Thinking of B3s. . .

. . . not B47s

(from wikipedia.com)
The Hammond organ was invented by Laurens Hammond and John M Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Various models were produced, which originally used tonewheels to generate sound via additive synthesis, where component waveform ratios are mixed by sliding drawbars. Around 2 million Hammond organs have been manufactured, and it has been described as one of the most successful organs ever. The organ is commonly used with, and associated with, the Leslie speaker.

The organ was originally marketed and sold by the Hammond Organ Company to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, and as an alternative to the piano. It quickly became popular with professional jazz musicians, who found it to be a cheaper alternative to the big band. Jimmy Smith's use of the Hammond B-3, with its additional harmonic percussion feature, inspired a generation of organ players, and its use became more widespread in the 1960s and 1970s in rhythm and blues, rock and reggae, as well as being an important instrument in progressive rock.

The Hammond Organ Company struggled financially during the 1970s as they abandoned tonewheel organs and switched to manufacturing instruments using integrated circuits. These instruments never caught on with notable musicians and groups as the tonewheels had done before, and the company went out of business in 1985. The Hammond name was purchased by Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation who proceeded to manufacturer digital simulations of the most popular tonewheel organs. This culminated in the production of the "New B-3" in 2002, which provided an accurate recreation of the original B-3 organ using modern digital technology.

Hammond-Suzuki continues to manufacturer a variety of organs for both the professional player and the church. Other companies, such as Korg, Roland and Clavia have also achieved success in providing emulations of the original tonewheel organs. The sound of a tonewheel Hammond can also be emulated in modern software such as Native Instruments B4.

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My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

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Creation. . .

. . . is a wonderful thing

Through the wonder of digital editing and production, the intro and verse chord structure from a pop tune that Oho covers became the creation that I have posted here.

Reminds me a bit of Santana.



Little Eye
by John P. Graboski, David Reeve & Raymond M. Jozwiak
Performed by Oho:  Jay Graboski, David Reeve and
Ray Jozwiak (from a May 2013 rehearsal recording)





What do you think?
Tell me at  
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

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April. . .

 

. . . second. . . 

Coming April 2, 2013
to http://www.cdbaby.com

Creative Musician Ray Jozwiak's new, digital-download only, solo, instrumental piano music release BLACK & WHITE then BACK transports you to aural locales inhabited by emotions, sentiments, memories, hopes, joys and challenges we've all encountered. You may even hear a snippet of a song you remember from childhood, have flashes of your first date, recall aromas from the kitchen when you visited your grandmother, remember your favorite summer vacation or when you fell in love.

BLACK & WHITE then BACK will be available through digital distribution only (www.cdbaby. com).

"RAY JOZWIAK is back with his gonzo piano, boldly taking us to places no-one has gone before, not even him!  (Rod Deacey, Board Member of the Frederick Acoustic Musicians Enterprise (FAME), Musician, Performer, Writer, Poet, Organizer, Emcee, Bluesman 11/20/11)

". . . Anywhere he dabbles along the piano keys, he produces sonic glitz forming impressionistic images. . . " (Susan Frances, cdreview.com)

". . . He’s got some terrific ideas there and an unusual approach to rhythm and song structure. These are fantastic assets and more than one of his songs could find tons of fans who appreciate music which isn’t the same ol’ same ol’ all the time. . . "  (Paul Sedkowski, Fairplayformusic.com)

What do YOU think?

http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

You can NOW download your
very own copy of Ray Jozwiak's
newest release:
AMBIENCE & WINE

Please visit
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

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Two. . .

. . . weeks away from "Black & White Then Back"

My new, digital-download only, solo, instrumental piano music release  BLACK & WHITE then BACK transports you to aural locales inhabited by emotions, sentiments, memories, hopes, joys and challenges we've all encountered. You may even hear a snippet of a song you remember from childhood, have flashes of your first date, recall aromas from the kitchen when you visited your grandmother, remember your favorite summer vacation or when you fell in love.

BLACK & WHITE then BACK will be available through digital distribution only (www.cdbaby.com) on Tuesday, April 2nd. 

"RAY JOZWIAK is back with his gonzo piano, boldly taking us to places no-one has gone before, not even him!  (Rod Deacey, Board Member of the Frederick Acoustic Musicians Enterprise (FAME), Musician, Performer, Writer, Poet, Organizer, Emcee, Bluesman 11/20/11)

". . . Anywhere he dabbles along the piano keys, he produces sonic glitz forming impressionistic images. . . " (Susan Frances, cdreview.com)

". . . He’s got some terrific ideas there and an unusual approach to rhythm and song structure. These are fantastic assets and more than one of his songs could find tons of fans who appreciate music which isn’t the same ol’ same ol’ all the time. . . "  (Paul Sedkowski, Fairplayformusic.com)


Zed
from Black & White Then Back
available at www.cdbaby.com
April 2, 2013
©2012 Raymond M. Jozwiak






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You can NOW download your
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newest release:
AMBIENCE & WINE

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Forthcoming. . .

