Jon Hammond Journal July 22, 2012 Report
Jon Hammond Journal July 22, 2012 Report
San Francisco Skyline at dusk as seen from San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge - Jon Hammond
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_francisco_skyline
The U.S. city of San Francisco, California, is the site of over 410 high-rises, 44 of which stand taller than 400 feet (122 m). The tallest building in the city is the Transamerica Pyramid, which rises 853 ft (260 m) and is currently the 31st-tallest building in the United States. Another famous San Francisco skyscraper is 555 California Street, which is the city's second tallest building. It is also known as Bank of America Center.
Many of San Francisco's tallest buildings, particularly its office skyscrapers, were completed in a massive building boom that occurred from the late 1960s until the late 1980s. This boom was dubbed a "Manhattanization wave" by residents of the city, and led to local legislation passed that set in some of the strictest building height limit requirements in the country. This led to a slowdown of skyscraper construction during the 1990s, but construction of taller buildings has resumed recently as the building height requirements have been relaxed and overlooked in light of recent economic activity. The city is currently going through a second boom, with 34 buildings over 400 feet (122 m) proposed, approved, or under construction in the city. San Francisco boasts 21 skyscrapers that rise at least 492 feet (150 m) in height. Overall, San Francisco's skyline is ranked (based upon existing and under construction buildings over 492 feet (150 m) tall) second in the Pacific coast region (after Los Angeles) and seventh in the United States, after New York City, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, Houston, and Dallas.[A]
Due to a housing shortage and the subsequent real estate boom, the city's strict building height code has been relaxed over the years, and there have been many skyscrapers proposed for construction in the city; some, such as the One Rincon Hill South Tower, have already been completed. Several other taller buildings are proposed in connection with the Transbay Terminal redevelopment project. The San Francisco Transbay development consists of 10 skyscrapers set to rise over 400 feet (122 m) tall, with three of the towers scheduled to rise over 1,000 feet (305 m). If constructed, these towers would be the first buildings in San Francisco to qualify as supertalls, and would be among the tallest in the United States. Many other tall proposals have been submitted as well, including the Sun Tower, which is planned to rise on Treasure Island — at Skyline
San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge -- Slow down 35 MPH for the curve people! Not 50 or 60 like lots are doing - Jon Hammond
Dead Man's Curve
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Ideas-offered-to-slow-S-curve-motorists-3211750.php
Getting drivers to slow down for the Bay Bridge S-curve might seem like an unusual challenge, but some states have been dealing with troublesome curves on interstate highways for decades, using everything from speed cameras and flashing lights to grooved pavement and unusual lane markings to get drivers to slow down and pay attention.
Some of these tactics will be used on the S-curve after a series of accidents, including a fatality Monday morning, sparked a public outcry for safety improvements at the temporary detour on the Bay Bridge. At least 43 accidents - or an average of five per week - have occurred on the curve since the detour opened to traffic Sept. 8.
"People just don't want to slow down," said Russ Rader, a spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which researches traffic safety. "The question is: How do you make them?"
Many cities have dangerous curves on highways that have earned infamy and nicknames because of the large number of accidents. In Cleveland, the 90-degree curve on Interstate 90 nearing downtown is called "Deadman's Curve."
Opened in 1959, the curve quickly became a problem. Like the Bay Bridge, the speed limits on either side of the curve are 50 mph - which drivers usually exceed, said Jocelynn Clemings, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Transportation.
The sharp turn requires drivers to slow to 35 mph. To get drivers to reduce their speeds, the department has, over the years, put in "a lot of flashing signage" along with grooved pavement that makes a loud vibrating sound when drivers pass over it, and extra arrows, or chevrons, on the pavement.
While drivers are more aware, she said, "There are quite often accidents of varying severity," and the Department of Transportation plans to "flatten" the curve sometime in the next decade, she said.
Kansas City has two troublesome curves that it has tamed with speed sensors and flashing lights that warn drivers on Interstate 70 to slow down. Trucks frequently overturned at the Jackson and Benton curves, prompting the Missouri Department of Transportation to install a special warning system about 20 years ago.
The system uses a sensor planted in each lane to read the speed of vehicles approaching the curves. If they're speeding, flashing lights over their lane activate and a sign blares: "Driving too fast when lights flashing."
"We've had a pretty noticeable reduction in accidents," said Jesse Skinner, an interstate corridor engineer with the Missouri Department of Transportation.
Elsewhere, the department also has used radar signs - one for each lane of traffic - that read and display drivers' speeds next to signs showing the speed limit.
"People drive what (speed) they feel comfortable driving," Skinner said. "If you want them to slow down, you have to get their attention."
Caltrans also employed flashing lights and prominent signs to do just that at "the Fishhook," the sharply curved intersection of highways 1 and 17 in Santa Cruz, and the curve was widened recently to make it easier to navigate. Colin Jones, a Caltrans spokesman, said the devices improved safety at the interchange but noted that drivers changing highways are more likely to slow down than those driving across a bridge and entering a curve.
Anne McCartt, vice president of research at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said the key to slowing drivers is enforcement of speed laws. Speed cameras, which use radar to measure speed and then automatically issue a ticket, can be especially effective in an area like the S-curve, or where it could be difficult for police to pull over speeders.
"The advantage of automated enforcement is that it can happen anytime of the day or night, wherever it is needed," she said.
McCartt also recommended stricter enforcement of speeds on the entire bridge, saying that it is unrealistic to expect drivers to slow from speeds in excess of 50 mph to 35 mph for the curve.
Caltrans officials already have installed extra signs and flashing lights, and plan more safety improvements to slow motorists, including reflective striping near the top of the bridge's barrier walls, a large overhead sign warning of the curve and of the reduced speed on the upper deck of the bridge, and radar boards flashing drivers' speeds. Caltrans spokesman Bart Ney said the agency also is considering installing grooved pavement or rows of pavement markers to warn drivers they are approaching the curve.
Sorry William, you missed the McIntosh model 225, better luck next time! - Jon Hammond
MC225 - *Random Reviews: "Bottom Line:
The 225 matches excelently to My Klipsch Belle's and My Klipschorns. The 104 db/watt efficiency of these systems is a must for an amplifier of this size. 118 db peak passages are possible without clipping - a must for any realistic reproduction of music. Try to get 118 db peaks from any of the low efficiency speakers ( less than 100 db/watt ) and you end up with an impossible situation.
The 225's have fixed bias, this should be critically set as I have found that amplifier signatures change with as little as 5ma. differences. The Sovetek 7591A's (not XYZ) are better sounding tubes than the NOS stuff being sold."
"Over many years of experimenting with many products -solid state vs tubes I much prefer the tube sound. I recently purchased a 30 year old MAC 225 Amp and was amazed at the quality of the sound.My then current Cary SLA70 did not compare. I was hearing things I had never heard before on some favorite CD's with the MAC 225.Can I realistically improve the sound of my system by moving up to a MAC 240 or 275? Replies are appreciated. Also to maintain the MAC 225 sound signature should I continue with my Audible Illusions MOD 3 Pre amp(Tube) or move to a Mac 33 pre amp (Solid State). Any comments,suggestions or recommendations are appreciated."
"I have been using MC-225 for more than 5 years and that is the part I think I will use it for my whole life (I guess my next generation can still use them by replacing some parts). It gave you great and smooth sound especially in the mid to high range. Very impressive for playing songs by female singer. Don't think that 25 watts is small, it can still gives you very solid bass and sound stage.
Currently I have two sets of MC-225 to drive ProAC Tabelette 50 Sig. Other components include:"
Radio Day By The Bay -- Jon Hammond with Celeste Perry Radio/TV Personality and another lady of Radio/TV - annual Fund Raiser for California Historical Radio Society at KRE Radio in Berkeley California
Radio Day By The Bay -- Cheryl Jennings and Stan Bunger annual Fund Raiser for California Historical Radio Society at KRE Radio in Berkeley California - Jon Hammond
Radio Day By The Bay -- He's got 'The Fever'...Radio Fever!
