Jazz & Big Band 3

Name: Jazz & Big Band 3
Price: 129 USD
Author: Garritan

by Garritan · Instrument · Jazz and big band library

Not rated yet

Jazz & Big Band 3 is a Garritan library of jazz saxophones, trumpets, trombones and rhythm section instruments.

It runs in the ARIA Player and costs $149.95.

Best for: Acoustic Instruments. Genres: Jazz, Acoustic & Classical.

Keywords: brass, woodwinds, sample-based, multisampled.

What it does

Jazz & Big Band 3 is Garritan's sample library for the instruments of a jazz combo and a full big band. Garritan's stated aim is to help you "create realistic jazz and big band arrangements quickly and easily".

Saxophones: ten different saxophone types, the core of the big band reed section.
Brass: trumpets and trombones for the brass sections.
Rhythm section: keyboards, basses and full rhythm sections to sit under the horns.
Phrasing controls: MIDI controller support for slurs, auto-slur, vibrato, key click, growl, intonation and timbre, so lines can be shaped like a jazz player would.
Range and articulations: multi-sampled instruments with extended ranges and a set of articulations.
Player: everything runs in Garritan's ARIA Player rather than a third-party sampler.

An upgrade from the previous version is available.

Source: Garritan product page

When to use it

Jazz & Big Band 3 is one of the few libraries built around big band horns and a jazz rhythm section, with jazz phrasing controls such as growl and key click. Compared with Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition and BBC Symphony Orchestra Core, it trades orchestral strings and woodwinds for saxes, jazz brass and rhythm players, and costs far less. It is older and less detailed than modern libraries, and forum users found its articulations thinner than in Kontakt-based instruments. Compared with Sample Modeling's modelled brass and saxes it is less expressive but covers a whole band for a lower price. It also has fewer orchestral sections than Garritan's own Personal Orchestra 5, which is the better pick for classical scoring.

Best for: big band arrangements, notation playback of jazz charts, arranging practice and education.
Genres: jazz, swing and big band.
Look elsewhere if: you need orchestral strings and woodwinds (Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition or BBC Symphony Orchestra Core), or very expressive solo horns (Sample Modeling instruments).
Tip: plan on detailed MIDI controller work; forum users say the demo-quality results take patient programming.

What producers say

Users are split: it is seen as good value and a useful teaching tool, but many find the sound uneven and dated.

Sweetwater users rated it 3.1 out of 5 from 10 reviews. Fans praised the value and called some sounds "MUCH more realistic" than other budget brass; one said the piano alone was worth the money.
VI-Control thread said samples "run the gamut from brilliant to poor" and that the demos are hard to match in a DAW. Users suggested ProjectSAM Swing or Sample Modeling as alternatives.
Criticisms: slow loading in some DAWs, limited articulations, an ARIA Player that sees little development, and a manual focused on jazz theory more than setup.

Where to buy

AudioDeluxe: $129
Garritan: $149.95

Tutorials and reviews

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