Writings About Music

Priceless Musical Gems

Legendary music software designer and writer Emile Tobenfeld

 

"Simplicity is the ultimate in sophistication." (Steve Jobs)

 

For my purposes, music software designed and written by Emile Tobenfeld is incomparable in terms of ease of use and seemingly limitless capability. The power, beauty and elegance of Emile’s software is an aesthetic uplift by itself. Simply using it brings one in touch with his creative genius.

After I first learned of computer-synthesizers from jazz bassist Reggie Johnson in 1984, who was living with my girlfriend's mother, I was fortunate to find the Roland CMU-800 at Alex Music in Manhattan - no one else in the city was carrying it - together with the Apple II computer that worked with it. Soon after, the CMU-800 was supplemented by the CMU-810 for dynamic control and the CMU-802 for tempo control, the latter two instruments only available from Roland Canada. These together formed a rare pre-MIDI computer music system which I appear to have made more use of than anyone else.

 

Reggie Johnson gave me the gift of an idea that proved transformative.

 

Five years later, once again, it was Alex Carozza himself who first showed me Tobenfeld's KCS software, enthusing about its miraculous power. Just recently, I learned how one of Alex’s associates, Al Hospers (another bass player!), first met Emile on the phone when calling in response to a tiny ad fortuitously noticed in Keyboard magazine for the original version of KCS. Emile and Al had a great conversation, clicking perfectly, and Al eventually left New York City for Boston to work together with Tobenfeld, who had received a PHD in theoretical physics from Cornell University before shifting his focus to music software.

Their Dr. T's Music Software quickly became the leading music software company of the time. The company's clever and entirely appropriate double entendre name came from a 1953 musical fantasy film created by Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) and Stanley Kramer titled The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. Their slogans were Serious software for the thinking musician and Software to unleash your imagination. Truer words were never written or spoken. How fortunate I was to receive product advice from Alex on that fine day! Transitioning from the CMU-800 software to KCS was a seamless experience because their basic concepts are similar, with the latter building upon a shared foundation with the former.

 

Jack Tramiel, who survived Auschwitz, became a leader of the digital revolution.

 

It’s amazing that the Atari computer originally running KCS (later versions of the software are named Omega) has still to this day in 2016 never been matched for MIDI timing by Apple or PC. The technical explanation (without getting into arcane minutiae) has to do with how Apple and PC computers are based upon multi-tasking, unlike Atari, and how Atari has MIDI built directly into the hardware.

 

Shiraz Shivji led a team of engineers designing what became a phenomenal music computer.

 

Nolan Bushnell established Atari Inc, followed by Jack Tramiel forming Atari Corporation where engineer Shiraz Shivji developed an advanced form of Atari computer whose musical capabilities have been described as "genius". I love the coincidence of "Shivji" being the name used by friends of Shivkumar Sharma, a towering figure in Hindustani music who has had a profound influence upon my music.

My attraction to Roland products has also persisted, finding them to achieve the best results for my sound sources. The stunning perfection of their design remains a source of wonderment.

For being in my opinion the crème de la crème among visionary musical instrument builders of our time, I cannot be more thankful for software produced by Emile Tobenfeld and Al Hospers, both of whom I had the pleasure of speaking to on the phone; Ikutaro Kakehashi, the founder and guiding force of Roland, who once sent me a personal letter; the Atari world of Nolan Bushnell, Jack Tramiel and Shiraz Shivji; Alex Carozza for his music store acumen; and Reggie Johnson who awakened me to the possiblity of new musical vistas.

 

Ikutaro Kakehashi in his youth

 

Visionary music instrument developer Ikutaro Kakehashi.

 

Meruvina is a name I invented for the efficacious combination of software and hardware used to create performances of my compositions (together with denoting my connection with Indian classical music), the idea being to get away from overly technical and scientific terminology. At the same time, I wish to acknowledge the visionaries whose inventions have been my musical partners and even saviors. Amen.

Nearly all of my compositions for the Compu Music System are now available on 23 albums recorded and released in 2018. They were all remastered in 2021-2022, getting closer to the original concertizing sound.

It was great fun bringing the Compu Music System into WKCR FM at Columbia University for Transfigured Night hosted by Pete Jablonski to give live concerts from 1 AM to 5 AM. We did this three times. I would fit all the equipment into a cab from my apartment at First Avenue and 65th Street across town through Central Park up to Morningside Heights. WNYC FM and WBAI FM also interviewed me while playing compositions by the Compu Music System.

For more about the genesis of my music you are invited to read Searching for New Instruments, Meruvina: Composition and Performance Coalesce, and Composing with Ragas and Technology

- Michael Robinson, December 2016, Los Angeles (additions made November 2018)

 

© 2016-2018 Michael Robinson All rights reserved

 

Emile Tobenfeld website

Emile Tobenfeld interview

Ikutaro Kakehashi

Roland

Nolan Bushnell

Jack Tramiel

Shiraz Shivji

Atari

Alex Carozza

Al Hospers

Reggie Johnson

 

Michael Robinson is a Los Angeles-based composer, programmer, pianist and musicologist. His 199 albums include 152 albums for meruvina and 47 albums of piano improvisations. Robinson has been a lecturer at UCLA, Bard College and California State University Long Beach and Dominguez Hills.