Production of The Pugilist was during the COVID 19 coronavirus pandemic, during most of 2021. Unlike the two earlier BBB releases, recorded with the full band in concert or at Capitol Studios, The Pugilist was recorded without the band ever playing together at the same time. The tracks were recorded separately during the first months of 2021, instrument by instrument from remote locations (self recording). Bernie Dresel’s drums were recorded first, then he overdubbed secondary drum set parts (heard in the rear loudspeakers in surround and Auro-3D); the other instrumental tracks were added to eventually create an edited and mixed master.[1] The others performers recorded to a click track, used to synchronize their tracks to each other. A 'click track' provides the musician with precise beats per minute (bpm) for each tune recorded; the range was from 70 bpm to 280 bpm.[2]
Dresel's drum kit was recorded with 15 microphones, all of the recording were captured at 96-kHz/24-bit resolution. After the tracks were completely recorded, a preliminary mix was enhanced with reverberation and 'room sound', which served as a reference point for the final mixing. Patrick Lemmens loaded all of the individual tracks into Avig Pro Tools and set the mix prior to Dresel and Gary Reber arriving at Galaxy Studios in Belgium. The final mix was achieved by working closely with Wilfried Van Baelen at Galaxy. The album is recorded and mastered in Auro-3D, The Pugilist is also offered on Blu-ray Disc (BD). Auro-3D audio formatting was achieved by adding natural 3D sound reflection of Galaxy Hall in Mol.[3]
Promotion
The Pugilist album was both released and premiered on Wednesday, November 17, 2021 at Herb Alpert's Vibrato Grill & Jazz in the Bel Air, Los Angeles area of Southern California: this performance was also Dresel's 60th ‘Birthday Bash.’[4] Groov Marketing and consulting is the primary outlet handling the promotion on radio and digital platforms.[5]
"...doesn't let up through the end of an earnest and aggressive session that sets ablaze four well-known standards and ten original compositions including one apiece by Miles Davis, Michael Jackson and Frank Zappa."[7]
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