was about the bass being a little to the side. It works but isn't entirely balanced by the acoustic on the other side.
Having bass & bass drum up the middle is no longer essential as we aren't trying to keep the stylus from jumping out of the grooves but it's a convention of the "stereo image" that is imprinted in my mind.
Putting the two bass instruments up the middle does mean a little EQ carving of the frequencies they overlap in - one has to have the meat in that sandwich. At present the bass dominates and the kick drum is subordinate.
The nylon string guitar solo didn't grab me - melodically or tonally. It may benefit from a little more presence but I think it's just my expectation that it'd pick up some of the melody that is the problem.
In terms of your arrangement I see the reasoning and to change it to a more conventional image you'd need to add another guitar or something else which would probably clutter things.
The hard panned vocals are very much of the era of 60s pop bossanova so there's nothing to comment on there.
The whole package is eurobossonova poptastic - the sort of thing I'd expect to hear in an Italian or Spanish movie - all that's missing is the high gloss lipstick female vocal on one side. To put it into a simile to match your style: as light & frothy as the top of a cappuccino with good espresso underneath.

Enjoyed it, just too short, wanted more! Well done!

Nice groove! And overall a fun song, I enjoyed the listen. Also enjoyed Loren's Lounge which started playing right afterwards.

Nice work!

Hi Loren,
I like very much Bossa-Nova and I find in your instrumental the same atmosphere that in Jorge Ben's song " Mas que nada ".
It's always a pleasure to listen to this musical style played so well.
Thanks for that. Christian

Wonderfully upbeat! It does sound like it belongs in a movie from the 50's. A movie I would watch in a heartbeat.

Very well put together. Inspirational!

Hi Loren ...

Yes sir! Di and I are H-U-G-E fans of almost all Latin styles of music, Bossa being our favorite, followed closely by Samba (got a Samba in the works!).

That was a real pleasure. The style change was very effective ... as smooth as warm butter on a hot bun. Excellent choices on the backing tracks. The vocal pan was very effective and most enjoyable. The finished product reminded me of a jigsaw puzzle in a way ... lots of pieces that had to be perfectly interlocked to finish the piece and then such a gorgeous picture after the last piece was locked in.

This is one of our favorite listens of the recently posted songs. I think Di hit the proverbial nail on the head ... could have been the soundtrack in an early James Bond movie (when Sean Connery was still playing the part) when the setting was Spanish or Latin. That would have been really cool!

Great work ... such a pleasure to listen to. Wishing you the very best ...

Alan & Di

João Gilberto would be very pleased with this production and arrangement.

Absolutely everything has been delivered.

The scat worked so well throughout the song also.

Great!

Hello, Floyd Jane...

You 'have ears' for all kinds of music, don't you . I believe I've read your comments on every genre of music presented to the User's Forum...and that's a GOOD thing, something I strive to do, myself.

I'm grateful for your positive assessment of ' the mix'. I assure you it's primarily the result of listening closely to User's Forum posts, while trying to imagine what technical decisions they made to get the sound they desired.

The 'panning' effect you noticed was achieved by loading the vocal tracks into Sony Audio Studio 9.0, and then applying to each of them the 'Process > Invert/Flip' command, which 'threw' the tracks to opposite sides of the sound field.

Thank you for listening to the music, Floyd Jane!

Sincerely,

- bluage -

Dear Ms. Ember...

Where Band-in-a-Box goes, I follow .

Thanks for giving it your atttention!

Truly,

- bluage -

Hello, 'Tangmo'...

I don't think I'm a 'bossa expert', either, but your inspired comment would have me nominating you for being -- or becoming -- such an expert because of the sublimely beautiful way you described your experience of listening to the piece! You caused me to hear it a different, startling, unique way: 'happiness mixed with sensuality'.

I like that, 'Tangmo'. I like that a lot.

Thank you!

- bluage -

Mr. Young...

What would we do without the word 'butter' to describe the concept of 'smoothness', eh??? Nothing can beat it...except a whisk, that is .

I'm glad to read that you enjoyed listening to it. Thank you for checkin' it out!

- bluage -

'rayc'...

You're right about "the bass being a little to the side." I made that decision because, with my severely limited knowledge of sound engineering, I couldn't figure out another way to prevent such a sub-toned instrument from getting lost in 'the mix'. I'd love to hear how you would arrive at a solution to that problem.

