Those Behind The Music

[Ducatista47]

Mike Brewster and I were bouncing ideas off each other on another thread and I got to thinking (oh no!) about the folks who have enabled talent over the years.

I would like to kick it off with a few names from the Jazz side. Manfred Eicher has produced more than 300 of the records his ECM label has recorded. I owe this man big time. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manfred_Eicher

Norman Granz was/is a Jazz impresario of global proportions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Granz

Alfred Lion, Francis Wolff and others such as Max Margulis and Milt Gabler gave us the golden age of Blue Note Records.

Art Blakey gave a spot in the Jazz Messengers to more up and coming or even undiscovered musicians than Miles Davis or probably anyone else.

And here is a pair of Blues/Jazz catalysts who will never be equalled, Leonard and Phil Chess.

Who are your favorite talent spotters, record producers, A & R men and label heads? There were also some great music teachers out there who enabled genius to florish, most notably in "classical" and Jazz.

Clark

[Krunchy]

Hi Clark, interesting subject. Duke Ellington comes to mind, he was very genenrous with the spotlight, I think that says a lot about the character of such a person, self assured to say the least. I've heard/read that many people referred to him as a father figure & I can easily picture that. He was very well liked (& thats an understatement) by the various musicians that graced the many incarnations of his band.
Ditto Basie.

[MikeBrewster77]

I got to thinking (oh no!) about the folks who have enabled talent over the years.

What an excellent idea! Speaking for myself, I often forget or don't bother to think about the folks behind the scenes who exert massive amounts of effort to cut a record, or create/train/mentor/promote a musical personality.

So, with that said, I'd like to start off by thanking Mr. Simon Cowell, Mr. Randy Jackson, and most importantly, Ms. Paula Abdul. Without you, the world would've never known who Clay Aiken was, and for that alone we owe you a tremendous debt of gratitude...

Who are your favorite talent spotters, record producers, A & R men and label heads? There were also some great music teachers out there who enabled genius to florish, most notably in "classical" and Jazz.

As I alluded to earlier, I don't know much about the behind the scenes individuals who have contributed to the music to which I listen, but I do believe Phil Spector was ingenious. Granted, he purportedly wasn't one to enable the music to flourish - his approach was more along the lines of forcing it to flourish at the point of a gun, but irrespective, in his heyday he had a unique gift for spotting and assembling talent as well as record production. While I don't agree with all aspects of his approach, I believe there's something to be said for the sheer quantity of chart toppers he produced; what exactly is to be said for that, I'll leave up to you .

You have piqued my curiosity, though, Clark. I'm going to start doing a little digging to see who was responsible for brining some of my favorite artists to light.

Best,
- Mike

[Harvey Gerst]

Tom Dowd, Ed Cherney, Al Schmitt, Daniel Lanois, George Martin, George Massenburg, Brian Wilson, Bruce Swedien, Terry Manning, and "Bones" Howe, to name just a few. You can look up their credits at http://www.allmusic.com.

[Ducatista47]

I'll throw in Bill Graham and Albert Grossman, West and East coast respectively. Chet Helms, too.

Their claims to fame are many, but you would have most likely heard of them as:

(Graham) Holocaust survivor turned legendary San Francisco impresario and manager. Closely linked to The Grateful Dead and many others, and the Fillmore ballrooms.

(Grossman) Manager of Bob Dylan and others.

(Helms) San Francisco again. Family Dog Productions, the Avalon and Fillmore ballrooms and Big Brother and the Holding Company. By all accounts a much nicer person than the relentless Graham, and he came first.

In each case this would be the tip of the iceberg. Wikipedia has good introductions.

Sam Phillips. Sun Records (Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, others).

The musician Will Ackerman founded, ran and sold the Windham Hill label, enabling many acoustic musicians in the process. He was preceded in this by another musician, the legendary John Fahey and Tacoma Records. Both are worth checking out. You will find guitar deities Robbie Basho and Michael Hedges in there somewhere. There might be a Leo Kottke connection too, I don't know.

Clark

[Ducatista47]

George Winston, the famous pianist, who through his Dancing Cat Records has done more to support and promote Hawaiian slack key music and artists than anyone else in history.

[SEAWOLF97]

I was going to say "George Martin", but Harvey beat me to it.

Lou Addler ? Brian Epstein ?