What an amazing setup. What I'm wondering is whether something similar, in terms of automated jamming, could be made available to more people through software, perhaps a puredata program. That would be a really interesting project to work on.
For a virtual drummer, Jamstix seems to be popular, although I've never been impressed by its behavior. http://www.rayzoon.com/
Amazing. I can't wait to hear what comes out of PMG next; The Way Up blew me away in a way that no other jazz recording ever has, and I can't imagine the next one won't do the same.
Agreed. I remember listening to Letter From Home as a kid and just loving every note that came out of my speakers.
I've always appreciated PM for his musical prowess, attention to detail and ethereal style - but this is too much (in a good way)! Solenoid and pneumatic accoutrements unsullied, steampunk retro-coolness, as a musician I am blown away. The most beautiful part is the programming - there is none! (ironic huh?). All other instruments are 'coded' by parroting his guitar, the ultimate in simplicity. MIDI seems like a form of torture. I have to have one!
The guitar-as-master-control system is beautiful, but it makes me wonder what kind of UI he has set up to select instruments. It's too bad the video didn't show much of the tech behind the amazing suite, though there's also something to just seeing it work like magic.