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JackTrip

JackTrip is a free, open-source program authored by Chris Chafe and Juan Pablo Caceres at Stanford University. Its main compelling strength is its ability to support live, real-time internet audio among a peer-to-peer network of connected ensemble members at much lower latencies than similar solutions.

Some at Rutgers Jazz have recently expressed an interest in testing this audio-telemetry solution to allow ensemble members to rehearse or collaborate remotely over the internet in a live, real-time manner. This page serves as research done into its feasibility and how it might translate into our use in a school setting. To be clear, this is not a commercially available, packaged, out-of-box solution that’s ready to install and launch. Far from it. The JackTrip project is an ongoing development effort by a team of researchers. In usual open-source fashion, they are simply sharing the project’s raw code with anyone who wants to experiment with it.

 

Requirements for Each Ensemble Member

  • A hardwire ethernet connection using fast internet service (no WiFi)
  • Recent model Mac/Linux or Windows computer (Windows implementation is weak)
  • Familiarity with operating systems; drive locations, command-line terminal usage, etc
  • Far more time to pour into this effort than anyone actually has

Limitations

  • The open-source platform requires technical savvy beyond most students and faculty
  • Documentation is scattered
  • No direct tech support. Figure it out
  • Cannot utilize WiFi (wireless) connections
  • Each member is universally expected to have access to fast, hardwired internet service
  • At the constant mercy of countless variables to reliably achieve successful, workable connections

Video Introduction

This intro provides a good summary and serves as a wake-up call if you actually want to proceed …

 

Listen to what Christian McBride had to say about this:

Installation

For Mac: https://ccrma.stanford.edu/software/jacktrip/osx/index.html

For Windows: https://ccrma.stanford.edu/software/jacktrip/windows/index.html

Additional documentation on supporting multiple peer connections for a small ensemble: https://www.haven2.com/index.php/archives/configuring-starting-and-running-a-multi-client-jacktrip-server

 

Conclusion

The researchers on the JackTrip project have done amazing work and there’s no lack of integrity with their progress so far on a much-needed solution for our modern-day which will undoubtedly become a refined and dependable standard going forward. However, fast, hardwired internet bandwidth is still not universally available and consistent among potential members in a school setting. Likewise, overcoming numerous technical hurdles and creating an easy and reliable (keywords; easy, reliable) audio network of peers over the web is not yet consumer-ready except for the most ambitious, and still ahead of its time. Can a performance curriculum be built around JackTrip? Simply put, this solution certainly can be made to work, but not dependably across faculty and students. Not yet.

Have fun.

Prof Marc J Stasio
Rutgers Jazz, Aug 2020