Jon Hammond
Radio Day By The Bay -- A lucky buyer got this beautiful classic radio for only 50 bucks at the annual Fund Raiser for California Historical Radio Society at KRE Radio in Berkeley California - Jon Hammond
Jon Hammond's new little SONY TFM-6060W 2 Band Radio will be going on a trip around the world - Travel Radio just got acquired by a traveler! - Radio Day By The Bay - KRE Radio Berkeley California annual fundraiser for California Historical Radio Society
Classic Motorola AM Radio in Turquoise Blue- this one went for big bucks at the Auction at annual fundraiser for California Historical Radio Society - RADIO KRE Berkeley - Jon Hammond
Cheryl Jennings of KGO-TV conducting Oral History Interviews in control room of KRE Radio -- at Radio Day By The Bay annual fundraiser for California Historical Radio Society - Jon Hammond
NAMM Oral History Session Jon Hammond recorded January 13th 2011 Anaheim CA
Jon Hammond | NAMM.org Oral History Interview Date: January 13, 2011 Full Version
*WATCH Full Version Video Here: Jon Hammond | NAMM.org Oral History Interview Date: January 13, 2011 Full Version
http://a10.video2.blip.tv/9530007958507/JonHammond-JonHammondNAMMorgOralHistoryInterviewDateJanuary132011558.m4v?brs=1461&bri=44.3
http://blip.tv/file/4837335
http://vimeo.com/20619835
Jon Hammond | NAMM.org Oral History Interview Date: January 13, 2011
http://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/jon-hammond
Jon Hammond
Special Thanks: Joe Lamond president and chief executive officer of NAMM
Hiromitsu Ono Suzuki Musical Instrument Chief Engineer
Waichiro Tachi Tachikawa Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation, 鈴木楽器製作所 Suzuki Gakki
Betty Heywood, director of international affairs at NAMM
Manji Suzuki President and Founder of Suzuki Musical Instruments Hammond Suzuki here with Jon Hammond at the New B3mk2 Organ in Suzuki Hall Hamamatsu World Headquarters
Actual NBC Chimes - This is how it was actually done On-The-Air Kids! - Jon Hammond http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBC_Chimes
The NBC chimes, named for the radio and television network on which they have been used, consists of a succession of three distinct pitches: G3, E4, and C4 (middle C), sounded in that order, creating an arpeggiated C-major chord in the second inversion, within about two seconds time, and reverberating for another two or three seconds. The intervals of this progression are up a major 6th from G3 to E4 and down a major third from E4 to C4. The chimes were the first ever audio trademark to be accepted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Contrary to widespread belief, the "G-E-C" sequence is not a reference to the General Electric Company (now a minority shareholder in NBC's current parent company), which did not acquire NBC until 1986; however, GE's radio station WGY in Schenectady, New York was an early NBC affiliate, and GE was an early shareholder in RCA, which founded NBC by creating it as a subsidiary.
The chimes were originally used as a cue for radio stations across the network to begin broadcasting their station identifications or local feeds. After their use as a formal network communications signal ended around the 1970s as the result of automation, the chimes has been used ever since as an audio logo or signature for NBC.
An elegant solution: the station break
The chimes were originally conceived to help solve a problem inherent in early network radio broadcasting: the vast majority of which was live, rather than pre-recorded. At the top of each hour, any individual broadcaster (on radio, TV or other broadcast band) must identify itself by callsign and the name of the community where its broadcast license has been issued, in compliance with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations. For example: "This is WHYY, Philadelphia." Therefore it might seem efficient for a small radio network (three to seven stations, for instance) to accomplish this chore by having a single announcer "on the network", whose voice is transmitted to all the local stations, read the short list of local callsigns and corresponding communities for about ten seconds each hour, during an extended broadcast period. However, this practice becomes quite inefficient as a network grows, consuming valuable commercial airtime.[1] Hence it was determined in early big-network radio days that this job, among others, had to be done locally, on a pre-determined cue from the network itself.
The simplest way to accomplish this is with a spoken announcement (sometimes called an outcue), and its special format has a familiar ring. For instance: "We pause now for ten seconds for station identification: this is the NBC Television Network". This phrasing alerts a local announcer to put him/herself on the air and formally identify the local station. The Today Show, broadcast for four hours live every weekday on NBC, uses a special spoken outcue for station breaks: "This is Today on NBC." Indeed, as a public relations technique, this task is often offered to a member of the live audience assembled in Rockefeller Plaza outside the Today studio. For the network pioneers at NBC in the late 1920s, a more simple, elegant and consistent solution than an announcer's voice, with its individual distinctiveness, was sought.
It was decided by a three-person committee (consisting of Oscar Hanson, a former engineer of AT&T, Earnest la Prada, an NBC orchestra leader, and the NBC announcer Philip Carlin) that the simplest way to do this would be to create a musical cue which would sound to signal the end of programs. Essentially, NBC wished to brand itself in sound, a sound that any listener would immediately recognize.
[edit]History
The chimes came to their familiar configuration and sound after several years of on-air development. They were first broadcast over NBC's Red and Blue networks on November 29, 1929. However, there are disagreements about the original source of the idea. One story is that they came from WSB in Atlanta which allegedly used it for its own purposes until one day someone at NBC headquarters in New York City heard the WSB version of the notes during a networked broadcast of a Georgia Tech football game and asked permission to use it on the national network. The NBC chimes were invented by Robert Blanchard.
The company tested the chimes during 1927 and 1928 when it experimented with several possible combinations of notes. The first sequence consisted of the seven notes G-C-F-E-G-F-E. However, since the original NBC chime machine was an actual set of chimes which the announcer would play 30 seconds before the end of every half-hour to signal the end of a program, it was left to the announcers to play this trademark sequence without error, which was unavoidable with such a lengthy cue. The chime sequence was shortened to G-C-F-E and then, on November 29, 1929, the cue was shortened for the final time, and the three well-known notes G-E-C were heard on NBC radio for the first time.
Despite the relative simplicity and efficiency of the new, shorter chime sequence, problems still existed in other musical aspects of the sequence, such as the tempo, rhythm, and volume at which it was played, as well as the musical tone of the set chimes. Therefore the NBC chimes were mechanized in 1932 with a unit that could play the sequence perfectly and consistently. Richard H. Ranger, a former Radio Corporation of America (RCA) engineer who also invented an early form of the modern fax machine, invented the NBC chime machine that generated the notes by means of finely tuned metal reeds that were plucked by fingers on a revolving drum, much like a musical box.
NBC had several of these chime machines made which they set up at major network locations across the country, including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco (which actually had two machines, a main one and a backup.) It is estimated that no more than a dozen of these machines were ever made, and even fewer are currently in existence.
The technical purpose of the mechanical chimes was to send a low level audio signal of constant amplitude that would be heard by the various switching stations manned by NBC and AT&T engineers, but not disturb the listening audience. This would serve as the system cue for switching the myriad local stations between the NBC Red Network and NBC Blue Network feeds as scheduled, as well as signalling the pause for local station identification immediately thereafter. In essence, it was the audio equivalent of a traffic signal. Because of fears of offending commercial sponsors by cutting their live network programs off in mid-sentence, the mechanized chimes were always rung by an announcer pushing a button in conjunction with the program’s conclusion; they were never set to an automatic timer, although heavy discussions on the subject were held between the Engineering and Programming departments throughout the 1930s and 1940s.
On November 20, 1947, NBC filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to make the chimes a registered service mark for identification of radio broadcasting services, the first such audible service mark to be filed with that office. Registration was granted on April 4, 1950; the registration number was 0523616, serial number 71541873. This registration expired on November 3, 1992, as NBC Radio became part of broadcasting history. However a separate service mark registration was made in 1971 for identification of television broadcasting services (serial 72349496, registration 0916522). While this registration is still active, the chime was heard for the final time on the NBC television channel in 1976, the 50-year anniversary of the chime; the chime is now used only for various smaller purposes on the channel.[2]
The chimes go modern
Their use as a formal network communications signal ended around 1971, the result of automation. Television flagship WNBC in New York kept the sound of the chimes alive, though. In 1974, it incorporated the sequence into the opening of its synthesized theme music for NewsCenter 4 (sharpening the pitch by a half-step). The stinger was heard at the opens to the newscasts' 5, 6 and 11 p.m. hours. Eventually, NBC Radio adopted WNBC-TV's NewsCenter 4 stinger as its top-of-the-hour news sounder. With alterations (and a brief interruption in the early 1990s), WNBC has used a form of the chimes on its newscasts ever since.
The music used on NewsCenter 4, NBC Radio-TV Newspulse by Fred Weinberg, was later used for NBC Nightly News in the 1970s and NBC News bulletins/special reports in the 1970s and 1980s. The usage of the NBC chimes continues in local newscasts on NBC stations to this day, in fact many NBC stations play the NBC Chimes at the end of the weather segment of the newscast, when the extended forecast is shown.
In 1976, the chimes were revived nationally in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the network. Modern musical versions of the three-note chimes are still in popular use on the NBC radio and television networks (and are the opening and closing notes of the current edition of the NBC Nightly News theme song), as well as in the closing logo of NBC Universal Television Studio, the TV production arm of NBC's current immediate parent, NBC Universal.
