Jan Hammer for Dummies


Dadrian

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Here's some need to know information about The Man if you are interested:Eingefügtes BildMini-bio:Jan Hammer (IPA: [jan hamɘ]) (born 17 April 1948, in Prague, then Czechoslovakia, today part of the Czech Republic) is a composer, pianist and keyboardist. His compositions have won him several Grammy awards. He is probably best known for playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra in the early 70s, as well as his "Miami Vice Theme" and "Crockett's Theme", from the popular 1980s US television program, Miami Vice. Hammer has collaborated with some of the era's most influential musicians such as Jeff Beck, Al Di Meola, Mick Jagger, Carlos Santana, Stanley Clarke, Neal Schon (Journey guitarist), Steve Lukather (Toto guitarist), and Elvin Jones among many others. He has composed and produced at least 14 original motion picture soundtracks, the music for 90 episodes of Miami Vice and 20 episodes of the popular British television series Chancer.Jan Hammer Miami Vice CDs:Eingefügtes Bild"Miami Vice: The Complete Collection"As far as Jan Hammer Miami Vice music goes, this is pretty much the only thing you'll need, as it includes almost every song he ever released on any other disc, and then some. The bad news is that it is out of print. If you find one for sale it's usually expensive ($200 or more!). I have the autographed version that he sold on his website. If you're gonna spend a lot of money on this set, you might as well look for an autographed version to make it more worth your money. It's two discs, and it includes the following (I put episode names of which the song first appeeared in parentheses where needed):Disc: 1 1. Original Miami Vice Theme 2. Crockett's Theme 3. New York Theme (Prodigal Son)4. Tubbs And Valerie (Rites of Passage)5. Evan 6. Rum Cay (One Way Ticket)7. One Way Out (Lombard)8. Flashback (Pilot)9. Chase (Pilot)10. Theresa 11. Colombia (Prodigal Son)12. Marina (The Great McCarthy)13. Last Flight (One Way Ticket)14. Night Talk (Made For Each Other)15. Payback 16. Poem (Free Verse)17. Rico's Blues (The Great McCarthy)18. The Trial And The Search (Golden Triangle and Tale of the Goat)19. Wedding (Like A Hurricane)20. Miami Vice Theme Disc: 2 1. Candy (Score, or Golden Triangle pt. 1) 2. Voodoo Dance (Calderone's Demise, or Return pt. 2)3. Lombard Trial 4. Boat Party (Cool Runnin')5. Angelina Flashback (Calderone's Demise, or Return pt. 2)6. Rain (Milk Run)7. Clues (Home Invaders)8. Crockett's Return (Give a Little, Take a Little)9. Shadow In The Dark 10. Incoming (Back In The World)11. The Talk (Evan)12. Gina (Pilot)13. Stone's War (Back In The World) 14. El Viejo Mix 15. Airport Swap (No Exit)16. Russian Story (Bushido)17. Cool Runnin' 18. Texas Ranger (El Viejo)19. The Great Boat Race (The Great McCarthy)20. Golden Triangle 21. Runaround (Little Prince)22. Turning Point (El Viejo)Sadly, most of these songs are changed from the way they sounded on the show, except for some of the Season 3 and 4 re-hashes. Don't get me wrong, everthing sounds great (Jan can do no wrong with me), but as a die hard Vice fan, I wish some of them were a little less embellished. Still a must have for any Vice fan.Here are some alternatives:Eingefügtes Bild"Escape From Television"This is my personal favorite. To me, it has the best combination of track list, album art, and liner notes of any set:1. Crockett's Theme2. Theresa3. Columbia4. Rum Cay5. The Trial and The Search6. Tubbs and Valerie7. Forever Tonight (Child's Play)8. Last Flight9. Rico's Blues10. Before The Storm (Love at First Sight)11. Night Talk12. Miami Vice Theme13. Forever Tonight (Remix)Eingefügtes BildEingefügtes BildEingefügtes BildAlso, the Miami Vice I, II, and III discs are good to have, with good soundtrack and score tunes all together.Synthesizers:Eingefügtes BildMemorymoog by Moog (pronounced with long "o" like "rogue")This synth is Miami Vice as it gets. Listen to the last few seconds of "New York Theme". That recurring melody is the epitome of why this synth IS Miami Vice. It also makes great soft sounds, like in the first minute or so of "Gina". These go for anywhere from $2000-$4000 on ebay in the US these days.Eingefügtes BildRoland Jupiter-8 (that just sounds cool)And cool it is! Listen to "Crockett's Theme" or the score from "Buddies" to get a feel for what this synth does. Also, when you hear a phrase that has a hundred notes in one second (think of tubbs storming into Mendez's hotel with the shotgun in "Hit List") the Jupiter-8 is responsible. This is the most beautiful synth ever. Just look at it! It sells on ebay for about the same prices as Memorymoogs.Eingefügtes BildYamaha DX7Jan used this synth for a lot of "clean" sounds. Think of guitar-like sounds in "Night Talk" and "Lombard Trial". This synth was used almost as much as the Memorymoog. It is probably the most successful synthesizer ever in terms of sales. If you've heard one synthesizer in your life on an 80s song, it was probably this one. You can get a nice one on ebay for around $500. They are pretty easy to find. I own a later version of it (DX7IIFD) and I love it!Eingefügtes BildFairlight CMI (Series IIx)This was the first big sampling synthesizer. They cost as much as a Ferrari in the 80s. Jan used it mainly to arrange his songs. He also had tons of drums samples in it. The first sound I think of with this synth is the "ahhh" sound that can be heard throughout the entire series. This sound can be heard strongly during the "Yankee Dollar" opening credits when Crockett is at the hospital. Once you identify it, you'll recognize it in countless episodes. Also, another famous sound from this unit is the tom drum sounds from the MV theme (opening montage: lady walks by with the close-up on her chest). In fact, just about everything you hear in the Original Theme is from the Fairlight in some way or another.Feel free to use this thread as a reference, especially when I refer to the synthesizers in one of my posts. At least you'll have a visual and a basic idea of what that synth does.Please post questions and comments below. Thanks for looking!!

