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| This
collection of audio productions
represents just a small portion
of work done throughout my 30-year
career as a producer and audio engineer.
I've included with each selection
a brief "directors note" to
give you a special insight to the
uniqueness of the project as I remember
it. You will find everything here
from the highest quality jazz, to
hard rock, to full-scale showroom
orchestral productions, to love
ballads and beautiful instrumentals.
The material below was extracted
from a multitude of media types
from my archives, including hard
disks, DATs, reel-to-reel tapes
of all formats, and even cassette
tapes.
I
would like to say here,
that although I don't
remember the names
of everyone I've worked
with, I do remember
and feel extremely
fortunate to have worked
with the caliber of
talented individuals
that have come my way
over the years.
Enjoy!
-Bob
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Nelson
Kole 'N Kompany (top)
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Tattoo -
5:22 (1983) |
In
1983, I was contracted to rewire
and balance the refurbished control
room of my former studio, which
had since been purchased by new
owners.
As a favor,
I asked Nelson and his
group to record a couple
of his original songs so
I could work out the kinks
in the electronics and
monitoring system. These "demos" wound
up enjoying major air play
on the local radio stations,
and as a result Nelson
Kole 'N Kompany became
'the fusion band' of Las
Vegas sharing the stage
with many major jazz acts
performing in town. |
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Peace
Offering -
7:41 (1983) |
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Pineapple
PIe -
4:49 (1982)
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Recorded
prior to the Tattoo album, I was
brought in as a freelance engineer
to record this demo for Nelson's
newly formed band. |
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| Other
Projects with Nelson Kole (top) |
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Rio
Hotel & Casino "Conga" Production
(1993)
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Beautiful
Maria -
3:33
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Nelson
and I were contracted by the Rio
Hotel & Casino to produce the
soundtrack for the musical extravaganza "Conga," a
lavish production which opened their
new surround theatre showroom in
1993. This is a MIDI-based project
overall, with layers of live vocal
and live instrument overdubs to
create the illusion of a full orchestral
production. The entire project was
recorded on ADATs and mixed to multi-channel
DA88s in my home-based private production
studio.
The final
soundtrack was mixed minus
rhythm section and solo
instruments to accompany
the live band and on-stage
performers.
These excerpts
are the full-mix versions
for your listening pleasure. |
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Jabuti -
4:13
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Mambo
Lido - 2:50 |
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Oye
Como Va - 4:30 |
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Salsa
Nova - 4:34 |
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Love
'N Felony - 3:10 (1980) |
Pulled
from the tape archives, here is
a fun project arranged by Nelson
Kole. Unfortunately, there was no
record of the artist's name
on my copy. |
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Nelson
Kole Live KNPR Radio-
7:05 (1983) |
At
the peak of their popularity after
the "Tattoo" release,
the band was asked to perform live
at the Las Vegas public jazz radio
station as part of an on-air promotional
campaign. The fun began as we rearranged
the radio station lobby, pushing
desks and chairs out of the way
to make room for the band. I set
up a makeshift control room in an
adjacent office, and with no rehearsal
and only a brief sound check, we
went live on the air, as a small
crowd of enthusiastic fans huddled
into the lobby to cheer them on.
I monitored
and mixed the session from
a live feed through an
FM receiver. This excerpt
is a compilation of pieces
from that performance,
taken from a reel to reel
tape copy that was made
by one of the station employees. |
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Party
People - 3:52 (1980) |
This
is a fun MIDI-based project of an
original Nelson composition. |
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River
(Instrumental) - 4:05
(Approx. 1986) |
This
is the finished instrumental track
of a beautiful Nelson Kole arrangement
for an independent artist. I found
this copy, but no session details
were attached. |
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Gurumayi
- The Bliss of Freedom
(1990) (top)
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Keep
Me Under Your Wing -
2:13 |
This
is truly an amazing project, and
represents the dedication and inspired
work of Ron Feuer. This was recorded
at the SYDA
Foundation in New York.
I was brought
into the project as a freelance
engineer through Ron's
recommendation, to create
the final mix. The goal
was to create the feeling
of dimension and ambiance
without obvious gimmicks
and effects.
To maintain
a more personal and private
environment for those involved
in the session, SYDA delivered
all of the necessary equipment
to Las Vegas, so that we
could temporarily transform
the family room in my home
to a full blown recording
studio control room.
The subtle
combination of cross delay
stereo effects and choice
of reverbs were used to
attain the desired soundscape.
Enjoy these
excerpts from the original
pieces. |
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I
Bow to the Self of All -
2:53 |
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The
Remover of Sorrow -
2:04 |
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Dancing
on the Lord's Street -
1:54 |
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Hail
to Freedom, Hail to Bliss -
3:06 |
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Stealer
of Hearts - 2:37 |
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Master
of All Good Fortune -
2:59 |
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With
All My Heart I love My Gurumayi -
2:37 |
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Salutations
to the Supreme Master -
4:55 |
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The
One Who Shines in My Heart -
3:11 |
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Steven
Lee Group "From
the Ground Up" (2003) (top)
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Double
Play - 1:35 |
This
group, in my opinion, is one of
the hottest jazz bands in Las Vegas
today. My link to this group originates
from my association with Brenda
Leonard Cowart. Brenda, an exceptional
keyboardist/singer, and I spent
countless hours in the studio, and
developed a close personal friendship
and working relationship over the
years.
I also go
way back with bass player,
Keith Nelson and drummer,
Adam Shendal, who were
two of the original members
of the Nelson Kole band.