Frankly, the kick drum track was problematic for me. I wanted it to really punch through the mix, but I didn't see a way to do that without encountering that dreaded monster known as 'clipping' .

"The whole package is eurobossonova poptastic." Man, I dig that !!! And I agree that it would have been great to have a female vocalist perform one of the vocalese tracks. I'll do that in the second version.

Thanks for the quick 'master class', 'rayc' !!! I knew you'd give the piece a deep listen. I appreciate your insights.

Most sincerely,

- bluage -

Hello, 'Tunemonger' (nice handle!)...

On the 'too short' thing, I felt the same way. But then, after considering how I might have 'padded it out', by adding more solos, perhaps, or by changing the dynamics of the arrangement somehow, suddenly it occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, shorter could be sweeter !!!

Thank you for tuning in, and commenting, too, 'Tunemonger'.

- bluage -

'Blue Attitude'...

About 'the groove', I wanted to crank-up the tempo to hear how much more groovier it could get !!!

I'm glad you enjoyed listening to Loren's Lounge, too.

Thank you for taking the time to audition the piece, 'Blue Attitude'.

- bluage -

Dear 'Chris37'...

Well, sir, you win the award for guessing what the source of my inspiration for this song was: Mas Que Nada. I mean, you hit it on the head !!! That was it, exactly.

Obviously, you do 'like very much Bossa-Nova', because that's what it would take to so accurately discern the influence.

'Chris37', thank you for listening so closely. I'm happy that you were happy with the song!

Sincerely,

- bluage -

'gruverider'...

I wish I'd been old enough in the 50's to have composed this for a movie !!!

Glad to read you felt it was an 'upbeat' listening experience. I thought it was, too.

Thank you for clicking on the 'play' button!

Sincerely,

- bluage -

Hello, again, 'Al' & Ms. Di ...

You're the second party to make the comment about how the song would fit into a movie. That would be cool .

I saw Sean Connery bust a few dance moves behind the podium at a televised American Film Institute event honoring his life's achievements in film. I wonder if he could dance the bossa nova...??? If not, he could benefit by taking a few lessons from Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, eh???

I sure do appreciate your well-considered comments, Al & Ms. Di !

Truly,

- bluage -

'VideoTrack'...

That's a nice thing to say! Boy, you don't know how many times I've wished that I'd been born earlier, in Brazil, and living within earshot of where Mr. Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Astrud Gilberto, Vinicius de Moraes, and his other contemporaries got together to work out the vision of their new music called, 'Bossa Nova'...

Glad the 'scat' worked for you, too .

Thanks for listening, 'VideoTrack'!!!

Sincerely,

- bluage -

A captivating listen, not much more I can add to all the excellent comments so I just sat back and listened.

Excellent work, imaginative and movie soundtrack worthy.

Peter

Would not play on by browser.....not sure why. Darn it! I will try on another platform later. Take care. Greg

This has "professionally done" written all over it. Superb job, had me dance! You know exactly what you're doing and you're doing it brilliantly with this song. Well done!

Nice track instrumentals are always tricky as you can have too much or too little this was well balanced and yea agree with the too short comment.

Thanks

Hi, Greg...

I'm sorry to read about the browser issue. I have the same problem trying to play the track at the SoundClick website through my browser, which is Bing, but I believe it's because I'm still using Windows XP operating system.

Thanks for making an attempt to listen to it. Hope it works on whatever other browser you try!

- bluage -

'beatmaster'...

Yessiree, I agree that instrumentals 'are always tricky' !!! Their differing sound characteristics make it difficult to achieve the balance you mentioned. It took me about...two weeks to get everything sounding 'correct' to my ears. Your comment about the track being 'well-balanced' validates the effort I put into it!

Next post, I'll try to produce something to listen to that won't be so 'short' in its duration !!!

I really appreciate you paying such close attention to the music.

- bluage -

'musician17'...

Now, THAT'S what I'm talkin' 'bout !!!

My constant, persistent approach to composing music in any genre, is that it must have a rhythm -- slow, medium or fast -- that invites listeners to wanna dance to it. I'm so-ooo glad you responded to it in that way !!! Myself, I'm a dancin' fool, and so much so that in grade school I was constantly getting into trouble in the classroom because I was always shakin' my bee-hind. Ha, ha, ha !!!

