|
Producers of the Next Wave
Veteran producer Arif Mardin '61 is the man behind the hit album of 2003.
By Rob Hochschild
Berklee.edu Editor
February 25, 2003
 |
|
| Arif Mardin '61 earned three Grammys for his work on Norah Jones's Come Away with Me. |
|
|
|
Not long ago, some might have thought that producer Arif Mardin was heading toward the twilight of his career. In 2001, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences gave him the Trustee Award for his long and successful career, highlighted by more than 40 gold and platinum records. Shortly after that, Mardin, who was senior vice president of Atlantic Records, reached the mandatory retirement age. But Mardin wasn't ready to say goodbye to music. He became a vice president at Manhattan Records/EMI and wound up producing Norah Jones's Come Away with Me, a jazz-flavored pop album on Blue Note that became the surprise of the music world, and on Sunday night, earned 8 Grammy Awards.
Mardin and another Berklee alumnus, Jay Newland '84, both won three Grammys for their work on Come Away with Me, two each coming in the Album of the Year and Record of the Year categories. In addition, Mardin won the Producer of the Year award and Newland won for his work at the board in the Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical category.
Among the long list of artists whom Mardin has worked with are Aretha Franklin, the Bee Gees, Rod Stewart, and Smashing Pumpkins. In the Spring 2003 issue of Berklee Today, Mardin said that the production style he employed on the Jones album represented a huge departure for him.
"I have been known to add a lot of strings, brass, or background vocals, but this album was an exercise in self-restraint," said Mardin. "Norah is an idealist and didn't want to add too much to the basic sound she was working with. We did add things, but the approach to this production might be compared to a woman putting on makeup in such a way that she would not look made up."
During the post-Grammys press conference, Mardin told reporters that Come Away with Me, like many albums that have swept Grammy awards, is likely to spawn a spate of similar-sounding recordings.
"A colleague of mine said, 'If I had brought Norah Jones to my bosses, they would have fired me. Now they say, go out and find one,'" said Mardin. "And in fact, from the demos that I'm receiving—song demos, artist demos—it's all pared down, a piano and a simple voice."
Other Berklee alumni who won Grammys were Diana Krall '83, whose Live in Paris captured the Best Jazz Vocal Album award; Howard Shore '69, Best Score Soundtrack Album, Lord of the Rings; John Mayer '98, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, "Your Body Is a Wonderland;" Roy Hargrove '89, Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group, as coleader with Herbie Hancock and Michael Brecker on Directions in Music; drummer Antonio Sanchez '98, Best Contemporary Jazz Album, as drummer for the Pat Metheny Group on Speaking of Now; and Allan Slutsky '73, Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media, as compilation producer for Standing in the Shadows Of Motown, a documentary film about the Funk Brothers.
|
 |
|
John Mayer '98 won the Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. |
| |
|
Mayer, who also performed during the Grammy telecast, beat three music superstars for his first Grammy: James Taylor, Sting, and Elton John. When Mayer spoke, Grammy in hand, he appeared to be surprised and humbled by the moment.
"This is very, very fast, and I promise to catch up," he said after accepting the award.
Associate Professor of Ensemble Dave Samuels, coleader of the Caribbean Jazz Project, won the Best Latin Jazz album award for the group's The Gathering, which also featured pianist Dario Eskanazi '88.
During the afternoon portion of the Grammy Awards, which are not telecast, Executive Vice President Gary Burton presented awards in several jazz categories.
In the end, the night belonged to Norah Jones and the producers of her debut, Mardin and Newland. According to Mardin, the artist helped make his job go smoothly.
"It is very easy to work with (Jones)," Mardin said. "You just watch her and she does her magic."
Please read over the complete list of members of the Berklee community who received nominations.
[  Print-friendly Version ]
| 
