Reader Visa-Pekka Oskari Mertanen let us know about their 2025 doctoral Thesis, defended on Jan 31st, Perspectives on Jazz Synthesizer Improvisation.
Mertanen analyzes jazz synthesizer improvisation through five recorded solos, by Jan Hammer, Joe Zawinul, George Duke, Chick Corea, and Michael Brecker:
Celestial Terrestrial Commuters, from the Mahvishnu Orchestra album Birds of Fire (1973);
Black Market, from the Weather Report album of the same name (1976);
Brazilian Sugar, from the George Duke album Brazilian Love Affair (1980);
Got A Match?, from the album Chick Corea Electric Band (1986); and
Gossip, from the album Michael Brecker Band Live (1993).
The analysis includes a look at the role of synthesizers in jazz fusion, from the 1960s to the 1980s; a discussion of some of the key synthesizers used on these recordings; and transcriptions and analysis of each of the five works.
The transcription analysis includes scale choices, note choices, patterns, nuancing, timbral qualities, form, and tension control:
Mertanen also provides a chart of each of the musician’s personal data, song information, improvisational concepts, synthesizer setups, solo sound characters and realtime controllers.
“The findings show that the critical elements in jazz synthesizer soloing are mastering the improvisatory languages of the jazz tradition and adjusting the playing style to each sound’s acoustic character,” notes Mertanen. “The studied solos demonstrate different ways of nuancing the notes with continuous controllers and manipulating the sound’s timbral qualities to keep the synthesizer sound expressive and exciting.”
Perspectives on Jazz Synthesizer Improvisation is available now as a free download.
Xfer Records has released Serum 2, a major update to their popular wavetable synthesizer Serum for Mac & Windows.
After more than a decade of anticipation, Xfer Records has finally dropped the sequel to its wildly popular synth plugin Serum, transforming this already-formidable wavetable synth into something much more versatile and powerful – and if you already own Serum, you can download Serum 2 right now for free.
Serum 2 vastly expands the capabilities of its predecessor with new spectral, granular and sample-based oscillators, enhanced effects, expanded modulation options, an updated interface, clip editor and built-in arpeggiator, along with a host of minor improvements. This is a colossal update that makes Serum 2 a serious rival to powerhouse hybrid synth plugins like Arturia Pigments 6 and Kilohearts Phase Plant.
Serum’s arsenal of oscillators has been expanded to include a total of five oscillator types, and the OG wavetable oscillator has been upgraded with dual warping, a new smooth interpolation mode and a raft of extra warp modes, including true FM and phase distortion. Three primary oscillators can now be utilized in a single patch, opening up a wide range of possibilities for experimentation with FM routing.
Two sample-based oscillators turn Serum 2 into a flexible sampler and multisampler equipped with a library of stock samples that spans orchestras, keys, guitars and more, and you can load in your own .sfz files. The new granular oscillator can create complex and evolving textures by breaking down samples into tiny grains of audio, while the spectral oscillator conjures up new sounds by harmonically resynthesizing imported samples, wavetables or even image files in real time.
Serum 2’s dual filter section has been bolstered with eleven new filter types, including emulations of classic ladder filters and a disperser-style “diffuser” filter, while the effects section has been overhauled with new flexible routing and several new processors, including an analogue-style frequency shifter and convolution reverb, and new signal splitter modules can be used to get deep into multi-band and mid/side processing.
The synth’s modulation capabilities have also been improved, with the number of available LFOs taken from four to ten, and an additional envelope bringing the total to four. Any oscillator or filter can now act as a modulation source, and LFO modes have been expanded with two chaos modes, an S&H generator, and a Path LFO mode for vector-based modulation that follows a path drawn on an XY grid.
If as if that wasn’t quite enough for you, Serum 2 has also been equipped with an enhanced mod matrix, new mixer panel, multimode arpeggiator and a sophisticated clip sequencer and MIDI editor with automation and probabilistic sequencing. The plugin’s revamped preset browser can be used to preview, categorize and tag its 626 factory presets, and long-time users will be pleased to know that Serum 2 is backwards-compatible with existing presets for its predecessor.
Features:
Multiple Oscillator Types:
Wavetable Oscillator with smooth interpolation, new warp modes
Multisample Oscillator for replicating real instruments
Sample Oscillator with looping, slicing, and rate modulation
Granular Oscillator
Spectral Oscillator for harmonic resynthesis
Workflow enhancements: Flexible effect routing, arpeggiator, clip sequencer and more
626+ presets and 288 wavetables.
An example of Serum 2 in action, via synthesist and sound designer Richard Devine:
Serum 2 is available now with an intro price of $189 (normally $249) until June 1st. It’s a free upgrade for existing Serum owners.