From 1982 to the early 1990s, most NBC voiceover promos at the end of network shows would begin with the chimes. From 1982 to 1987, the chimes would blend into an instrumental version of the promo slogan that NBC would be using at the time.
The Today Show made the chimes the centerpiece of its theme in 1978, resolving a legal dispute between the network and the composers of the musical Godspell. The musical composers felt that the Ray Ellis-penned closing theme Today used since 1971 (which was also the show's opening theme since 1976) was lifted from the classic Godspell song "Day by Day." Using the chimes as his template, Ellis composed a new theme song, which stuck.
Although Today has used a segment from John Williams' NBC News music package The Mission since 1985, Ellis's revised composition has been used on and off during portions of Today ever since.
NBC News uses a version of the original chimes for special breaking news reports that interrupt regular programming on the network and/or its stations.
NBC's on-air promotions for the fall 2008 television season featured the chimes prominently alongside the new slogan "Chime In". Several used alternate versions tied to specific shows' themes: for example, ringing telephones for The Office; the ringing of cash registers for Deal or No Deal; and objects striking metal for America's Toughest Jobs.
The use of chimes as an audio logo is not unique, as other broadcasters, including Britain's ATV and Mexico's Televisa Canal de las Estrellas have used similar chimes. The Canal de las Estrellas chimes, for example, consist of eight musical notes.
[edit]The chimes quoted in music
Many composers have used the NBC chimes as their signature for their news packages, many of which were made exclusively for NBC stations. Some songwriters have quoted the sequence as well, and NBC-owned radio stations such as WNBC (AM) incorporated the melody into their station ID jingle packages. A few examples include:
NBC Stations by Edd Kalehoff
The Tower by 615 Music
The Rock by Stephen Arnold
The NBC Collection by Frank Gari
L.A. Groove by Groove Addicts
Nothing But Class and The Only One by JAM Creative Productions
"Let's Go" by Ray Charles on his 1961 album Genius+Soul=Jazz
"Do Your Thing" by Isaac Hayes
"Here's Love" from the Meredith Willson musical Here's Love. It plays during the lyric "from CBS to NBC."
[edit]The "Fourth Chime"
The variant sequence B - D + G = G, based on a G-major arpeggio in second inversion, was known as "the fourth chime". According to an NBC Interdepartment Correspondence memo, dated April 7, 1933 documents the conception and initial purpose of the fourth chime. The memo states "In anticipation of the Spring and Summer months, when many in key positions will not always be available at home telephones, the following Emergency Call System will go into effect on Monday morning, April 16." The memo goes on to say that whenever a fourth tone is heard on the network chimes rung at fifteen minute intervals, it will indicate that someone on an attached list is wanted. Upon hearing this fourth chime, all personnel on the list are instructed to call in to the PBX operator to ascertain whether or not the Emergency Call is for them. The chime would continue at fifteen minute intervals over stations WEAF and WJZ until the wanted person communicated with the PBX operator. The list contained the names of the following NBC executives:
John F. Royal
John W. Elwood
Frank Mason
J de Jara Almonte
The list also included names of personnel from Engineering, Press, Programming, Traffic, and Service departments.
The "fourth chime" was also used to notify affiliates and their employees of pending urgent programming. This variant saw such use during wartime (especially in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor) and other disasters, most notably the Hindenburg disaster in 1937. According to NBC historians, the last official use of the "fourth chime" was in 1945, shortly after the end of World War II. However, according to a handwritten note appended to an NBC internal memo originally dated 1964 on the history and usage of the standard chime, this chime variant was used one final time in 1985 to symbolize the merger with GE. This recording of this variant exists
Frankfurt Germany -- Bandstand shot from Jon Hammond of Chuck Plaisance, Bobby Kimball and Tommy Denander at 2012 Musikmesse Frankfurt on the Agora Stage
Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR-tVxndAKE
The "Jam of the Year Band"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wcy1arOJrRQ
2012 Frankfurt Musikmesse backstage at the big Agora Stage just seconds before going on the bandstand in concert with Tommy Denander's Allstar band, with footage from the concert of Hendrix tribute playing Little Wing with these great musicians:
"The legendary Jam-of-the Year Band" with Bobby Kimball (TOTO), Tommy Denander (guitar player, e.g. for Michael Jackson), Bruce Gaitsch (guitar player, e.g. for Richard Marx), Chuck Plaisance vocals, Curt Bisquera (drummer, e.g. for Tina Turner) und Jekko S. Jon Hammond at the Sk1 Hammond organ, Zlatko Jimmy Kresic keys, Pi TTi Hecht percussion
*(Curt Bisquera - Drums (Tina Turner, Seal, Elton John) Tommy Denander - Guitar (Michael Jackson, Alice Cooper, Paul Stanley) Bruce Gaitsch - Guitar (Madonna, Richard Marx, Celine Dion) Jekko S. - Bass feat. Bobby Kimball, and some others...) on Agora Stage @Music Fair in Frankfurt March
Frankfurt Germany -- Jon Hammond Band - Jazzkeller Frankfurt
Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJT522j_nPQ
2012 Annual Musikmesse Warm Up Party hosted by Jon Hammond Band in Jazzkeller Frankfurt "Get Back In The Groove" / Tribute to 9/11 by Jon Hammond
with Tony Lakatos tenor sax, Joe Berger guitar, Giovanni Gulino drums,
Jon Hammond at the Hammond Sk1 organ,
special guest Lee Oskar harmonica.
This performance marks 26 years consecutive attending Musikmesse Frankfurt and
it was also on the birthday of Jon Hammond March 20th, 2012 with a big chocolate on chocolate cake baked by Saray Pastanesi Baeckerei & Konditorei bakery on Mainzer Landstrasse 131. 60327 Frankfurt am Main
http://www.jonhammondband.com/
New York NY -- 2 serious Cello Players with Cellos crossing at W.44th and Eighth Avenue, yield to the Celloists folks! Jon Hammond
Radio Day By The Bay -- Jon Hammond in the Holy Grail of Radios folks!
http://www.californiahistoricalradio.com/event/live-at-kre-radio-day-by-the-bay-2012/
Live at KRE - “RADIO DAY BY THE BAY 2012″
Radio Day By The Bay -- This KLH Radio is one of my favorite radios, sounds fantastic folks! Jon Hammond KLH Model Eight FM table radio - designed by Henry Kloss
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Kloss
Kloss began his custom of eponymous products by lending his last name's initial to KLH as a founder in 1957, along with Malcolm Low and J. Anton Hofmann (son of pianist Józef Hofmann) who had also been investors in AR. At Cambridge-based KLH, Kloss continued to build speakers such as the classic KLH Model Five and Six, and produced one of the first small FM radios with high selectivity, the Model Eight. Though KLH was sold to the Singer Corporation in 1964, Kloss remained at the firm for a short time to assist in the development of additional speakers and electronic music products, and the firm continued to attract design and engineering talent. Kloss created the first solid state record player, the KLH Model Eleven. In 1962, he collaborated with Ray Dolby of Dolby Laboratories to develop the B version of the Dolby noise reduction system to reduce tape hiss. This resulted in the KLH Model Forty reel-to-reel tape recorder, Dolby's first foray into the consumer product market. By 1967, Kloss had left KLH. KLH was eventually sold to Kyocera, and production was shifted overseas. By 1979, nearly all of the original design and engineering team had left the company.
My Dad's 1967 Lincoln Continental Convertible - 'Suicide Doors' *similar to the car President John F. Kennedy had his last ride in
- has massive 464 cu. inches engine:
http://hammondcast.tumblr.com/
Anaheim California -- Cats, could you bring a few more cameras next time?!
Jon Hammond - Winter NAMM
http://thedrumnetwork.ning.com/profiles/blogs/breaking-news-namm-president-ceo-joe-lamond-says-95-000
Breaking News NAMM President/CEO Joe Lamond Says 95,000 Attendance Broken 3rd Day of 4 Day Winter NAMM 2012 Jon Hammond Reporting
2 years ago I played a midnight showcase show with Bernard Purdie at NAMM in the Hilton Lobby - Pocket Funk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afTagFhYOCo
Pocket Funk Bernard Purdie and Friends NAMM + Flash Back 1989
For Flash Back 1989 Mikell's Pocket Funk Video:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2831189635144040422&hl
Pocket Funk LIVE JON HAMMOND Band w/BERNARD PURDIE at Mikell's NYC
*Note: Listen to the crowd of mostly musicians actually roar after Joe Berger's guitar solo! - JH - Hilton Hotel Lobby - JH
Frankfurt Germany -- Thank you for the Flowers! - Jon Hammond
presented to Jon from Christine Vogel - Messe Frankfurt Projekt Team there with Peggy Behling in behalf of Musikmesse Frankfurt for 25 years
*Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hozrJpHvV-4
Celebration Cake - Mainzer Landstrasse 131, 60327 Frankfurt am Main, Eugen Hahn Jazzkeller Frankfurt Team Kleine Bockenheimerstr. 18a Frankfurt
Radio Day By The Bay -- Type 545A Oscilloscope for bench testing at California Historical Radio Society - Jon Hammond
http://www.thevalvepage.com/testeq/tek/545a/545a.htm
A dual trace oscilloscope utilising plug-in units for the 'Y' amplifiers.