If I were cuttin'-up like that in class, now, in these times, when so many children are beng prescribed drugs to control their so-called 'disorders', I'd probably be diagnosed as being 'hyperactive'. Hell, all I thought I was doin' was havin' a whole mess'a fun behind the teacher's back, ha, ha !!!

I'm grateful for your very positive comments on the song, sir. Thanks for hearin' it out.

- bluage -

'PeterF'...

Well, it's nice to know that the song put you in such a relaxed state of mind!

Thank you for taking the time to listen to it.

Sincerely,

- bluage -

Loren,
Tasty stuff and a beautiful tribute! I would prefer Bar.Sax a little higher on the solo, but that just an opinion of average listener. Overall, production is great. I enjoyed this relaxing tune.

Thank you for sharing!

Misha.

Hi Loren,

Is that really Band In A Box? The presentation is AWESOME.



This must have taken ages to put together. The sound is professional through and through and really sparkles with a ton of zing and pizzazz. Everything about this, shines. The bossa feel is sublime and I love the vocal addition.

The star of the show, though, for me is the guiro player of yours! He really knows when and where and at what speed to scrape the guiro to make is sing!

This is incredibly good!

I'm going back for another listen now.

All the best,
Noel

Firstly, this sounds like a "band." A band in the sense of guys/gals who have been
playing together for a while, i.e., well honed. BiaB is a wonderful product but in
our humble opinion it takes a special touch to bring out that "could've heard it
in a nice club" feel.

Janice said "it gave me happy feet." You have to know her to really get what a compliment that is

Now she's telling me about a scene from The Pink Panther where David Niven is dancing with someone...beats my old memory
but I'll take her word!

We love Tangmo's description, "happiness with sensuality."

And your S M O O T H vocal had Janice singing along...immediately.

Most enjoyable!

J&B

Loren,

A very nice Bossa.
João is exactly in it.
And I feel the influence of Jobim very much on the melody and the chord progression.
Enjoyed my listen a lot.

Best regards.

Shigeki Adachi

Hello, there, 'Noel96'...

I asked myself the same question as I was putting the set together! Earlier, and in a different thread in which I spoke approvingly of the increasing degree of 'realistic musicianship' present in the Real Tracks, I suggested to another forum member that P.G. Music should rename their product, 'Band (trying-to-break-out-of-a) Box' .

So, you really dug that guiro player, eh? I did, too. It's a musical sound that is instantly recognizable as a 'Latin' instrument.

Thank you (I mean, really!) for your exuberant response to Whol' Lotta Bossa Goin' On!

Hope you enjoyed your second listen!

Sincerely,

- bluage -

Hello, 'Bud' & hello, Ms. Janice!

If anyone listens to my music after I've died, I hope that it would inspire him/her to dance to it at the very least, as you imply Ms. Janice may been moved to do . I mean, what is dancing, after all, but music without sound ???

Ms. Janice, 'Bud' said you sang along with the vocalese: "Mm-bod-oop, mm-bod-oop-bomp-ba-da-mm-bod-oop...". Right on, Ms. 'J', that's just your jazzbones talkin' at'cha .

Thank both of you for tunin' in an' turnin' on to the moo-sic !!!

Greatly grateful,

- bluage -

Dear Shigeki...

I'm glad to read that the 'bossa nova' resonates with you, too. I think the genre was a literal gift to the people of planet Earth from the 'Muse' .

Thank you for giving the track a taste !!!

Sincerely,

- bluage (a.k.a. Loren) -

Nice work! I liked how much attitude this tune had. I enjoyed the scatting too. It really complimented the instrumentation. I found it delightfully catchy, and I love the happy upbeat vibes.

Thanks for sharing

Howdy, Deryk...

Attitude, huh ??? Well, that works just fine with me. I wanted it to be an 'in your face' kind of instrumental, so I guess you just validated it !!!

It's awful nice to have PG Music staff members listening and commenting on User's Forum song posts.

Most sincerely,

- bluage -

Hello, Misha...

Thanks for the nice comment !!! When you wrote that you would '...prefer Bar.Sax a little higher on the solo...', were you speaking about higher pitch, or octave ???

Thank you for taking time to listen to it !!!

Sincerely,

LOREN (a.k.a. 'bluage')

Hey Loren,

FINALLY A NEW SONG!

That's a very loveable and creative piece of fine music. Sounds so 'live', but I felt that with most of your songs.

