The majority of samples on Jazz and Big Band sound authentic. While Garritan has wholly succeeded in the former, it has a ways to go in the latter. It’s amazing that it’s taken so long for the sample industry to target the jazz world, especially considering the idea behind Jazz and Big Band is so simple: one, provide electronic samples of sounds that any typical jazz instrument could produce two, make these samples compatible with industry-standard notation and sequencing software.

Garritan describes Jazz and Big Band as “the industry’s first jazz…library.” Less common instruments in the collection include a subcontrabass saxophone, a jazz accordion and a vibraphone. Retailing for $259, Jazz and Big Band contains the sounds of 16 saxophones, six trumpets with mutes, five trombones with mutes, six additional wind instruments, three keyboards, three guitars, six basses, three full drum kits and a host of percussion instruments. Garritan, the company behind sample libraries of Stradivari violins and orchestral strings, is hoping to make writing a little easier on jazz composers with its new Jazz and Big Band sample library. And sample programs like Acid and Ejay are equipped with clips that sound like they were recorded by extraterrestrials with a distortion fetish. Sound libraries are largely filled with hip-hop beats. Keyboards contain sounds aimed primarily at classical composers. There hasn’t been an easy and inexpensive method for jazz composers to assemble and hear their compositions. Garritan Jazz and Big Band Sample Library

Gary garritan jazz and big band