Jingles And Recordings

There seems to be more jokes, stories and anecdotes that involve drummers than any other instrument.  Maybe it's because drummers seem to be cut from a different cloth.  Who knows?

One day there was a recording session in New York and the musicians ( a small ensemble) were asked to play music that was to be used for a Jingle. A Jingle is back-up music that will be used for marketing purposes.   The background would be used to enhance a product that is to be advertised and sold. The style of the music could be almost anything from Jazz writing, Rock chart or bits and pieces ala Spike Jones bordering on sound effects. 

Recording sessions can be tedious but with today's technology there is considerable latitude as to what musicians can do that is acceptable to the producer.   Notes can be inserted, corrected, warped you name it.   However, even that industry has gradually been taken over by electronics where "live" musicians aren't used as much.

This day the recording session was being viewed by several officials in an adjoining sound proofed room.  The sound was piped in as to what the musicians were playing.

On this session, the director / conductor was very fussy and demanding as to what he wanted to hear.   Perhaps what he wanted wasn't a completely musical solution because he kept repeating segments of the music over and over again without much success. He wasn't getting the results he was striving for and the session was taking more time than anticipated.

One of the spectators (probably a studio executive) concluded that the musical problem was the fault of the drummer. Althought he knew nothing about music he had suddenly become an "expert." He then verbally assessed, "Well, that drummer. He's no Mel Lewis." ( A name he had probably heard somewhere!)

Guess what?   The drummer was Mel Lewis, a top musician, with a prestigious professional reputation who was respected by renowned musicians throughout the industry.

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