Singer Tata Vega and her producer Alan Abrahams talk about their partnership.

By Brenda Pike
Berklee.edu Correspondent
October 26, 2007

	Tata Vega
	Photo by Phil Farnsworth
	Alan Abrahams
	Photo by Phil Farnsworth

The clinic at the Berklee Performance Center was billed as a panel discussion of the evolving relationship of the singer and the producer. But in a surprise move that brought visiting artist Tata Vega to tears, four student groups performed a tribute to the vocalist. They covered a wide range of her music, from r&b to gospel to Motown. Dabbing at her eyes, Vega marched onstage to join them. Grasping student Lara Wilson's hand, she sang along, danced to the beat, and hugged everybody.

The event was organized by faculty member Larry Watson, whose upcoming CD American Fruit with African Roots features a duet with Vega. Before the students performed, Watson encouraged the audience to be energetic, complaining that today's audiences silently critique performances, rather than responding to them. "Pitch police, this isn't for you," he announced.

Watson certainly got what he wanted. On top of Vega's enthusiastic response, her producer, Alan Abrahams, shook student guitarist Iakov Kremensky's hand, predicting great things for him.

Vega and Abrahams were joined onstage for the panel discussion by Matt Marvuglio, dean of the Professional Performance Division; Carl Beatty, chief of staff; Jan Shapiro, chair of the Voice Department; and Leanne Ungar, associate professor in the Music Production and Engineering Department.

Getting down to the subject at hand, Vega likened her relationship with Abrahams to a marriage, needing mutual respect and trust. "There will be disagreements," she said. "But there's a line you must never cross."

Abrahams described his role as twofold—inside and outside the studio. In the studio, it's his job to make the singer comfortable enough to perform. Abrahams suggested that students get some of the equipment they'll be using in the studio and practice with it at home. This helps not only in knowing how to use the equipment, but in getting used to the sound of one's own voice coming through the headphones.

Outside the studio, it's the producer's role to make sure that the singer's not taken advantage of financially. For example, Vega freestyled lyrics for "Speak Lord" in the movie The Color Purple, but didn't get credit for writing them. She just didn't realize what rights she had. Abrahams, who wasn't her producer at the time, said that a good producer could have gotten her appropriate compensation. "You don't get mad," said Vega. "You just get educated, and the next time it won't happen to you again."

Not every relationship is as harmonious as Vega and Abrahams's. Beatty commented that the largest change in the relationships between singers and producers over the years has been communication.

"The average singer today is dealing with a producer who doesn't know how to talk to vocalists," he said. Beatty chalks this up to a change in technology. When recordings were analog, he suggested, they had to be done right the first time, because there were only 24 tracks. Producers had to be clear and direct.

Ungar came to the defense of digital recordings, describing their flexibility for editing after the fact and saying that "it's a tool, not content."

Vega encouraged students to "stay focused, stay loving the music, but have a plan B and C." She's seen enough musicians burn out over the years to know that it's important to protect yourself, both financially and emotionally. She's come close to burning out herself.

"There was a period of time that I got very depressed, and I really did feel like ending it all. I got heavily into drugs," said Vega. "That's when I met [gospel musician] Andraé Crouch. I got my act together, my self-confidence back."

A mother in attendance stood up to thank Vega for addressing worries that she had about her own daughter, and for being brave enough to "bring this to a personal level."

Tata's final advice to students? "Keep moving forward. It's fun. It's hard, too. But if you love what you do, it's worth every minute."

Brenda Pike is a content editor in Berklee's Office of Communications.