2023 and 2023 adjacent

Rainbow - eeBoo

I'm particularly pleased with the way this one turned out - another eeBoo video, for a matching memory game for kids. Breezy jazz waltz that feels like it should have been in a '60s filmscore.

Cupcake - eeBoo

Another eeBoo video soundtrack, for a game called Cupcake - I think it's the inaugural use of a bouzouki virtual instrument in my arsenal.

G Minor Night Tune

A test for a new Soundpaint 1980 Tenor Sax instrument, revisiting a tune I wrote at Berklee in the late '80s when I knew someone there who was a sax player. I've always liked the noir feeling to it. Also features Noire piano, Mark II patch, Xperimenta's Fisarmonica accordion instrument, a little ride cymbal, a bass, and some vibes.

July 4 E Major Alchemy (No Banjo)

Inspired by the Alchemy sound (reminiscent of Marianne Faithfull's "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan") this one also features a Mark II sound, handbell, and some egg shaker and other percussion from Klevgrand. And there's another version with a banjo, but it muddies things up more than it adds.

C Minimal Loop

A loop-based minimalist exercise with the sound of zither, autoharp, various pianos, atmospheric strings, some Eric Whitacre Choir and bari sax.

Spin to Play Picnic

Another eeBoo rule explainer video score - this time for Spin to Play Picnic. It uses the Django Guitar sound again, along with pizz strings, a music box, piano, bari sax and muted trumpet.

Cello - Ambi - Choir

Playing around with some new sounds, including Sonixinema's Intimate Legato Cello and the Eric Whitacre Choir from Spitfire.

Scavenger Hunt - eeBoo

For a video about a children's game where they have to collect things from nature, matching colors, sizes, shapes. I liked the 1970s feel of the recorder, celeste and the jazz-waltziness of it all. The birds in the middle were courtesy of Spitfire LABS.

Build a Robot

For a video about an eeBoo game of building a robot, I wanted to get everything sounding very mechanical, with ratchets, theremin, and loud keyswitching buttons.

Sloth in a Hurry

Another Django-inspired tune with some 1920s-style bari-sax bass, for a video about an act-out-prompts game from eeBoo called "Sloth in a Hurry".

Percussive - 230108

A little bit "So What," a little bit "Beat It," I was having fun with the Kontakt Battery percussion, and testing whether I could route my old K2000R Slow Alto Sax through the new setup.

Rainy

Experimenting without percussion track - using the Korg M1 phasey-electric piano patch, plus bass, harp, and atmospherics.

Charango Dance

Just having some fun with Spitfire LABS' Charango Guitar (plus a steel drum and some percussion)

Bonehead Polka

I wrote this ages ago when I was living in New York City, for a radio station's "Bonehead of the Week" segment - don't know if it was ever used by them. Now I think of it as the most evil on-hold music imaginable.

Bone N' Brass

Changing things up for the second day of the year... Started with the Battery percussion groove, which led me to the Clav, Horns, and trombone solo

Auld Lang Syne 2023

Another New Year's take on Auld Lang Syne - The lead is the virtual Korg M1, a breathy flute sound I used a lot when I had the M3R. There are also Spitfire's "Intimate Strings" in there.

Rhythm N' Birds

Again, started with the Battery groove, and just liked throwing in the odd birds from Spitfire LABS Atmospheres series. Chord progression reminiscent of "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup."

Initial Logic

One of my first Logic Pro exercises, including a Spitfire BBC SO Core Harp, fretless Zither, Korg M1, Native instruments Una Corda, Spitfire LABS Cello Moods, and more.

Metropolis Opening

See above for video - something I've long wanted to do, score the opening of Fritz Lang's classic film "Metropolis". I figured I'd do it in the waning hours of 2022, using the Spitfire BBC SO Core instruments, and did it "wild to picture" building up layers as I went along. It didn't need to be (and ultimately wasn't) perfect.

Early Logic Test

Testing instruments like Native Instruments' Acoustic Picked Guitar and Una Corda as I begin to familiarize myself with what Logic Pro can do.

2022 and earlier

Boo!

Happy Halloween - just having some spooky fun with a theremin sound, waterphone, choir, and some heartbeats to cover all of the tropes!

Etherial Banjo

More recently acquired sounds - including the Realitone banjo and Spitfire LABS (free) "LA Atmos" which here sounds like a slightly noisy lo-fi ambient track. I like the unexpected banjo. Because really, when is banjo expected?

Grandpa and Timmy

Experimenting with orchestration using recently bought BBC SO Core collection of virtual instruments. It's a reworking of a piece I was assigned many years ago - aiming for nostalgia. Can't recall if we were given the title or just the mood, of a peaceful late conversation between a grandfather and... Timmy.

Spectro

This was for an eeBoo video explaining a game called "Spectro" - teaching kids about color matching. The stride piano is actually a reworking of a fake commercial that was originally played by a (faux) banjo within the Bill Vernick film "You'd Better Be Right". The product was a barbecue-flavored antacid (lip smackin', fast-actin' Gasaway)

F Major Samba

Revisiting a samba tune I wrote in the '90s, but now with better sounding instruments...

Spottington/Bird People

For an eeBoo game instruction video, I reworked some music I wrote ages ago for an independent film called "Bird People". A bride is about to get married, but starting to have second thoughts (climbing a tree with a bottle of wine) as the wedding guests all begin to act more and more birdlike.

D minor Vibes

Getting to know some of the sounds in my arsenal, I like a couple of of the harmonic twists in this one.

C Major B-flat7 Ditty

One of the short eeBoo videos needed some music, and I came up with this. Just a little Fender Rhodes, bass and percussion fun.

Banjo - Uke

Another in the 'retro' series of pieces of music I've done to accompany product videos for eeBoo, my sister-in-law's company of smart and interesting products for kids. This is using a "banjo ukulele" sample for the main melody.

Django Stroll

Using a sound that's based on the iconic playing of Django Reinhardt. It's hard to not be cheery listening to it.

Django Games

I was still experimenting with the Django Guitar virtual instrument - this was used to accompany product videos for eeBoo.

Archive

Gmi Eb Drone

Created back in New York in the early 1990s, when putting together my demo reel.

NPR War Coverage Theme

The music I wrote for NPR that was used as their Special Coverage theme after the US Invasion of Afghanistan.

Loop for Dan

I'd forgotten about this - written for possible use in either an art installation or video game, probably mid-1990s.

Fairy Tale Jam

Another thing I put together when in New York City in the early 1990s, for my reel.

Clare Tune

Putting a sound called "Clare Solo 2" by Ivy Audio to the test - with a little music box and some sparse percussion with the occasional sweepy synth.

Kora Tune

Experimenting with some traditional instruments, like the African kora and a native flute.

New Year's

Another tune that just happened to coincide with the start of 2022. Periodically I'll decide to do this on a more regular basis, and this was one of those times.

Clav and Horns Blues

Seeing what I could do with some Stevie Wonder-sounding clav and horns with falls.

Elegy

This is one of 5 interstitial elegies from the Requiem I tried writing long long ago. The piece actually aired as break music on the final episode of NPR's Performance Today before most of us lost our jobs there. A nice parting gift.

Top of the Stairs Studios Demo Reel

From back in the early 90s, an assortment of things that I wrote for various projects, including a PSA for the American Cancer Society that featured the son of Yul Brynner (hence the picture).

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