A jazzy Bossa is mostly a treat anyway, but this one just sparkles. Love that 'moaning' voice.

I couldn't think of anything that might have been made better: top-notch all the way, very clear and fine mix.

You brought me into the mood ;-)

All the best,

Stefan

Hi Loren, yessir! I grabbed me from the beginning. Love the style changes and the vocals. I agree that it was a little short. I could have listen to it a lot longer!

Mike B.

Dear Stefan...

Yeah, I'm slow when it comes to posting songs, but it's not like there aren't hundreds of other Users' Forum posts to listen to while I'm dragging my a**, ha, ha !!!

Stefan, thank you so much for your wonderful comments on the composition. Now, it's your turn to treat us to another one of your blues-rockin' songs/videos !!!

Truly,

LOREN (a.k.a. 'bluage')

Dear Mike B. ...

So, the infamous jazzician known as 'Cuban Pete' reveals yet another name/identity !!!

You're the second users' forum member who felt the piece was too short. I have a solution to that problem -- go back and listen to it again, yuck, yuck !!!

Thank you for your encouraging comments, 'Mike B.'

Always sincerely,

LOREN

Loren,
Very sensual and beautifully produced-can`t sit still music;the percussion goes right up my spine.
Loved this!

Robert

Very cool piece Loren. Sax was very cool. Loved your mix. Everything was so clear and balanced. Well done..

Howdy, Robert...

It's nice to read that you had such a visceral reaction to the music . Thank you for giving it a shot!

Sincerely,

LOREN

Hi, Scott...

Thank you for listening and for offering your favorable comments. I'm especially grateful for what you said about the 'mix' .

Truly,

LOREN

Looks like I missed this the first time through, but I'm glad the bossa nova train is making another round.

It's got a live vibe, and - to my naive ears - sounds authentic. It reminds me how nice a well-placed vibra-slap sounds.

More importantly, it sounds great. A bit short, so yes, I did listen to it again.

Loved the hard panning of the two vocal voices - gives them a lot of presence. All the instruments of a lot of presence sounding clear in the mix. Especially liked the percussion.

Very cool. I like those latin grooves.

So....

I was a regular in that forum at the time and worked on a number of tunes with Mamabear.... what was your avitar over there? I probably know you from that former life.

Back to the song.... man I loved that. Very well done and those vocals.... brilliant. Who needs words when you can skat and it works and sounds so much better. Yep.... very nicely done.

Wow, I'm blown away. Great Song, I have only had band in a box for a year, and I obviously have a lot to learn, that was fantastic!!!

Hello, 'dcuny'...

Yeah, that vibraslap placement was a bit laborious, 'cause I wanted it sound to unexpected, not mechanical. Thank you for noticing that.

Concerning the brevity of the song, lately I find myself feeling nostalgic about how brief songs that were broadcasted on the radio used to be 'back in the day', meaning most songs produced from the advent of commercial sound recording, up to about...the 60's. To my memory, two to three minutes was the norm, as far as the length goes.

There's something challenging about limiting a song/instrumental recording to that duration. I'd like to emulate that, not all the time, but here and there.

Thank you for listening to the bossa nova come 'round the bend, again, 'dcuny'

LOREN

Hello, 'Mark K'...

That 'hard panning' was acheived by opening only one of the pair of vocal tracks in Sony Sound Forge Audio Studio 9.0, and choosing the INVERT/FLIP command, which 'threw' the track to the opposite side of the sound field.

Thanks for your approving comments concerning the mix and the percussion.

It was nice having you for an audience!

Sincerely,

LOREN

Hi, 'guitarhacker'...

I only visited that forum to get help troubleshooting problems with the software, so I didn't have an avatar, though I rememeber seeing your name occasionally .

Glad to read the that song and the scatting especially appealed to you. It's fun singing in that style !!!

Thanks for listening to the composition, 'guitarhacker' .

LOREN

Hello, Mr. Fields...

Well, truth be told, Mr. Field, I'm 'blown away' by your enthusiatic comments . It's always nice to hear that one's music is enjoyed. Thank you !!!

So, what genre of music are you using Band-in-a-Box to produce? And, how did you discover Band-in-a-Box?

LOREN

You've created a great sounding composition...
I really enjoyed listening!

Jim...

Thank you for having a listen. I'm glad it entertained you!

Sincerely,

LOREN