Steven Lee's
skills as a master guitarist
and overall musician, combined
with his personal warmth
and integrity make him
a true joy to be around
personally and professionally.
This was an
incredibly
fun project
because I
enjoy the
band's expertise
immensely
and had the
pleasure of
seeing this
entire project exist solely
within the
SAWStudio
virtual environment.
The project
was done in
Steve's
home studio
completely,
not a professional
studio with
all the compliment
of equipment,
and he engineered
all the
tracks himself.
I came into
the project
to share in
final production
decisions
and to mix
and master
the final
cd. I consider
this one
of my finest
works, perhaps
you will enjoy
it also.
Visit their
web site
at www.stevenleegroup.com for
more information
or to purchase
the full CD. |
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Real
Time - 1:55 |
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From
the Ground Up - 1:30 |
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Brenda's
Theme - 1:37 |
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Birdie's
Bounce - 1:22 |
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Jave -
1:52 |
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Northern
Lights - 2:01 |
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King
Street - 1:34 |
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Still
In Love - 1:51 |
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Steven
Lee Group "Live" (2002) (top)
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Coasting -
1:48 |
Steve recorded
these tracks during live
performances at the Bellagio
Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas,
and moved them into SAWStudio,
at which point I got involved
cleaning, editing, and
mixing them into a finished
album project.
Enjoy these
excerpts from their cover
tunes "Live" CD
and visit their web site
at www.stevenleegroup.com for
more information or to
purchase the full CD. |
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Home
Fries - 2:01 |
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Priscilla -
1:39 |
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Hey -
1:56 |
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Just
the Two of Us - 1:30 |
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Groverworked
and Underpaid - 2:29 |
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Scrunch -
1:50 |
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101
Shuffle - 1:16 |
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Aireus
Production at the Reno Hilton
(1997) (top)
Read
the
show
write-up
for
Aireus |
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Let
Me Entertain You - Burlesque -
1:03 |
The
soundtrack for the Aireus production
is a compilation of prerecorded
material, specifically edited to
choreography, and a collection of
original compositions - both of
my own, and in collaboration with
Brenda Leonard Cowart. (See below
for full versions of much of the
original material.)
These are
MIDI-based sessions with
all instrumentation performed
by Brenda, except drums
and percussion, which I
contributed. The rock version
of "Let Me Entertain
You" features Steven
Lee on guitar. |
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Let
Me Entertain You - New Age -
1:11 |
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Let
Me Entertain You - Orchestral -
1:01 |
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Let
Me Entertain You - Raunch Rock -
1:09 |
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Aireus
Finale - 4:29 |
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Bob
Lentini Originals (Late 80's) (top)
Written,
arranged
and
performed
by
Bob
Lentini |
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Primal
Passion - 7:27 |
These
pieces were fun, creative outlets
for me at a time when I was experimenting
more heavily with MIDI technology.
With the exception
of Wicked, I would classify
these more as New-Age rhythmical
soundscapes than trained
musical composition. Portions
of these pieces were used
throughout the "Aireus" soundtrack.
Wicked was
a fun experiment in expanding
my playing chops. |
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Caravan -
5:09 |
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Morning
Dance - 4:44 |
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Voyage -
12:19 |
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Wicked -
3:35 |
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Sun
City Extravaganza
in South Africa (Approx.
1986) (top)
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Sun
City - 8:15 |
This
project was probably the most intense
mixing experience of my career.
The session was well-recorded at
Commercial Sound Studios in Las
Vegas by another engineer while
I was out of town on a previous
commitment. Unfortunately, this
added an extra challenge and complexity
to my task as the mix engineer,
because I was not intimately involved
in the recording process.
By the time
I got back to town, the
schedule constraints for
the opening dates of the
show backed us into an
insanely tight window to
complete the mixes for
90-minutes worth of complex
material.
If I remember
correctly, the session
kept me in the studio for
a period of about 75 hours
straight. With our complete
focus on the project for
that entire period of time,
conditions became tense.
Food was brought in, and
the only rest came when
we took turns grabbing
10-minute catnaps on the
studio floor when exhaustion
set in.
With stress
levels high, everyone mentally
drained, and under extreme
pressure to complete the
project by the fast approaching
deadline, the real challenges
seemed to pique. With no
mix automation, the entire
conductor's score spread
across the console, and
the composer frantically
calling out instrument
queues as they come up
in the score, the process
of blending a seventy-piece
orchestra and 20+ vocals
into a rich, exciting stereo
mix, seemed at best,
a long shot.
Even under
extreme working conditions,
however, we were pleased
with the majority of the
production work and handed
the final masters over
to the producer just minutes
before he boarded the plane
back to South Africa.
It's
no
surprise
to
me
now
that
this
type
of
experience
would
become
the
inspiration
behind
the
creation
of
SAWStudio. |
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Jim
Guercio (top)
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Hold
It Together - 4:26
(1983) |
My
association
with Joe Guercio led
me to L.A.
to
engineer a session
for his son, Jim. Though
feeling
a bit out of
my
element with this genre
of music, it
ended
up being a wonderful
project.
The results were extremely
exciting
and
displayed tremendous
promise
for this young and
talented group.
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Shiloh (top)
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A
Love Song - 2:55 (1975) |
Two
very talented kids were passing
through town on their way to
a talent contest, and came to my
studio to get a quick and dirty
demo they could take with them. We
completed this, and two other songs
in just a couple of hours. I think
you'll enjoy their rendition of
this classic hit.
This is one of
the earliest sessions
in my budding career
as an audio engineer,
done on my 4-track TEAC.
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