Apparently there are 102 valves in this thing ! Hell, there are 14 of 'em in just the power supply ! Yet its still lighter than the Cossor. Lined up in rows, hanging upside-down, valves everywhere ! And a ruddy great fan at the back trying to keep it all cool.
The scope was manufactured for a number of years, as illustrated by the April 1961 advert [138K] shown opposite. But check out the £600 price tag ! To put this into perspective, this represented half the yearly salery for a typical design engineer.
Whilst a manufacturing plant was set up in Guernsey (off the souther coast of Great Britain), I wonder just how much of the scope was manufactured there and how much was "simply" assembling modules built in the state...
R.I.P. Jon Lord L to R: Joe Berger, Jon Lord, Michael Falkenstein - at Release of Hammond SK-1 and SK-2 Stage Keyboards at 2011 Musikmesse Worldwide For Immediate Release http://hammondjazz.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/sk-1-and-sk-2-hammond-suzuki-stage-keyboards-hammondcast/
California Historical Radio Society, Journal, July 21, 2012, Jon Hammond, Jazz, Blues, Broadcast, Bay Bridge, NAMM, Musikmesse, Frankfurt, Sk1, Organ, Oral History,
Cheryl Jennings
New York NY -- Last night in Dizzy's Club Coca Cola
Igor Butman & Moscow State Jazz Orchestra played one of the greatest concerts I ever heard in my life folks! I highly recommend to go see and hear them while they are here in New York City from Moscow! - Jon Hammond
http://jalc.org/dccc/details09.asp?EventID=3159
Tue-Sun, Jul 17-22
(Jul 18: 7:30pm Sold Out)
7:30pm & 9:30pm
plus 11:30pm on Fri & Sat
"In his homeland of Russia, Butman is as influential with the cultural and political elite as a certain trumpeter here in America is. So it's no wonder that he is in the position to bring his state assisted orchestra. The saxophonist is a world-class player, arranger, and no doubt - talent scout, so expect a hyped up energized group of musicians aiming not just to please, but to blow away. A fitting analogy would be as if the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra was playing in Moscow. You know they'd be more than ready. Igor Butman, tenor/soprano saxophone, leader; Alexander Dovgopolyy, saxophones; Illya Morozov, alto saxophone, clarinet; Dimitry Mospan, saxophones; Alexander Sakharov, saxophones; Oleg Borodin, Pavel Ovchinnkikov, Alvetina Polyakova, Nikolay Shevnin, trombones; Pavel Zhulin, Alexander Sakharov, Denis Popov, trumpet; Anton Baronin, piano; Vitaliy Solomonov, bass; Eduard Zizak, drums; plus special guests on trumpet, saxophone, vocals, et al." special thanks Manager Marat Garipov and Lord Todd Barkan — Vitaly Solomonov, Dmitry Mospan, Konstantin Safyanov, Alevtina Polyakova, Alexander Dovgopoly and Pavel Ovchinnikov at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola
New York NY -- Folks, my good friends from Igor Butman Moscow State Jazz Orchestra played one of the greatest concerts I ever heard in my life last night! Even after playing
2 x 2 hour sets, they are going down to the Village after hours to play more in Smalls! Thank you for the great great music! - Jon Hammond *here after show in front of Jazz at Lincoln Center - make sure to hear the entire orchestra in Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, there are still a few more nights remaining
Iliya Morozov,Konstantin Safyanov, Ed Zizak, Makar Novikovand Evgeny Sivtsov, Alevtina Polyakova at Jazz at Lincoln Center
Dizzy's Club Coca Cola --
Igor Butman Orchestra rhythm section and part of horn section, Nick Levinovsky piano and arranger, Igor Butman tenor saxophone,Konstantin Safyanov Ed Zizak drums, Vitaly Solomonov bass and the cats sounding fantastic in cola club! - Jon Hammond — withVitaly Solomonov, Dmitry Mospan, Ed Zizak,Konstantin Safyanov and Alevtina Polyakova atDizzy's Club Coca-Cola
Alexander Dovgopoly doubling on Piccolo - choreography section of show - danger zone if not executed precisely, could get hit in the head by trombone! - JH
Igor Butman & Moscow State Jazz Orchestra - I highly recommend to go see and hear them while they are here in New York City from Moscow! - Jon Hammond
http://jalc.org/dccc/details09.asp?EventID=3159
Tue-Sun, Jul 17-22
(Jul 18: 7:30pm Sold Out)
7:30pm & 9:30pm
Alvetina Polyakova blowing a fantastic solo on trombone last night with Igor Butman & Moscow State Jazz Orchestra - they played one of the greatest concerts I ever heard in my life last night folks! I highly recommend to go see and hear them while they are here in New York City from Moscow! -Jon Hammond
The Saxophones of Igor Butman and the Bass of Vitaly Solomonov ! - Jon Hammond
Front Line Saxophones -Alexander Dovgopoly doubling on Piccolo - Nick Levinovsky Piano and Vitaly SolomonovBass of
Igor Butman & Moscow State Jazz Orchestra - I highly recommend - Jon Hammond
Alexander Dovgopoly blowing a smokin' solo on baritone saxophone last night with Igor Butman & Moscow State Jazz Orchestra - they played one of the greatest concerts I ever heard in my life last night folks!
New York NY - Fifth Avenue & 57th St. -- "You're looking very chic...Why thank you, you're looking very chic also! Where do you buy your clothes? The same place you buy yours of course!" - Jon Hammond
Moscow, Igor Butman, Eduard Zizak, JALC, Organ, Sk1, Jon Hammond, Jazz, Blues, Funky, Local 802 Musicians Union, Russia
Jon Hammond 10 Years Before in Moscow Russia with Igor Butman tenor sax and Ed Zizak drums
*WATCH THE VIDEO HERE: Easy Living in Moscow Russia Jon Hammond Trio with Igor Butman and Ed Zizak
http://www.archive.org/details/JonHammondJONHAMMONDTriow_IgorButman_EduardZizak_EasyLiving_
JON HAMMOND Trio w/ Igor Butman & Eduard Zizak "Easy Living"
Organist & CBS/KYCY Radio Host JON HAMMOND playing in Trio with Russian tenor saxophonist IGOR BUTMAN & EDUARD ZIZAK-drums in LE CLUB in THEATRE TAGANKA. The beautiful Ballad "Easy Living" *JENNIFER-Camera *Special Thanks-FAINA COBHAM, HAMMOND SUZUKI, ALEXANDER VERSHBOW *STORY: http://community.webtv.net/ GoldenPenMan/BLUESINTHEMOSCOW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufJ1zC1hthY
*WATCH THE VIDEO HERE: Joe Franklin Thanksgiving at The Laugh Factory
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_-mYcrxtTo
8,702
Jon Hammond on the scene covering Joe Franklin's annual Thanksgiving show and free turkey dinner at Laugh Factory NYC, a great tradition, Miracle on 42nd St.! Owner Richard Basciano an icon of Times Square says "By giving this holiday gift we want to give our thanks to the people NYC for making us what we are today ."