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thank youi want to clarify that of all these synths, i only own a Yamaha DX7. I'll buy a Memorymoog and Jupiter 8 one day if I ever get rich, unless someone donates (:)) them to me.I use my Korg Triton in place of the Fairlight (I feed Fairlight samples into the Triton and use it to make arrangements). I have a Roland Juno-106 that is a little cousin to the Jupiter-8. It can approximate most Memorymoog and Jupiter-8 sounds from MV.

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shill, you should change your screen name to guzman's vibe :)that guitar sound is from the dx7. i have no idea where he got the drums. probably a sample on the fairlight (he had tons of drum samples). the fast notes (when evan pulls the gun on crx boat) are from the Jupiter-8.

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check out this photo that shows jan's studio in 1985. you'll recognize all the gear if you read the first post in this thread. i added some text to help identify the subject matter.Eingefügtes Bildhere's a great video of Jan in action in that same spot a couple of years later:

if you haven't seen this before, i wish i were you right now...
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Great info, thanks Dadrian! :thumbsup:I've seen the BBC Rock School Series before - it is really very "Eighties"! But informative as well! :D

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Did I ever tell you that I saw Jan live back in 1980 at a small New York City bar called the "Lone Star"? It was when he was playing with Jeff Beck (no Beck wasn't there) I sat not 5 feet from the man and watched a show similar to the video on your link! The friend I brought with me was blown away when he played the keyboard like a guitar! I stayed for both sets and closed the place at 2 A.M. Awesome!

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Guest The Talk
if you haven't seen this before' date=' i wish i were you right now...[/quote']You could have changed with me. I'm not sure if it would have been a pleasure. :p:dance2::dance2:Just kidding. Great stuff, Dadrian. I haven't seen this before. However I certainly did not look at and listened to as you would. Many thanks for posting the link.Ferrariman's friend is right: I's really strange watching him playing the keyboard and simultaneously hearing the guitar sound.What is the technical term for this instrument?
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the one on the video is a Yamaha KX-5. It's a Midi Controller (has no internal voice), which means the KX-5 is telling the Yamaha DX7 (has internal voice) to play the notes from the controller via midi cable. so simple :)

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Guest The Talk

.. so simple :)

:):)Good for us that you deem it simple.Otherwise we couldn't listen to your excellent compositions.Thank you very much for your detailed explanation. :cheers:
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OMG how late am I to this thread????Anyhow, AWESOME thread nofretz, informative and a treasure chest of stunning Jan information.Thank you very much!

