Sloloists using drums/percussion tracks/machines live

[Keira Witherkay]

i'm a professional solo instrumentalist and i refuse to use any form of backtrack at my shows ,

maybe i'm a dinasour, which is true ........ and i won't deny that

but to me the joy of a solo instrumentalist over say a full band is to see how they create a full sound by just themselves ........ ala martin Taylor and Joe Pass ect ect .....

by using tracks (which by the way i do strongly believe is a great way to rehearse ) one becomes nothing but a kareoke act when using it live ...and i kid you not i saw in a jazz gig , a guitarist singing and strumming chords (mostly the wrong ones) over jazz backtracks with the full arrangement on the track INCLUDING the solo's and the hotel was still hiring him ......... and thats where i'm afraid jazz will go ....... where hotels rather hire in a solo "kareoke" act rather than a live band cos it's still a full sound BUT way cheaper and above all backtracks will put working musicians out of work

[Norman931]

Drum machines might not have a soul but they have a volume control and sound the same at any volume. At some low volume levels drumers don't have much fun.

It depends on the drummer. When I play drums, I enjoy the lower-volume tunes as much as the louder stuff. Sometimes I play brushes or percussion / djembe / bongos . It's all good. And, if it "sounds the same at any volume," you lose some control over the dynamics, which a good drummer can use to great effect.

[cosmic gumbo]