No one should be alone on this day of giving thanks and all are invited. Come out for a day of food and fun and share good times with friends. Happy Thanksgiving from Times Square Arts Center and The World Famous Laugh Factory. Enjoy Joe Franklin legend of Radio & TV here! jh http://www.HammondCast.com
*WATCH THE VIDEO HERE: When I Fall In Love in The jazzkeller Frankfurt
http://www.archive.org/details/JonHammondWhenIFallInLoveinThejazzkellerFrankfurt
Musikmesse Warm Up Party in Jazzkeller Frankfurt hosted by Jon Hammond Band
Tony Lakatos tenor sax
Jon Hammond XK-1 organ
Giovanni Gulino drums
When I Fall In Love
special thanks Eugen Hahn Jazzkeller Frankfurt Team, Musikmesse, Waichiro Tachikawa Suzuki Hammond, Michael Maier Falkenstein Hammond Deutschland, Video Camera by Jennifer http://www.jonhammondband.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bwqe0YbzSY
http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=hammondcast&page=11
*WATCH VIDEO: Conversations Show Part 1 Harold Channer and Jon Hammond MNN TV
http://www.archive.org/details/JonHammondConversationsShowwithHaroldChannerandJonHammondMNNTV
Excerpt from 'Conversations Show', Harold Channer with guest TV/Radio Host & Producer Jon Hammond on MNN TV in New York City. Hear Harold and Jon discuss Public Access Television and play a clip from Jon's very first broadcast on MCTV Channel C 'The Jon Hammond Show' with original music and graphics from BackBeat Productions that aired for first time Feb. 2, 1984. Jon's TV show is now in it's 24th year and he is hosting daily radio show 'HammondCast Early Edition http://www.HammondCast.com
Harold Hudson Channer and Jon Hammond in the studios of MNN TV
The famous envelope containing program labels for The Jon Hammond Show on MNN TV
Jon Hammond Show Still images
The U.S. city of San Francisco, California, is the site of over 410 high-rises, 44 of which stand taller than 400 feet (122 m). The tallest building in the city is the Transamerica Pyramid, which rises 853 ft (260 m) and is currently the 31st-tallest building in the United States. Another famous San Francisco skyscraper is 555 California Street, which is the city's second tallest building. It is also known as Bank of America Center.
Many of San Francisco's tallest buildings, particularly its office skyscrapers, were completed in a massive building boom that occurred from the late 1960s until the late 1980s. This boom was dubbed a "Manhattanization wave" by residents of the city, and led to local legislation passed that set in some of the strictest building height limit requirements in the country. This led to a slowdown of skyscraper construction during the 1990s, but construction of taller buildings has resumed recently as the building height requirements have been relaxed and overlooked in light of recent economic activity. The city is currently going through a second boom, with 34 buildings over 400 feet (122 m) proposed, approved, or under construction in the city. San Francisco boasts 21 skyscrapers that rise at least 492 feet (150 m) in height. Overall, San Francisco's skyline is ranked (based upon existing and under construction buildings over 492 feet (150 m) tall) second in the Pacific coast region (after Los Angeles) and seventh in the United States, after New York City, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, Houston, and Dallas.[A]
Due to a housing shortage and the subsequent real estate boom, the city's strict building height code has been relaxed over the years, and there have been many skyscrapers proposed for construction in the city; some, such as the One Rincon Hill South Tower, have already been completed. Several other taller buildings are proposed in connection with the Transbay Terminal redevelopment project. The San Francisco Transbay development consists of 10 skyscrapers set to rise over 400 feet (122 m) tall, with three of the towers scheduled to rise over 1,000 feet (305 m). If constructed, these towers would be the first buildings in San Francisco to qualify as supertalls, and would be among the tallest in the United States. Many other tall proposals have been submitted as well, including the Sun Tower, which is planned to rise on Treasure Island — at Skyline
San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge -- Slow down 35 MPH for the curve people! Not 50 or 60 like lots are doing - Jon Hammond
Dead Man's Curve
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Ideas-offered-to-slow-S-curve-motorists-3211750.php
Getting drivers to slow down for the Bay Bridge S-curve might seem like an unusual challenge, but some states have been dealing with troublesome curves on interstate highways for decades, using everything from speed cameras and flashing lights to grooved pavement and unusual lane markings to get drivers to slow down and pay attention.
Some of these tactics will be used on the S-curve after a series of accidents, including a fatality Monday morning, sparked a public outcry for safety improvements at the temporary detour on the Bay Bridge. At least 43 accidents - or an average of five per week - have occurred on the curve since the detour opened to traffic Sept. 8.
"People just don't want to slow down," said Russ Rader, a spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which researches traffic safety. "The question is: How do you make them?"
Many cities have dangerous curves on highways that have earned infamy and nicknames because of the large number of accidents. In Cleveland, the 90-degree curve on Interstate 90 nearing downtown is called "Deadman's Curve."
Opened in 1959, the curve quickly became a problem. Like the Bay Bridge, the speed limits on either side of the curve are 50 mph - which drivers usually exceed, said Jocelynn Clemings, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Transportation.
The sharp turn requires drivers to slow to 35 mph. To get drivers to reduce their speeds, the department has, over the years, put in "a lot of flashing signage" along with grooved pavement that makes a loud vibrating sound when drivers pass over it, and extra arrows, or chevrons, on the pavement.
While drivers are more aware, she said, "There are quite often accidents of varying severity," and the Department of Transportation plans to "flatten" the curve sometime in the next decade, she said.
Kansas City has two troublesome curves that it has tamed with speed sensors and flashing lights that warn drivers on Interstate 70 to slow down. Trucks frequently overturned at the Jackson and Benton curves, prompting the Missouri Department of Transportation to install a special warning system about 20 years ago.
The system uses a sensor planted in each lane to read the speed of vehicles approaching the curves. If they're speeding, flashing lights over their lane activate and a sign blares: "Driving too fast when lights flashing."
"We've had a pretty noticeable reduction in accidents," said Jesse Skinner, an interstate corridor engineer with the Missouri Department of Transportation.
Elsewhere, the department also has used radar signs - one for each lane of traffic - that read and display drivers' speeds next to signs showing the speed limit.
"People drive what (speed) they feel comfortable driving," Skinner said. "If you want them to slow down, you have to get their attention."
Caltrans also employed flashing lights and prominent signs to do just that at "the Fishhook," the sharply curved intersection of highways 1 and 17 in Santa Cruz, and the curve was widened recently to make it easier to navigate. Colin Jones, a Caltrans spokesman, said the devices improved safety at the interchange but noted that drivers changing highways are more likely to slow down than those driving across a bridge and entering a curve.
Anne McCartt, vice president of research at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said the key to slowing drivers is enforcement of speed laws. Speed cameras, which use radar to measure speed and then automatically issue a ticket, can be especially effective in an area like the S-curve, or where it could be difficult for police to pull over speeders.
"The advantage of automated enforcement is that it can happen anytime of the day or night, wherever it is needed," she said.
McCartt also recommended stricter enforcement of speeds on the entire bridge, saying that it is unrealistic to expect drivers to slow from speeds in excess of 50 mph to 35 mph for the curve.
Caltrans officials already have installed extra signs and flashing lights, and plan more safety improvements to slow motorists, including reflective striping near the top of the bridge's barrier walls, a large overhead sign warning of the curve and of the reduced speed on the upper deck of the bridge, and radar boards flashing drivers' speeds. Caltrans spokesman Bart Ney said the agency also is considering installing grooved pavement or rows of pavement markers to warn drivers they are approaching the curve.
Sorry William, you missed the McIntosh model 225, better luck next time! - Jon Hammond
MC225 - *Random Reviews: "Bottom Line:
The 225 matches excelently to My Klipsch Belle's and My Klipschorns. The 104 db/watt efficiency of these systems is a must for an amplifier of this size. 118 db peak passages are possible without clipping - a must for any realistic reproduction of music. Try to get 118 db peaks from any of the low efficiency speakers ( less than 100 db/watt ) and you end up with an impossible situation.
The 225's have fixed bias, this should be critically set as I have found that amplifier signatures change with as little as 5ma. differences. The Sovetek 7591A's (not XYZ) are better sounding tubes than the NOS stuff being sold."
"Over many years of experimenting with many products -solid state vs tubes I much prefer the tube sound. I recently purchased a 30 year old MAC 225 Amp and was amazed at the quality of the sound.My then current Cary SLA70 did not compare. I was hearing things I had never heard before on some favorite CD's with the MAC 225.Can I realistically improve the sound of my system by moving up to a MAC 240 or 275? Replies are appreciated. Also to maintain the MAC 225 sound signature should I continue with my Audible Illusions MOD 3 Pre amp(Tube) or move to a Mac 33 pre amp (Solid State). Any comments,suggestions or recommendations are appreciated."
"I have been using MC-225 for more than 5 years and that is the part I think I will use it for my whole life (I guess my next generation can still use them by replacing some parts). It gave you great and smooth sound especially in the mid to high range. Very impressive for playing songs by female singer. Don't think that 25 watts is small, it can still gives you very solid bass and sound stage.
Currently I have two sets of MC-225 to drive ProAC Tabelette 50 Sig. Other components include:"
Radio Day By The Bay -- Jon Hammond with Celeste Perry Radio/TV Personality and another lady of Radio/TV - annual Fund Raiser for California Historical Radio Society at KRE Radio in Berkeley California
Radio Day By The Bay -- Cheryl Jennings and Stan Bunger annual Fund Raiser for California Historical Radio Society at KRE Radio in Berkeley California - Jon Hammond
Radio Day By The Bay -- He's got 'The Fever'...Radio Fever!