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thanks, musicfan.i thought this would be a nice way to introduce what jan does in the show to someone who had maybe just discovered it, but it's fun to look at even if you already know all of it :)

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Did I ever tell you that I saw Jan live back in 1980 at a small New York City bar called the "Lone Star"? It was when he was playing with Jeff Beck (no Beck wasn't there) I sat not 5 feet from the man and watched a show similar to the video on your link! The friend I brought with me was blown away when he played the keyboard like a guitar! I stayed for both sets and closed the place at 2 A.M. Awesome!

"you talkin' to me?"Eingefügtes Bildsorry, i just now saw this post.yeah, you told me before, and i'm just as envious as i was then ;)i'm glad all the readers know this now, though. just another cool thing about the Fman :cool:
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If you find one for sale it's usually expensive ($200 or more!). I have the autographed version that he sold on his website. If you're gonna spend a lot of money on this set, you might as well look for an autographed version to make it more worth your money.

I have the autographed copy too. Is that worth about the same? Not that I would ever part with it, but it will get dusted more often now!! (All my CD's are in Itunes now, saves me wearing out the originals!)
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i'd say the autographed version would bring more than the non to someone who really wanted it, esp. if jan passed away, God forbid(!!!)

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God forbid!!Anyway, people can want all they like, NO-ONE is getting their hands on my copy so :p~~~In fact, none of my JH cd's will ever leave my possession.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thank you very much for this topic, Dadrian. I know a little bit about DX-7 and Jupiter-8 via virtual synths look-alikes, but didn't know memorymoog was that important in Vice. Hope one day this baby too will be released as a v-synth, as I still dream of having somehing like that with Fairlight famous patches too (from the ahhh voice to Peter Gabriel's ominous sound used on "the Rhythm Of The Heat").

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glad to help, ivory.my contact at Arturia said they are currently working on a virtual memorymoog, and he asked me to be a beta tester. i am very excited about this. i'll post any news on this as it develops.as for fairlight sounds, pm me if you want those.

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Wow!!!! That's absolutely great news Dadrian!!!!By the way, I appreciate your work since the very first time I heard it (I guess that might have happened more than half a decade ago now!). Congrats and thank you very much!

