No One Asked My Opinion, But….
The Sounds of Producers and Arrangers
By George W. Harris

I recently received a collection of albums produced by Phil Spector for
review. Now, I know that they have nothing to do with jazz, but they
got me thinking. Why does it seem “easy” for rock albums to be produced
with an individual sound, but so rare in the jazz scene? Would a jazz
quintet benefit from something done with help by Spector, George
Martin, T-Bone Burnett, Todd Rundgren or Sam Phillips?
I think that this is an untapped resource, so I did some digging, and
came up with a few names of producers and arrangers in the jazz scene
that HAVE created a personal sound.

1) Nelson Riddle-He did a slew of classic sessions in the 50s with
Frank Sinatra that defined jazz vocals. Classics like “Sinatra’s
Swingin’ Session” and “Songs For Swingin’ Lovers” have a perfect mix of
strings, brass and reeds, with Ol’ Blue Eyes making a standard out of
every song. And don’t forget “In The Wee Small Hours…” arguably the
first concept album.

2) Gordon Jenkins-Same as above, with moody and melancholy strings
enveloping Sinatra on the desultory “Where Are You” and “September Of
My Years.”

3) Alfred Lion/Rudy Van Gelder-Yes, Van Gelder engineered for labels
besides Lion’s Blue Note label, but that is like saying that Babe Ruth
played for the Boston Braves. This association made the sound of Hard
Bop that we first think of as the “right” sound. Crisp cymbals and
drums along with an ambient balance of piano and horns on sessions like
Herbie Hancock’s “Maiden Voyage,” Lee Morgan’s “Sidewinder” or the
gazillion discs by Art Blakey. All other bop records are compared to
Blue Note.

4) Teo Macero-He was at the helm for Columbia Records during the 50s
and 60s, creating a unique sound of his own: spacious, airy, almost
cathedral sounding. How can go wrong with stuff like Brubeck’s “Time
Out,” Davis’ “Kind Of Blue” and Mingus’ “Mingus Ah Um”? Clean, but not
sterile.

5) Bob Thiele-in charge of the sound at the iconic Impulse! label, he
made jazz (mostly modal) sound BIG! A fiery intensity along with a
haunting sound separation, is found on Oliver Nelson’s “Blues And The
Abstract Truth,” Mingus’ “Black Saint and the Sinner Lady” and all of
those Coltrane discs. Each disc has a bit of rebellious edge to it,
even when done by Pee Wee Russell.

6) Norman Granz-best known for his overseeing Verve and Pablo Records,
he also essentially resurrected Ella Fitzgerald’s career with the
trendsetting collection of Songbooks in the 50s and 60s. The sound here
is CLEAN, bright and sharp, while his famed small group sessions
featuring Getz, Webster and Billie Holiday are light and airy.

7) Creed Taylor-his eponymous CTI Records brought the likes of George
Benson, Stanley Turrentine, Grover Washington and Wes Montgomery into
the world of musical stardom. His sound consists of crisp but usually
adventurous rhythms provided by the likes of Cobham, Carter and
Hancock, with lush yet sophisticated strings serving as either
background or foreground to sumptuous sets as Milt Jackson’s
“Wildflower” or Benson’s “The Other Side Of Abbey Road.” Lots of people
castigated Taylor for his “commercial” sound, but what’s wrong with
making money, Comrade?

8) Tchad Blake/Bob Ludwig-these two guys teamed up on The Bad Plus’
early recordings, and shocked the jazz world with the in-your-face
drumming that attacked your ears on things like “These Are The Vistas.”
Still, you can’t argue that the signature, although BOLD, is there!

9)Manfred Eicher-The founder and producer of ECM Records, Eicher patented a sound, feel and attitude that is almost immediately identifiable on his records; a pristine, crystal and spacious sound that ever so closely borders on the sterile. A plethora of discs by Keith Jarrett, Charles Lloyd and Tomasz Stanko will serve as examples of music that take the solitude of Miles Davis’ “Blue In Green” to it’s logical conclusion.