Jon Hammond
Radio Day By The Bay -- A lucky buyer got this beautiful classic radio for only 50 bucks at the annual Fund Raiser for California Historical Radio Society at KRE Radio in Berkeley California - Jon Hammond
Jon Hammond's new little SONY TFM-6060W 2 Band Radio will be going on a trip around the world - Travel Radio just got acquired by a traveler! - Radio Day By The Bay - KRE Radio Berkeley California annual fundraiser for California Historical Radio Society
Classic Motorola AM Radio in Turquoise Blue- this one went for big bucks at the Auction at annual fundraiser for California Historical Radio Society - RADIO KRE Berkeley - Jon Hammond
Cheryl Jennings of KGO-TV conducting Oral History Interviews in control room of KRE Radio -- at Radio Day By The Bay annual fundraiser for California Historical Radio Society - Jon Hammond
NAMM Oral History Session Jon Hammond recorded January 13th 2011 Anaheim CA
Jon Hammond | NAMM.org Oral History Interview Date: January 13, 2011 Full Version
*WATCH Full Version Video Here: Jon Hammond | NAMM.org Oral History Interview Date: January 13, 2011 Full Version
http://a10.video2.blip.tv/9530007958507/JonHammond-JonHammondNAMMorgOralHistoryInterviewDateJanuary132011558.m4v?brs=1461&bri=44.3
http://blip.tv/file/4837335
http://vimeo.com/20619835
Jon Hammond | NAMM.org Oral History Interview Date: January 13, 2011
http://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/jon-hammond
Jon Hammond
Interview Date: January 13, 2011
Job Title: President and Founder
Company: Jon Hammond & Associates
Jon Hammond
Jon Hammond has successfully created a career based on his musical talents and his passion for the music industry! As a musician Jon has performed with many legendary players and as a clinician and product artist he has introduced many innovative products to music stores and their customers over the last 30 plus years. Jon is closely identified with the two main products of his career, the Excelsior Accordion and the Digital B3 Organ.
Subject Info Jon Hammond Interview Date: January 13, 2011 Job Title: President and Founder Jon Hammond & Associates Jon Hammond has successfully created a ... of his career, the Excelsior Accordion and the Digital B3Organ. (accordions, electric organs, Hammond B-3, Hammond Organs, ...
Oral History - tonya - 03/02/2011 - 4:41pm
Jon Hammond
Jon Hammond
Interview Date: January 13, 2011
Job Title: President and Founder
Company: Jon Hammond & Associates
Jon Hammond has successfully created a career based on his musical talents and his passion for the music industry! As a musician Jon has performed with many legendary players and as a clinician and product artist he has introduced many innovative products to music stores and their customers over the last 30 plus years. Jon is closely identified with the two main products of his career, the Excelsior Accordion and the Digital B3 Organ.
Special Thanks: Joe Lamond president and chief executive officer of NAMM
Hiromitsu Ono Suzuki Musical Instrument Chief Engineer
Waichiro Tachi Tachikawa Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation, 鈴木楽器製作所 Suzuki Gakki
Betty Heywood, director of international affairs at NAMM
Manji Suzuki President and Founder of Suzuki Musical Instruments Hammond Suzuki here with Jon Hammond at the New B3mk2 Organ in Suzuki Hall Hamamatsu World Headquarters
Actual NBC Chimes - This is how it was actually done On-The-Air Kids! - Jon Hammond http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBC_Chimes
The NBC chimes, named for the radio and television network on which they have been used, consists of a succession of three distinct pitches: G3, E4, and C4 (middle C), sounded in that order, creating an arpeggiated C-major chord in the second inversion, within about two seconds time, and reverberating for another two or three seconds. The intervals of this progression are up a major 6th from G3 to E4 and down a major third from E4 to C4. The chimes were the first ever audio trademark to be accepted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Contrary to widespread belief, the "G-E-C" sequence is not a reference to the General Electric Company (now a minority shareholder in NBC's current parent company), which did not acquire NBC until 1986; however, GE's radio station WGY in Schenectady, New York was an early NBC affiliate, and GE was an early shareholder in RCA, which founded NBC by creating it as a subsidiary.
The chimes were originally used as a cue for radio stations across the network to begin broadcasting their station identifications or local feeds. After their use as a formal network communications signal ended around the 1970s as the result of automation, the chimes has been used ever since as an audio logo or signature for NBC.
An elegant solution: the station break
The chimes were originally conceived to help solve a problem inherent in early network radio broadcasting: the vast majority of which was live, rather than pre-recorded. At the top of each hour, any individual broadcaster (on radio, TV or other broadcast band) must identify itself by callsign and the name of the community where its broadcast license has been issued, in compliance with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations. For example: "This is WHYY, Philadelphia." Therefore it might seem efficient for a small radio network (three to seven stations, for instance) to accomplish this chore by having a single announcer "on the network", whose voice is transmitted to all the local stations, read the short list of local callsigns and corresponding communities for about ten seconds each hour, during an extended broadcast period. However, this practice becomes quite inefficient as a network grows, consuming valuable commercial airtime.[1] Hence it was determined in early big-network radio days that this job, among others, had to be done locally, on a pre-determined cue from the network itself.
The simplest way to accomplish this is with a spoken announcement (sometimes called an outcue), and its special format has a familiar ring. For instance: "We pause now for ten seconds for station identification: this is the NBC Television Network". This phrasing alerts a local announcer to put him/herself on the air and formally identify the local station. The Today Show, broadcast for four hours live every weekday on NBC, uses a special spoken outcue for station breaks: "This is Today on NBC." Indeed, as a public relations technique, this task is often offered to a member of the live audience assembled in Rockefeller Plaza outside the Today studio. For the network pioneers at NBC in the late 1920s, a more simple, elegant and consistent solution than an announcer's voice, with its individual distinctiveness, was sought.
It was decided by a three-person committee (consisting of Oscar Hanson, a former engineer of AT&T, Earnest la Prada, an NBC orchestra leader, and the NBC announcer Philip Carlin) that the simplest way to do this would be to create a musical cue which would sound to signal the end of programs. Essentially, NBC wished to brand itself in sound, a sound that any listener would immediately recognize.
[edit]History
The chimes came to their familiar configuration and sound after several years of on-air development. They were first broadcast over NBC's Red and Blue networks on November 29, 1929. However, there are disagreements about the original source of the idea. One story is that they came from WSB in Atlanta which allegedly used it for its own purposes until one day someone at NBC headquarters in New York City heard the WSB version of the notes during a networked broadcast of a Georgia Tech football game and asked permission to use it on the national network. The NBC chimes were invented by Robert Blanchard.
The company tested the chimes during 1927 and 1928 when it experimented with several possible combinations of notes. The first sequence consisted of the seven notes G-C-F-E-G-F-E. However, since the original NBC chime machine was an actual set of chimes which the announcer would play 30 seconds before the end of every half-hour to signal the end of a program, it was left to the announcers to play this trademark sequence without error, which was unavoidable with such a lengthy cue. The chime sequence was shortened to G-C-F-E and then, on November 29, 1929, the cue was shortened for the final time, and the three well-known notes G-E-C were heard on NBC radio for the first time.
Despite the relative simplicity and efficiency of the new, shorter chime sequence, problems still existed in other musical aspects of the sequence, such as the tempo, rhythm, and volume at which it was played, as well as the musical tone of the set chimes. Therefore the NBC chimes were mechanized in 1932 with a unit that could play the sequence perfectly and consistently. Richard H. Ranger, a former Radio Corporation of America (RCA) engineer who also invented an early form of the modern fax machine, invented the NBC chime machine that generated the notes by means of finely tuned metal reeds that were plucked by fingers on a revolving drum, much like a musical box.
NBC had several of these chime machines made which they set up at major network locations across the country, including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco (which actually had two machines, a main one and a backup.) It is estimated that no more than a dozen of these machines were ever made, and even fewer are currently in existence.
The technical purpose of the mechanical chimes was to send a low level audio signal of constant amplitude that would be heard by the various switching stations manned by NBC and AT&T engineers, but not disturb the listening audience. This would serve as the system cue for switching the myriad local stations between the NBC Red Network and NBC Blue Network feeds as scheduled, as well as signalling the pause for local station identification immediately thereafter. In essence, it was the audio equivalent of a traffic signal. Because of fears of offending commercial sponsors by cutting their live network programs off in mid-sentence, the mechanized chimes were always rung by an announcer pushing a button in conjunction with the program’s conclusion; they were never set to an automatic timer, although heavy discussions on the subject were held between the Engineering and Programming departments throughout the 1930s and 1940s.