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  • 1 year later...
"Miami Vice: The Complete Collection"As far as Jan Hammer Miami Vice music goes, this is pretty much the only thing you'll need, as it includes almost every song he ever released on any other disc, and then some. The bad news is that it is out of print. If you find one for sale it's usually expensive ($200 or more!). I have the autographed version that he sold on his website. If you're gonna spend a lot of money on this set, you might as well look for an autographed version to make it more worth your money. It's two discs, and it includes the following (I put episode names of which the song first appeeared in parentheses where needed):Disc: 1 1. Original Miami Vice Theme 2. Crockett's Theme 3. New York Theme (Prodigal Son)4. Tubbs And Valerie (Rites of Passage)5. Evan 6. Rum Cay (One Way Ticket)7. One Way Out (Lombard)8. Flashback (Pilot)9. Chase (Pilot)10. Theresa 11. Colombia (Prodigal Son)12. Marina (The Great McCarthy)13. Last Flight (One Way Ticket)14. Night Talk (Made For Each Other)15. Payback 16. Poem (Free Verse)17. Rico's Blues (The Great McCarthy)18. The Trial And The Search (Golden Triangle and Tale of the Goat)19. Wedding (Like A Hurricane)20. Miami Vice Theme Disc: 2 1. Candy (Score, or Golden Triangle pt. 1) 2. Voodoo Dance (Calderone's Demise, or Return pt. 2)3. Lombard Trial 4. Boat Party (Cool Runnin')5. Angelina Flashback (Calderone's Demise, or Return pt. 2)6. Rain (Milk Run)7. Clues (Home Invaders)8. Crockett's Return (Give a Little, Take a Little)9. Shadow In The Dark 10. Incoming (Back In The World)11. The Talk (Evan)12. Gina (Pilot)13. Stone's War (Back In The World) 14. El Viejo Mix 15. Airport Swap (No Exit)16. Russian Story (Bushido)17. Cool Runnin' 18. Texas Ranger (El Viejo)19. The Great Boat Race (The Great McCarthy)20. Golden Triangle 21. Runaround (Little Prince)22. Turning Point (El Viejo)Sadly, most of these songs are changed from the way they sounded on the show, except for some of the Season 3 and 4 re-hashes. Don't get me wrong, everthing sounds great (Jan can do no wrong with me), but as a die hard Vice fan, I wish some of them were a little less embellished. Still a must have for any Vice fan.Here are some alternatives:Eingefügtes Bild"Escape From Television"This is my personal favorite. To me, it has the best combination of track list, album art, and liner notes of any set:1. Crockett's Theme2. Theresa3. Columbia4. Rum Cay5. The Trial and The Search6. Tubbs and Valerie7. Forever Tonight (Child's Play)8. Last Flight9. Rico's Blues10. Before The Storm (Love at First Sight)11. Night Talk12. Miami Vice Theme13. Forever Tonight (Remix)Eingefügtes BildEingefügtes BildEingefügtes BildAlso, the Miami Vice I, II, and III discs are good to have, with good soundtrack and score tunes all together.Synthesizers:Eingefügtes BildMemorymoog by Moog (pronounced with long "o" like "rogue")This synth is Miami Vice as it gets. Listen to the last few seconds of "New York Theme". That recurring melody is the epitome of why this synth IS Miami Vice. It also makes great soft sounds, like in the first minute or so of "Gina". These go for anywhere from $2000-$4000 on ebay in the US these days.Eingefügtes BildRoland Jupiter-8 (that just sounds cool)And cool it is! Listen to "Crockett's Theme" or the score from "Buddies" to get a feel for what this synth does. Also, when you hear a phrase that has a hundred notes in one second (think of tubbs storming into Mendez's hotel with the shotgun in "Hit List") the Jupiter-8 is responsible. This is the most beautiful synth ever. Just look at it! It sells on ebay for about the same prices as Memorymoogs.Eingefügtes BildYamaha DX7Jan used this synth for a lot of "clean" sounds. Think of guitar-like sounds in "Night Talk" and "Lombard Trial". This synth was used almost as much as the Memorymoog. It is probably the most successful synthesizer ever in terms of sales. If you've heard one synthesizer in your life on an 80s song, it was probably this one. You can get a nice one on ebay for around $500. They are pretty easy to find. I own a later version of it (DX7IIFD) and I love it!Eingefügtes BildFairlight CMI (Series IIx)This was the first big sampling synthesizer. They cost as much as a Ferrari in the 80s. Jan used it mainly to arrange his songs. He also had tons of drums samples in it. The first sound I think of with this synth is the "ahhh" sound that can be heard throughout the entire series. This sound can be heard strongly during the "Yankee Dollar" opening credits when Crockett is at the hospital. Once you identify it, you'll recognize it in countless episodes. Also, another famous sound from this unit is the tom drum sounds from the MV theme (opening montage: lady walks by with the close-up on her chest). In fact, just about everything you hear in the Original Theme is from the Fairlight in some way or another.Feel free to use this thread as a reference, especially when I refer to the synthesizers in one of my posts. At least you'll have a visual and a basic idea of what that synth does.Please post questions and comments below. Thanks for looking!!
Though I'm late to the party on this, really interesting and informative post here on Hammer.
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  • 11 months later...

The hard to find Yamaha KX-5 sell relatively cheap. I've seen 2 on eBay go for 305.00 and 400.00 !!Check out this video, sadly he sold his but what a great Midi Keyboard.

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