My new release BLACK & WHITE then BACK will be available on April 2, 2013, for digital download only, at http://www.cdbaby.com

BLACK & WHITE then BACK was designed, conceived and performed to transport you to aural locales inhabited by emotions, sentiments, memories, hopes, joys and challenges we've all encountered. You may even hear a snippet of a song you remember from childhood, have flashes of your first date, recall aromas from the kitchen when you visited your grandmother, remember your favorite summer vacation or when you fell in love.

My music has been referred to as 'Fractured Jazz' laced with generous amounts of 'Improvisational Terror Tactics'.  I have been nominated for a WAMMIE Award in the Jazz Instrumentalist  category, named Baltimore Magazine's BEST LOUNGE PIANIST and was a finalist in the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest for the composition ALWAYS YOU. Performances in and around Baltimore include the 13th Floor Lounge-The Belvedere, The Kiss Cafe, Gardel's Supper Club, The Full Moon Saloon, The Baltimore Songwriters Association, The Baltimore Book Fair, Maggie Moore's, Ze Mean Bean, Border's Books and Music and GBMC. Ray's  music releases (CHROMATOSE, CRITIC'S CHOICE and PUT A FINGER ON IT and FOR THE RIDE) are available for purchase at http://www.cdbaby.com/all/rjozwiak  as well as a host of cyber-outlets for download (cdbaby has a list). I also joined with long-time musical friends Jay Graboski and David Reeve to complete the latest incarnation of OHO (now a trio) playing OHO's unique brand of prog/folk/jazz-rock originals and for parties, covering a number of sophisticated contemporary popular music.

What do YOU think?
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You can NOW download your
very own copy of Ray Jozwiak's
newest release:
AMBIENCE & WINE

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It's Not Easy. . .

. . . being a creative artist on a budget.

Like this weekend, I have discovered that my Canon ELPH can be easily used to take videos (I knew it could but never thought it through for music promotion).  But the problem herewith is the audio.  You know how the old recordings on 78rpm records always sounded like they were recorded in a rainshower?  Well that's what the audio sounds like on my Canon videos.  So I got the brilliant (my word) idea that I could record the audio portion in glorious, high-quality digital format with my Zoom H2 portable digital recorder, then sync everything together in Garageband for a fine video.  Well, necessity is the mother of invention you know.  What I didn't take into account was the file trail (and file naming etc.) task that would be required to keep it all straight.  For example, if I flubbed a take and chose to plow forward without stopping either machine, I had to remember how many false starts were on each take.  Attempting to record more that one song only complicated matters.  Then I also learned that since Garageband is specifically designed for audio, I could not edit the beginning of a video the way I could stop it at the end anywhere I wanted.  At least I haven't figured out how to do it.  So I re-recorded several pieces and edited the beginning on the Canon before uploading it to my laptop.

It's a lot of boring information granted.  But it's how I spent most of my weekend.  I did learn a lot about the process and now know how to avoid some of the earlier pitfalls.  I'm not too ashamed of the outcome though. . .

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You can NOW download your
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newest release:
AMBIENCE & WINE

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Ooh Bee Ahh Bop . . .

 . . . I take my inspiration from whence it comes, no questions asked . . .

Ooh Bee Ahh Bop is a track on my latest release AMBIENCE & WINE which incorporates digital sampling, in this case of male & female choruses, placed against a pedestrian rhythm or beat.  The melodies are completely improvised but with something very specific in the background which was influencing my ideas on the day of that recording.

“But the fact is, she [the muse] won't be summoned. She alights when it damn well pleases her. She falls in love with one artist, then deserts him for another. She's a real bitch!”
― Erica Jong, Seducing the Demon: Writing for My Life

 
Ooh Bee Ahh Bop
(from AMBIENCE & WINE)
©2011 Raymond M. Jozwiak



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Also download your
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by Ray Jozwiak

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Even though . . .

. . . it's a digital download . . .

 If you buy it from Amazon, Japan, does that make it an

IMPORT?

What do YOU think?
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

 
Also download your
very own copy of
AMBIENCE & WINE
by Ray Jozwiak

Please visit
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