Toontrack releases Urban Jazz Grooves MIDI, Urban Jazz EZkeys MIDI and Jazz & Fusion Guitars EZmix Packs

Toontrack has announced the release of the Urban Jazz Grooves MIDI pack and the Urban Jazz EZkeys MIDI pack, two individual collections of MIDI for drums and EZkeys, plus the Jazz & Fusion Guitars EZmix Pack, an expansion for EZmix 2 featuring 50 custom guitar tones for jazz and fusion.

Here's what they say:

Urban Jazz Grooves MIDI pack €20 (Reg. €25)
Urban jazz is probably best described as a less busy, more pocket-oriented and backbeat-driven derivate of fusion. Basically, it's a seamless blend that merges the subtleties of jazz, the technicality of fusion, the groove of funk and the power of rock.

For this collection of MIDI, drummer Luke Oswald, creative mind behind Toontrack's Fusion Grooves and Fusion Fills MIDI packs, gathered inspiration not only from his own experience but also from the genre's forerunning artists such as Brian Culbertson, Jeff Lorber, Larry Coryell and Kirk Whalum as well as iconic drummers like Lil' John Roberts, Chris Miskel, Omar Hakim and Oscar Seaton.

"My approach with this MIDI pack was to present a variety of grooves inspired by the distinct smooth jazz sound of the '90s through to today. I also wanted the material to be very loop friendly, meaning if you take any groove as is, cut it up or mix it with other ones in the pack, it could still present that consistent, tight and backbeat-driven feel. Aside from urban and smooth jazz, I can easily envision this MIDI being used in anything from less busy fusion to rock, soul or even hip-hop," he says.

Feature Spotlight:

• A backbeat-driven blend of jazz, fusion, rock and funk.
• Inspired by the smooth/urban jazz genre and iconic drummers like Lil' John Roberts, Chris Miskel, Omar Hakim and Oscar Seaton.
• Performed by professional session drummer.
• Approx. 600 individually played files.
• Straight and swing variations with tempos ranging from 75 BPM to 120 BPM.
• Intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge and fills sections.

Urban Jazz EZkeys MIDI pack €20 (Reg. €25)
Add a little soul to a mix of jazz, fusion, rock and funk and you have the essence of the Urban Jazz EZkeys MIDI pack. Expect big chords, percussive patterns, intricate runs and harmonically challenging progressions for use in anything from ballads to uptempo songs.

Inspired by some of the greats, like Brian Culbertson, Jeff Lorber, Larry Coryell, Lee Ritenour, Peter White, Fourplay, Norman Brown and Kirk Whalum, this EZkeys MIDI pack takes a broad approach to a genre that literally has no musical boundaries.

Feature Spotlight:

• Piano MIDI inspired by the smooth and urban jazz genre.
• Performed by professional session player.
• 4/4 in straight and/or swing feel with tempos ranging from 64 BPM to 142 BPM.
• Artists used for reference: Brian Culbertson, Jeff Lorber, Larry Coryell, Lee Ritenour, Peter White, Fourplay, Norman Brown and Kirk Whalum.
• Intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus and bridge sections.

Jazz & Fusion Guitars EZmix Pack €31 (Reg. €39)
John McLaughlin, Stanley Jordan, Allan Holdsworth, Frank Gambale, John Scofield, Pat Metheny. The list is long of jazz and fusion guitar players that not only have forever etched their unique sonic footprints in history but also spawned several generations of players venturing off into uncharted sonic landscapes, rejuvenating genres like metal and rock by fusing its signature elements in all-new contexts. Tosin Abasi, Fredrik Thordendal and John Petrucci are just a few but vivid examples of players that all cite jazz and fusion as prime sources of inspiration for tone, composition and technique. In fact, one could argue that, perhaps with the exception of the blues, jazz is the one genre that has had the biggest impact on the evolution of guitar players on a whole. And much like experimentation is at the heart of both jazz and fusion, this collection is designed for just that.

Welcome to a foundational tonal palette of 50 unique guitar settings, all inspired by the greats and designed for a broad and borderless use in any context that applies. Expect anything from subtle, round and warm tones for your clean rhythms to open, effect-saturated settings for ambient chord work as well as a broad collection of tones for any facet of lead guitar.

Feature Spotlight:

• 50 tones designed for electric jazz and fusion guitar.
• Capturing anything from traditional jazz to modern and progressive fusion.
• Rhythm, lead and clean tones included.
• Based on amp and cab simulation as well as the complex network of effects in EZmix 2.
• From dry to ambient and clean to distorted.
• A wide range of effect-saturated tones using chorus, delays, reverbs and more.