Voice ... in HD

I wouldn't chuck your brand new $3,000 Telos Xstream just yet, but this latest news from Texas Instruments might make it possible to do so in the very near future. TI is calling it Voice Velocity, allowing voice to be transmitted in Hi Def, with frequencies approaching 48k and 64k.

The large bandwidth of DSL, Cable or T1 connections, along with an MPEG 4 AAC codec will allow CD-quality audio transmission possible across IP networks.

Although TI is touting the home and consumer benefits of HD voice across IP networks, it only takes a little imagination to see how this applies to audio production. For those of you looking forward to building a home studio ...without the expense of dedicated ISDN lines and an expensive Telos unit, the future may be a little closer.

Okay, time for a musical diversion.

Today would have been the 90th birthday of The "First Lady of Song," Ella Fitzgerald. She won 13 Grammys, sold over 40-million recordings and was the most popular female jazz vocalist for more than half a century. Her successful career grew from humble roots, as outlined in her official bio:

"What's she going to do?"

In 1934 Ella's name was pulled in a weekly drawing at the Apollo and she won the opportunity to compete in Amateur Night. Ella went to the theater that night planning to dance, but when the frenzied Edwards Sisters closed the main show, Ella changed her mind. "They were the dancingest sisters around," Ella said, and she felt her act would not compare.

Once on stage, faced with boos and murmurs of "What's she going to do?" from the rowdy crowd, a scared and disheveled Ella made the last minute decision to sing. She asked the band to play Hoagy Carmichael's "Judy," a song she knew well because Connee Boswell's rendition of it was among her mother's favorites. Ella quickly quieted the audience, and by the song's end they were demanding an encore. She obliged and sang the flip side of the Boswell Sister's record, "The Object of My Affections."

Ella was 17. Shortly thereafter, she would catch the attention of drummer and band leader Chick Webb, who would go on to hire Ella for $12.50 a week.

This performance of "How High The Moon" allows Ella to use just about every tool in her vast vocal arsenal, from scatting, singing, improvisation, high notes, low notes....you name it!

Long Live the First Lady of Song!

Here's an ad design for TDK cassettes, c. 1993. The campaign's slogan, "As Serious As You Can Get" was designed in part to shore up sagging cassette sales for both pre-recorded and blank media. Indeed, 1993 was a bleak year for recordable media manufacturers as CD players had reached 5 million units sold during that period, up 21% from the year before. That same year, cassette player shipments had dropped 7% to approximately 3.4 million units.

TDK has come a long way since its founding in 1935. It has been at the technological forefront of the recording and audio production industries since it manufactured its first magnetic recording tape in 1952. Now comes word that Imation will acquire TDK's media business. At least the TDK brand name will live on.