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Grammy-nominated Imani Winds is not your typical wind quintet. Over the last decade, these five amazing classical musicians have pushed the envelope by incorporating African, Latin American, and American music traditions into their repertoire.
Together with renowned jazz vocalist Rene Marie, their 2006-2007 season brought the multimedia performance "Josephine Baker, A Life of Le Jazz Hot!" to cities throughout the United States. The performance is a tribute to the legendary singer, dancer, and actress on what would be her 100th birthday.
With audiences clamoring for a recording of this incredible show, Koch International Classics producer and general manager Susan DelGiorno contacted Silas Brown of Legacy Sound to engineer. Silas was clearly the right person for the job - he has some 250 classical recordings to his credit, some of them Grammy-nominated and Grammy-winning, and he already had great success on previous Imani Winds projects. Over four days at the SUNY Purchase Performing Arts Center, Imani Winds put on an inspired performance that Silas captured in high resolution and surround sound.
"The challenge in my line of work is capturing sound with a visceral impact, tremendous detail, and warmth that doesn't sound unnaturally colored," explained Silas. To achieve that goal, Silas employed the two latest additions to his already impressive microphone collection - a pair of Crowley and Tripp Proscenium ribbon microphones.
"The Crowley and Tripps were the only new ribbon microphones used on the quintet," Silas recalled, "and they were in there with some really heavy contenders - some very highly regarded mics! They more than held their own."
Silas placed one Crowley and Tripp Proscenium about two feet in front of Jeff Scott's French horn, angled slightly to the floor. "This was my third record with Jeff but my first using the Proscenium, and he immediately recognized an improvement in the sound," stated Silas. "He said he wants this sound on all of our future recordings. Since I've been experimenting with him, it's quite satisfying to have finally hit it. Micing from the front - keeping away from the sounds firing backward from the bell - was important, but the fact that the Proscenium is so nice and tonally matched to the horn is really what made Jeff feel so positive about it."
Silas also spot-mic'd guest percussionist Joe Tompkinson's trap kit and hand percussion with a pair of Royer SF-1As and flutist Valerie Coleman with an AEA R84. Mariam Adam on clarinet and Monica Ellis on bassoon each received their own RCA 44-BX studio ribbon (provided for the sessions by Grammy award-winning producer Adam Abeshouse), and Rene Marie sang into a Neumann M149 tube condenser. To capture the entire ensemble in surround, Silas used two DPA 4003s for front left/right and two DPA 4011s for rear left/right.
Silas used similar placement with his second Crowley and Tripp Proscenium on Toyin Spellman-Diaz's oboe to great effect. Both of the Prosceniums were amplified by GML (George Massenburg Labs) 8304 preamps. In keeping with his simple-is-better philosophy, only mic selection and placement dictated the recorded tone. No processing was used. Together with a multi-channel Millennia Media preamp, the GML was converted by a Prism ADA8, which fed into a Merging Pyramix Workstation.
When asked why he would want another ribbon microphone to add to his already enviable collection of sought-after classics, Silas said, "The Crowley and Tripp Proscenium is more open sounding than a vintage ribbon. It has more desirable high frequency components. But at the same time, it still has that thick low-end richness that you really want in a ribbon. So its quality is in league with the classics, but its sound is unique. It also has a lower noise floor than the older designs. The Proscenium fills a niche that wasn't covered by any of the vintage ribbons."
Crowley and Tripp Microphones is far more than simply another new professional audio manufacturer. Since 2004, Bob Crowley and Hugh Tripp have officially joined forces in Soundwave Research Laboratories, a firm that manufactures and sells acoustic devices for professional audio, and scientific applications. Although new as a company, Soundwave Research Laboratories has decades of experience in designing and building groundbreaking products. For many years, the duo often collaborated while both were employed at Boston Scientific Corporation. Along with audio transducer development, other key areas of expertise at Soundwave Research Laboratories include medical device development, tissue characterization techniques for identifying cancerous cells, and intellectual property development and licensing.
For product and direct ordering information, visit the official Crowley and Tripp website at www.soundwaveresearch.com.
