The closer mic positions for the saxophone and bass are also reflected in their greater degree of mechanical noise - though this is of an aesthetically pleasing variety to my mind, emphasising the breathiness of the sax and the upright bass’s plucking transients and string character.Īnother thing to take from the session pictures is that there seem to be no gobos separating the players, so spill would inevitably have formed an integral part of the ensemble sound. The position of the drums mic - around chest height, a few feet in front of the kit - makes a lot of sense, given the rather ride–heavy balance and spiky stick definition on the recording, while the mellowness of the piano’s tone was doubtless aided by keeping its mic just outside the edge of the open lid about three feet from the strings. John Bolger’s Dave Brubeck Jazz site, for instance, has a tremendous picture showing each instrument’s single spot mic in situ. One of the most instantly recognisable jazz recordings, and the first single in its genre to sell a million copies, this record is also very educational from an engineering perspective, not least because there are some great session photos which show pretty much everything you’d want to know about the mic setup used on the Columbia Studios tracking dates.

Dave brubeck and paul desmond take five