Tony Weber (Cary Audio) Demo CD's

Okay folks, as promised I'm publishing the 9 CD playlist that my friend Tony Weber, National Sales Manager for Cary Audio, uses at trade shows.  I'm going to do it one CD at a time as I just can't commit to typing this all out at once. :)  I'm sure you'll recognize many (if not most) of these.  But hopefully you'll find a hidden gem or two.  I know I have.

Demo CD 1

  1. Infernal Dance [Rite of Spring – Stravinsky/Atlanta Symphony]
    Large-scale symphonic, VERY dynamic with lots of impact. Grammy nominee for engineering.
  2. Fanfare for the Common Man [Aaron Copeland]
    Brass & percussion, huge bass drum sound (a demo standard).
  3. Bouree [Water Music, Suite 1 – Handel/LA Chamber Orchestra]
    Grammy nominee for both performance & engineering. Small chamber orchestra. Listen for differences in tonal color between strings and reeds as they alternate, then play together. Pinpoint imaging & great room sound.
  4. Nativity Carol [John Rutter/Roger Wagner Chorale]
    Small choir (16 voices) & organ, simple but beautiful. Very soft except for last verse when they go full voice.
  5. Gnomus [Pictures at an Exhibition – Moussorgsky/Jean Guillou]
    Huge French pipe organ, DEEP bass (18 Hz, starting at 0:50)! Watch your levels after the previous very quiet cut.
  6. Jardins Sous La Pluie [Debussey/Carol Rosenburger]
    Piano, very complex – melody line is easy to pick out, but many speakers turn the accompaniment to mud. Perfect piano sound, and a Grammy nominee for engineering.
  7. Zui-Zui [Japanese Melodies/Yo Yo Ma & Kyoto Ensemble]
    Solo cello plus Japanese instruments & percussion – very dynamic with startling transients. Listen for differences in plucking, bowing, and striking sounds, and for the many different timbres. Yet another engineering Grammy nominee.
  8. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Theme [John Williams]
    Movie score, huge bass drum & dynamics. Starts softly, but this is really a “crank it up & let it rip” cut toward the end.
  9. Sleepy Hollow End Theme [Danny Elfman]
    Movie score, huge bass drum & dynamics, for orchestra or choir.
  10. Something’s Coming [West Side Story/Dave Grusin]
    Big band jazz, lots of punch & great big natural sound. Nominated for engineering Grammy.
  11. Straight to the Sunrise [Gato Barbieri]
    Modern smooth jazz, very deep bass & delicate percussion.
  12. Gaslighting Abbie [Steely Dan]
    Ultra-clean and detailed jazzy rock.
  13. Hotel California [Hell Freezes Over/Eagles]
    Gotta include this! Dueling acoustic guitars, dual bass drums at different pitches to discern.
  14. Li’l Victa [S.M.V.]
    3 bass players & drums is all you hear on this.
  15. Nobody Knows Me Like You Do [Lyle Lovett]
    Solo male voice & simple accompaniment (guitar, piano, cello & bass). A bit processed-sounding on voice, but very clean.
  16. Roughest Place in Town [Stevie Ray Vaughn]
    Straight ahead slow blues, very clean. All that’s here is guitar, bass, drums, and SRV’s smoky voice entering at about 2:30 in. This is 9 minutes long, so good to use for A/B comparisons.
Discussion started by Gavin Fish , on 547 days ago
Dean Seislove
Thanks, Gavin. I know this took time, and I really appreciate it. Plan on spending the holiday checking out these tracks. Happy holiday to you and your family, too!
546 days ago
 
Janine Donston
Nice list... the wind ensemble I play with has performed a few of these. John Williams and Aaron Copland have great pieces for wind band -- fun to play AND listen to!! Thanks for putting this together :)
543 days ago
 
Gavin Fish

Demo CD 2

  1. Olympic Fanfare [National Winds, Wilson Recording]
  2. Gun Battle [from Billy the Kid ballet suite, Aaron Copeland]
  3. Toccata [Eugene Gigout - played by Virgil Fox]
  4. Death of Tybalt [Romeo & Juliet - Sergei Prokofiev]
  5. Roman Festivals [Ottorino Respighi - Seattle Symphony Orchestra/G. Schwartz]
  6. Games [Stanley Clarke]
  7. Flight of the Cosmic Hippo [Bela Fleck & Fleckstones]
  8. Alcazar [David Sanborn & Marcus Miller]
  9. God Bless the Child [Al Jarreau & George Benson, with Jill Scott]
  10. Cut & Run [Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band]
  11. Havana [Jesse Cook]
  12. Nanfushi [Kodo - Japanese percussion ensemble]
  13. The Shining [Opening Theme, by Wendy Carlos]
  14. Just a Little Loving [Shelby Lynn, channeling Dusty Springfield]
  15. Suzanne [James Taylor, channeling Judy Collins/Leonard Cohen]
  16. Come Together [Beatles, from "Love" Cirque de Soleil show]
  17. The Best Days of Our Lives/Another Brick in the Wall [Pink Floyd]
541 days ago
 
Gavin Fish

Demo CD 3

  1. Landslide [Stacey Kent (channeling Steveie Nicks)]
  2. Not Fade Away [James Taylor (redoing Buddy Holly)]
  3. Eleanor Rigby [The Beatles - from "Love" (Cirque du Soliel]
  4. Old Friends/Bookends [NY Voices (redoing Simon & Garfunkel)]
  5. A Lover's Touch [Kenny Rankin]
  6. Peel Me a Grape [Diana Krall]
  7. All or Nothing at All [Diana Krall]
  8. Muita Babeira [Luciana Souza & Romero Lubambo]
  9. Moon Run [Trapezoid]
  10. In the Hills of Shiloh [Trapezoid]
  11. Somewhere [Jon Secada & Dave Grusin (from West Side Story)]
  12. Nocturne #1 in B-Flat Minor [Jacques Loussier (Chopin)]
  13. Chin-Chin-Chidori [Yo-Yo Ma (Japanese Melodies)]
  14. Caprice for Three [Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Mark O'Connor]
  15. Summer, Mvt. 3 [Four Seasons, Vivaldi - LA Chamber Orchestra]
  16. Symphony #6, Mvt. 2 [Walter Piston - Seattle Symphony]
  17. A Night in the Gardens of Spain [Manuel de Falla - London Symphony]
  18. Nessun Dorma [Luciano Pavarotti (from Turandot by Puccini)]
531 days ago
 
JA FANT
Bravo! Gavin.
314 days ago
 
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