On November 20, 1947, NBC filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to make the chimes a registered service mark for identification of radio broadcasting services, the first such audible service mark to be filed with that office. Registration was granted on April 4, 1950; the registration number was 0523616, serial number 71541873. This registration expired on November 3, 1992, as NBC Radio became part of broadcasting history. However a separate service mark registration was made in 1971 for identification of television broadcasting services (serial 72349496, registration 0916522). While this registration is still active, the chime was heard for the final time on the NBC television channel in 1976, the 50-year anniversary of the chime; the chime is now used only for various smaller purposes on the channel.[2]
The chimes go modern
Their use as a formal network communications signal ended around 1971, the result of automation. Television flagship WNBC in New York kept the sound of the chimes alive, though. In 1974, it incorporated the sequence into the opening of its synthesized theme music for NewsCenter 4 (sharpening the pitch by a half-step). The stinger was heard at the opens to the newscasts' 5, 6 and 11 p.m. hours. Eventually, NBC Radio adopted WNBC-TV's NewsCenter 4 stinger as its top-of-the-hour news sounder. With alterations (and a brief interruption in the early 1990s), WNBC has used a form of the chimes on its newscasts ever since.
The music used on NewsCenter 4, NBC Radio-TV Newspulse by Fred Weinberg, was later used for NBC Nightly News in the 1970s and NBC News bulletins/special reports in the 1970s and 1980s. The usage of the NBC chimes continues in local newscasts on NBC stations to this day, in fact many NBC stations play the NBC Chimes at the end of the weather segment of the newscast, when the extended forecast is shown.
In 1976, the chimes were revived nationally in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the network. Modern musical versions of the three-note chimes are still in popular use on the NBC radio and television networks (and are the opening and closing notes of the current edition of the NBC Nightly News theme song), as well as in the closing logo of NBC Universal Television Studio, the TV production arm of NBC's current immediate parent, NBC Universal.
From 1982 to the early 1990s, most NBC voiceover promos at the end of network shows would begin with the chimes. From 1982 to 1987, the chimes would blend into an instrumental version of the promo slogan that NBC would be using at the time.
The Today Show made the chimes the centerpiece of its theme in 1978, resolving a legal dispute between the network and the composers of the musical Godspell. The musical composers felt that the Ray Ellis-penned closing theme Today used since 1971 (which was also the show's opening theme since 1976) was lifted from the classic Godspell song "Day by Day." Using the chimes as his template, Ellis composed a new theme song, which stuck.
Although Today has used a segment from John Williams' NBC News music package The Mission since 1985, Ellis's revised composition has been used on and off during portions of Today ever since.
NBC News uses a version of the original chimes for special breaking news reports that interrupt regular programming on the network and/or its stations.
NBC's on-air promotions for the fall 2008 television season featured the chimes prominently alongside the new slogan "Chime In". Several used alternate versions tied to specific shows' themes: for example, ringing telephones for The Office; the ringing of cash registers for Deal or No Deal; and objects striking metal for America's Toughest Jobs.
The use of chimes as an audio logo is not unique, as other broadcasters, including Britain's ATV and Mexico's Televisa Canal de las Estrellas have used similar chimes. The Canal de las Estrellas chimes, for example, consist of eight musical notes.
[edit]The chimes quoted in music
Many composers have used the NBC chimes as their signature for their news packages, many of which were made exclusively for NBC stations. Some songwriters have quoted the sequence as well, and NBC-owned radio stations such as WNBC (AM) incorporated the melody into their station ID jingle packages. A few examples include:
NBC Stations by Edd Kalehoff
The Tower by 615 Music
The Rock by Stephen Arnold
The NBC Collection by Frank Gari
L.A. Groove by Groove Addicts
Nothing But Class and The Only One by JAM Creative Productions
"Let's Go" by Ray Charles on his 1961 album Genius+Soul=Jazz
"Do Your Thing" by Isaac Hayes
"Here's Love" from the Meredith Willson musical Here's Love. It plays during the lyric "from CBS to NBC."
[edit]The "Fourth Chime"
The variant sequence B - D + G = G, based on a G-major arpeggio in second inversion, was known as "the fourth chime". According to an NBC Interdepartment Correspondence memo, dated April 7, 1933 documents the conception and initial purpose of the fourth chime. The memo states "In anticipation of the Spring and Summer months, when many in key positions will not always be available at home telephones, the following Emergency Call System will go into effect on Monday morning, April 16." The memo goes on to say that whenever a fourth tone is heard on the network chimes rung at fifteen minute intervals, it will indicate that someone on an attached list is wanted. Upon hearing this fourth chime, all personnel on the list are instructed to call in to the PBX operator to ascertain whether or not the Emergency Call is for them. The chime would continue at fifteen minute intervals over stations WEAF and WJZ until the wanted person communicated with the PBX operator. The list contained the names of the following NBC executives:
John F. Royal
John W. Elwood
Frank Mason
J de Jara Almonte
The list also included names of personnel from Engineering, Press, Programming, Traffic, and Service departments.
The "fourth chime" was also used to notify affiliates and their employees of pending urgent programming. This variant saw such use during wartime (especially in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor) and other disasters, most notably the Hindenburg disaster in 1937. According to NBC historians, the last official use of the "fourth chime" was in 1945, shortly after the end of World War II. However, according to a handwritten note appended to an NBC internal memo originally dated 1964 on the history and usage of the standard chime, this chime variant was used one final time in 1985 to symbolize the merger with GE. This recording of this variant exists
Frankfurt Germany -- Bandstand shot from Jon Hammond of Chuck Plaisance, Bobby Kimball and Tommy Denander at 2012 Musikmesse Frankfurt on the Agora Stage
Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR-tVxndAKE
The "Jam of the Year Band"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wcy1arOJrRQ
2012 Frankfurt Musikmesse backstage at the big Agora Stage just seconds before going on the bandstand in concert with Tommy Denander's Allstar band, with footage from the concert of Hendrix tribute playing Little Wing with these great musicians:
"The legendary Jam-of-the Year Band" with Bobby Kimball (TOTO), Tommy Denander (guitar player, e.g. for Michael Jackson), Bruce Gaitsch (guitar player, e.g. for Richard Marx), Chuck Plaisance vocals, Curt Bisquera (drummer, e.g. for Tina Turner) und Jekko S. Jon Hammond at the Sk1 Hammond organ, Zlatko Jimmy Kresic keys, Pi TTi Hecht percussion
*(Curt Bisquera - Drums (Tina Turner, Seal, Elton John) Tommy Denander - Guitar (Michael Jackson, Alice Cooper, Paul Stanley) Bruce Gaitsch - Guitar (Madonna, Richard Marx, Celine Dion) Jekko S. - Bass feat. Bobby Kimball, and some others...) on Agora Stage @Music Fair in Frankfurt March
Frankfurt Germany -- Jon Hammond Band - Jazzkeller Frankfurt
Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJT522j_nPQ
2012 Annual Musikmesse Warm Up Party hosted by Jon Hammond Band in Jazzkeller Frankfurt "Get Back In The Groove" / Tribute to 9/11 by Jon Hammond
with Tony Lakatos tenor sax, Joe Berger guitar, Giovanni Gulino drums,
Jon Hammond at the Hammond Sk1 organ,
special guest Lee Oskar harmonica.
This performance marks 26 years consecutive attending Musikmesse Frankfurt and
it was also on the birthday of Jon Hammond March 20th, 2012 with a big chocolate on chocolate cake baked by Saray Pastanesi Baeckerei & Konditorei bakery on Mainzer Landstrasse 131. 60327 Frankfurt am Main
http://www.jonhammondband.com/
New York NY -- 2 serious Cello Players with Cellos crossing at W.44th and Eighth Avenue, yield to the Celloists folks! Jon Hammond
Radio Day By The Bay -- Jon Hammond in the Holy Grail of Radios folks!
http://www.californiahistoricalradio.com/event/live-at-kre-radio-day-by-the-bay-2012/
Live at KRE - “RADIO DAY BY THE BAY 2012″
Radio Day By The Bay -- This KLH Radio is one of my favorite radios, sounds fantastic folks! Jon Hammond KLH Model Eight FM table radio - designed by Henry Kloss
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Kloss
Kloss began his custom of eponymous products by lending his last name's initial to KLH as a founder in 1957, along with Malcolm Low and J. Anton Hofmann (son of pianist Józef Hofmann) who had also been investors in AR. At Cambridge-based KLH, Kloss continued to build speakers such as the classic KLH Model Five and Six, and produced one of the first small FM radios with high selectivity, the Model Eight. Though KLH was sold to the Singer Corporation in 1964, Kloss remained at the firm for a short time to assist in the development of additional speakers and electronic music products, and the firm continued to attract design and engineering talent. Kloss created the first solid state record player, the KLH Model Eleven. In 1962, he collaborated with Ray Dolby of Dolby Laboratories to develop the B version of the Dolby noise reduction system to reduce tape hiss. This resulted in the KLH Model Forty reel-to-reel tape recorder, Dolby's first foray into the consumer product market. By 1967, Kloss had left KLH. KLH was eventually sold to Kyocera, and production was shifted overseas. By 1979, nearly all of the original design and engineering team had left the company.
