Powerfull percussion by Michito Sanchez

From time to time, I have had the pleasure of playing with Michito Sanchez in different constellations with David Garfield. No matter what repertoire we played, no matter what style, Michito has always lifted the music to another level.

Powerfull percussion by Michito Sanchez on the Gratitude album

Michito is unique – always coming up with tons of great ideas in the studio and always meeting you with a big smile and very positive attitude.

Soren Reiff and Michito Sanchez hanging in L.A.
Soren Reiff and Michito Sanchez hanging in L.A.

I was so lucky to have Michito playing on my second album “Miss you” – actually that was the very first time I worked with him in the studio. Since then I’ve use Michito on soundtracks for TV or commercials. He has a killer pocket and he always has tons of percussion lined up. You are sure to get, not only a tight and groovy shaker, but also the exact type of shaker you need for the specific track. Michito has added so much gold to my music, no matter what style and what weird wishes I had for parts.
Beside his “basic” tracks – for instance congas, shaker or tambourine, I always get him to record a “toy track”. Continue reading “Powerfull percussion by Michito Sanchez”

Killer keyboard parts by Kim S. Hansen

I have written about Gary Novak and Jimmy Haslip and how they contributed to the Gratitude album. Today I’ll introduce you to the very talented keyboard player Kim S. Hansen – I’m feel very privileged to have him playing on my album.

Killer keyboard parts by Kim S. Hansen on the Gratitude album

Kim is actually Danish-born but has lived in L.A. since the nineties. He is Musical Director for Patti Austin and has played with Phil Perry, Paul Jackson jr. and many more. (While we did the recordings for the Gratitude album), Kim had to take some weeks off from my sessions to go to South Africa and tour with guitar ace Earl Klugh … cool).

Keyboard player Kim S. Hansen is also playing on the new Soren Reiff album Gratitude
Kim S. Hansen live with Earl Klugh

Back in the nineties Kim and I played together every once I a while, and we did a lot of the same types of gigs and sessions: Playing in different house bands and so on. After many years in that line of work, we both wanted to do something different. Continue reading “Killer keyboard parts by Kim S. Hansen”

Awesome drums by Gary Novak

Like I mentioned the other day – I have written about my workflow and how I arrange a song. Today, we’ll stay on the track of the real deal – recording drums. I’ll introduce you to world class drummer Gary Novak – the nicest hang with a killer pocket.

Groovy drums by Gary Novak on the Gratitude album

I feel extremely blessed because I’ve had the pleasure to play with some of the best drummers in the world: Steve Ferrone, Gregg Bissonette, Chad Wackerman, the late Ricky Lawson and more – yes I’m spoiled – and I’m so happy and proud to be able to add Gary Novak to that list!

Gary Novak and Jimmy Haslip recording for the Gratitude album with Soren Reiff
Engineer Stig Kaufmanas, Soren Reiff, Gary Novak and Jimmy Haslip in the studio

Continue reading “Awesome drums by Gary Novak”

Jimmy Haslip is digging deep on Gratitude

Earlier I’ve written about my workflow when developing an idea into a tune or how I work when I’m arranging a song by making demos. This is about recording bass and about the recording session with the awesome Jimmy Haslip for my Gratitude album.

I have had the pleasure to work with many outstanding bass players – Will Lee, John Peña and Mark King, all unique players. Here I’ll tell you about some of my work with Jimmy Haslip – a living legend.

Many years ago I saw Jimmy Haslip’s name for the first time on the album “Mirage a trois” by the band Yellow Jackets. Continue reading “Jimmy Haslip is digging deep on Gratitude”

Kim S. Hansen’s keys on Let’s Play

Now it’s time for keyboards … today I’ll let you have a sneak preview of Kim S. Hansen’s keys on Let’s Play from my Gratitude album. When I started to work on this song the working title was Saturday Brunch, so don’t get confused 🙂

I introduced Kim earlier on this blog – we have know each other for more than twenty years now. But since he moved to L.A: and I didn’t, we haven’t seen each other that much. Maybe we have had a beer or barbecue when I’ve been in L.A. but that’s unfortunately not that often.  And Kim and I haven’t been playing together for ages, even thou I definitely miss that.

Continue reading “Kim S. Hansen’s keys on Let’s Play”

Michito Sanchez and his percussion for Let’s Play

If you have read my former posts concerning the development of my tracks, you know I’m going to write about Michito Sanchez and his percussion for Let’s Play today. If you haven’t read my former posts concerning this tune, I’ll suggest you listen to the samples I placed in those post before you continue … I think it’ll make this post much more interesting … but on the other hand … go ahead, read and listen – you can always return to the others posts later. And don’t get confused about the title – when I started the working title for the track was Saturday Brunch … sorry about that 🙂

Soren Reiff together with Michito Sanchez
Soren Reiff and Michito Sanchez hanging in L.A.
Soren Reiff and Michito Sanchez hanging in L.A.

Continue reading “Michito Sanchez and his percussion for Let’s Play”

Composing music

I go through several different phases when I’m writing music before an idea for a song might end up as a recorded and maybe even released song. Here I’ve written about how I work when I’m composing music. Later on I’ll write about my workflow when I’m arranging music and preparing the song for recording.

The first idea for a song

I get almost all my ideas for my songs when I sit and jam by myself in a time gap between more important stuff – suddenly there’s a small phrase that catches my attention or maybe an interesting chord progression that inspires me for a theme or other chord progressions.

Continue reading “Composing music”