Toontrack - The Jazz Sessions SDX

Recording and mixing jazz is an art in itself, especially when it comes to drums. It calls for balancing a dynamic range that spans the nuanced and feathery light to the vivid and utterly explosive. Someone who has an uncanny ability to capture exactly that and at the same time bring out the true acoustic voice in any instrument he puts a mic to is James Farber. With well over 1,000 albums to his name, more than 40 years of back-to-back work producing records of the highest echelon and a discography that reads like a who’s who of jazz, he is nothing short of an industry icon. The seminal albums by the likes of Michael Brecker, John Scofield and Joshua Redman as well as, not least, his work with jazz drumming greats like Elvin Jones, Jack DeJohnette, Paul Motian, Bill Stewart, Brian Blade and Antonio Sanchez are – to say the least – a testament to that.

This SDX for Superior Drummer 3 sets out to pinpoint the milestone sounds and eras of jazz drums from its early days until now. Where better to capture that than in the jazz capital of the world and at one of the most storied studios ever built: New York City’s iconic Power Station. Aside from having housed arguably more legendary artists than any other studio on the planet, it is also the very spot where James spent his formative years, recorded some of his seminal work and still considers the be-all-end-all place to capture jazz drums.

In total, seven kits were handpicked for the session, each selected to represent a distinct jazz era, sound or milestone record in James’ career. Aside from every kit being sampled with drumsticks, selected kits and instruments were also captured with brushes, rods, mallets and even hands.

In addition to the drums, an extensive collection of mix-ready presets for each kit and configuration are provided, allowing you instant access to fully fledged and balanced drum mixes by James himself. These mixes can be used as is or as starting points to venture off from in order to create sounds for virtually anything your imagination allows.

To sum this SDX up, it’s got the engineer, the kits and the studio. If you’re passionate about jazz and looking to add a bookend-type collection of drum sounds to your toolbox, straight from the world’s jazz capital and one of the most influential jazz recording engineers of the past four decades – here you go. Get ready for some jazz magic.