My Dad's 1967 Lincoln Continental Convertible - 'Suicide Doors' *similar to the car President John F. Kennedy had his last ride in
- has massive 464 cu. inches engine:
http://hammondcast.tumblr.com/
Anaheim California -- Cats, could you bring a few more cameras next time?!
Jon Hammond - Winter NAMM
http://thedrumnetwork.ning.com/profiles/blogs/breaking-news-namm-president-ceo-joe-lamond-says-95-000
Breaking News NAMM President/CEO Joe Lamond Says 95,000 Attendance Broken 3rd Day of 4 Day Winter NAMM 2012 Jon Hammond Reporting
2 years ago I played a midnight showcase show with Bernard Purdie at NAMM in the Hilton Lobby - Pocket Funk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afTagFhYOCo
Pocket Funk Bernard Purdie and Friends NAMM + Flash Back 1989
For Flash Back 1989 Mikell's Pocket Funk Video:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2831189635144040422&hl
Pocket Funk LIVE JON HAMMOND Band w/BERNARD PURDIE at Mikell's NYC
*Note: Listen to the crowd of mostly musicians actually roar after Joe Berger's guitar solo! - JH - Hilton Hotel Lobby - JH
Frankfurt Germany -- Thank you for the Flowers! - Jon Hammond
presented to Jon from Christine Vogel - Messe Frankfurt Projekt Team there with Peggy Behling in behalf of Musikmesse Frankfurt for 25 years
*Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hozrJpHvV-4
Celebration Cake - Mainzer Landstrasse 131, 60327 Frankfurt am Main, Eugen Hahn Jazzkeller Frankfurt Team Kleine Bockenheimerstr. 18a Frankfurt
Radio Day By The Bay -- Type 545A Oscilloscope for bench testing at California Historical Radio Society - Jon Hammond
http://www.thevalvepage.com/testeq/tek/545a/545a.htm
A dual trace oscilloscope utilising plug-in units for the 'Y' amplifiers.
Apparently there are 102 valves in this thing ! Hell, there are 14 of 'em in just the power supply ! Yet its still lighter than the Cossor. Lined up in rows, hanging upside-down, valves everywhere ! And a ruddy great fan at the back trying to keep it all cool.
The scope was manufactured for a number of years, as illustrated by the April 1961 advert [138K] shown opposite. But check out the £600 price tag ! To put this into perspective, this represented half the yearly salery for a typical design engineer.
Whilst a manufacturing plant was set up in Guernsey (off the souther coast of Great Britain), I wonder just how much of the scope was manufactured there and how much was "simply" assembling modules built in the state...
R.I.P. Jon Lord L to R: Joe Berger, Jon Lord, Michael Falkenstein - at Release of Hammond SK-1 and SK-2 Stage Keyboards at 2011 Musikmesse Worldwide For Immediate Release http://hammondjazz.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/sk-1-and-sk-2-hammond-suzuki-stage-keyboards-hammondcast/
California Historical Radio Society, Journal, July 21, 2012, Jon Hammond, Jazz, Blues, Broadcast, Bay Bridge, NAMM, Musikmesse, Frankfurt, Sk1, Organ, Oral History,
Cheryl Jennings
New York NY -- Last night in Dizzy's Club Coca Cola
Igor Butman & Moscow State Jazz Orchestra played one of the greatest concerts I ever heard in my life folks! I highly recommend to go see and hear them while they are here in New York City from Moscow! - Jon Hammond
http://jalc.org/dccc/details09.asp?EventID=3159
Tue-Sun, Jul 17-22
(Jul 18: 7:30pm Sold Out)
7:30pm & 9:30pm
plus 11:30pm on Fri & Sat
"In his homeland of Russia, Butman is as influential with the cultural and political elite as a certain trumpeter here in America is. So it's no wonder that he is in the position to bring his state assisted orchestra. The saxophonist is a world-class player, arranger, and no doubt - talent scout, so expect a hyped up energized group of musicians aiming not just to please, but to blow away. A fitting analogy would be as if the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra was playing in Moscow. You know they'd be more than ready. Igor Butman, tenor/soprano saxophone, leader; Alexander Dovgopolyy, saxophones; Illya Morozov, alto saxophone, clarinet; Dimitry Mospan, saxophones; Alexander Sakharov, saxophones; Oleg Borodin, Pavel Ovchinnkikov, Alvetina Polyakova, Nikolay Shevnin, trombones; Pavel Zhulin, Alexander Sakharov, Denis Popov, trumpet; Anton Baronin, piano; Vitaliy Solomonov, bass; Eduard Zizak, drums; plus special guests on trumpet, saxophone, vocals, et al." special thanks Manager Marat Garipov and Lord Todd Barkan — Vitaly Solomonov, Dmitry Mospan, Konstantin Safyanov, Alevtina Polyakova, Alexander Dovgopoly and Pavel Ovchinnikov at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola
New York NY -- Folks, my good friends from Igor Butman Moscow State Jazz Orchestra played one of the greatest concerts I ever heard in my life last night! Even after playing
2 x 2 hour sets, they are going down to the Village after hours to play more in Smalls! Thank you for the great great music! - Jon Hammond *here after show in front of Jazz at Lincoln Center - make sure to hear the entire orchestra in Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, there are still a few more nights remaining
Iliya Morozov,Konstantin Safyanov, Ed Zizak, Makar Novikovand Evgeny Sivtsov, Alevtina Polyakova at Jazz at Lincoln Center
Dizzy's Club Coca Cola --
Igor Butman Orchestra rhythm section and part of horn section, Nick Levinovsky piano and arranger, Igor Butman tenor saxophone,Konstantin Safyanov Ed Zizak drums, Vitaly Solomonov bass and the cats sounding fantastic in cola club! - Jon Hammond — withVitaly Solomonov, Dmitry Mospan, Ed Zizak,Konstantin Safyanov and Alevtina Polyakova atDizzy's Club Coca-Cola
Alexander Dovgopoly doubling on Piccolo - choreography section of show - danger zone if not executed precisely, could get hit in the head by trombone! - JH
Igor Butman & Moscow State Jazz Orchestra - I highly recommend to go see and hear them while they are here in New York City from Moscow! - Jon Hammond
http://jalc.org/dccc/details09.asp?EventID=3159
Tue-Sun, Jul 17-22
(Jul 18: 7:30pm Sold Out)
7:30pm & 9:30pm
Alvetina Polyakova blowing a fantastic solo on trombone last night with Igor Butman & Moscow State Jazz Orchestra - they played one of the greatest concerts I ever heard in my life last night folks! I highly recommend to go see and hear them while they are here in New York City from Moscow! -Jon Hammond
The Saxophones of Igor Butman and the Bass of Vitaly Solomonov ! - Jon Hammond
Front Line Saxophones -Alexander Dovgopoly doubling on Piccolo - Nick Levinovsky Piano and Vitaly SolomonovBass of
Igor Butman & Moscow State Jazz Orchestra - I highly recommend - Jon Hammond
Alexander Dovgopoly blowing a smokin' solo on baritone saxophone last night with Igor Butman & Moscow State Jazz Orchestra - they played one of the greatest concerts I ever heard in my life last night folks!
New York NY - Fifth Avenue & 57th St. -- "You're looking very chic...Why thank you, you're looking very chic also! Where do you buy your clothes? The same place you buy yours of course!" - Jon Hammond
Moscow, Igor Butman, Eduard Zizak, JALC, Organ, Sk1, Jon Hammond, Jazz, Blues, Funky, Local 802 Musicians Union, Russia
Jon Hammond 10 Years Before in Moscow Russia with Igor Butman tenor sax and Ed Zizak drums
*WATCH THE VIDEO HERE: Easy Living in Moscow Russia Jon Hammond Trio with Igor Butman and Ed Zizak
http://www.archive.org/details/JonHammondJONHAMMONDTriow_IgorButman_EduardZizak_EasyLiving_
Labels: 2012, Bay Bridge, Blues, Broadcast, California Historical Radio Society, Cheryl Jennings, Frankfurt, Jazz, Jon Hammond, Journal, July 21, Musikmesse, NAMM, Oral History, Organ, Sk1
posted by HAMMONDCAST at 8:38 AM
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