Numerous film and television projects followed, and UK viewers will have heard Jan's work on the TV series Chancer and more recently Red Cap. 'Crockett's Theme', from the series, became a huge hit in its own right. The theme hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart and picked up two Grammy awards. Jan's project file reads like a Who's Who of music (Jeff Beck, Mick Jagger, Billy Cobham, Stanley Clarke, Tommy Bolin, Carlos Santana and Al Di Miola to name but a few), but a whole generation of TV viewers will remember him best as the composer and performer of the high-energy Miami Vice soundtrack with its thundering drums and searing, guitar-like synth lines. Who can forget those wailing synth lines in Miami Vice or the seminal albums recorded with the Mahavishnu Orchestra and British guitar legend Jeff Beck?
Since 'going electric' Jan has played with a huge number of influential bands and musicians and has evolved a distinctive and instantly recognisable synthesizer style. Indeed, it could be argued that Jan was almost single-handedly responsible for establishing the electronic synthesizer as a virtuoso performance instrument in its own right rather than as a substitute for traditional instrument sounds.
A scholarship at the Berklee School of Music in Boston prompted his move to the US where he became a citizen, but today Jan's name is far more closely associated with the synthesizer than with the piano. Photo: Mark McCartyĪs a member of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, a composer for film and TV and a performer in his own right, Jan Hammer helped to define the role of the synth player in rock and jazz.īorn in Prague, Czechoslovakia, Jan Hammer began playing piano at age four and by the age of 14 was performing and recording throughout Eastern Europe with his own jazz trio. The goal is to find all the specific sound banks, models of instruments and presets used.This signature model Lync keyboard was created to meet Jan's requirements for a live performance controller. I don't know the specific instrument, if it was recorded live in the studio or they used a preset bank) Brass instrument (at the 1:33 minute mark we hear a brass instrument play. This is the same piano that continues until the end of the song, where it plays that melody that we hear when we complete a mission) Piano (pretty sure it's a Rhodes electric piano, this one plays in the "chorus" of the song, the moment of most intensity, along with the Sax mentioned below. Guitar (Jan Hammer uses a very similar sound in the Miami Vice OST. It's kinda fitting that this effect presents itself at the beginning and end. I believe at the end it also presents a Phaser-like effect, just like the beginning sequence does. It's a synth bass, but I have no clue where it's from. Clap (maybe from the Linn drum machines) Kick & Snare (very possibly from the Linn drum machines of the 80s) Also worth pointing out that it seems to have a small Phaser-like effect on it. This is reminiscent of Jan Hammer's style (Miami Vice OST for reference). The very first thing we hear is what I believe to be an arpeggio sequence.
#JAN HAMMER MIAMI VICE FREE#
I may be skipping an instrument or two so feel free to join on the hunt and help I've been doing that for a while now, but I figure this could be a team effort, and what better way to start this than with the classic theme of the game that introduced me to Grand Theft Autoīelow is a list of the different groups of instruments i've identified, along with some notes on the side. Long story short, i've been producing music for over a year now, and i've caught an interest in analysing some of my favourite songs of all time, trying to better understand the theory & the inner workings behind the madness, to grasp why those pieces of music work.
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