You may not know
Mike Melvoin by name, but you’ve heard him perform many times.
One of the busiest musicians in Los Angeles since the 1960s,
Melvoin has played piano on recordings ranging from the Beach
Boys to Billy Eckstine, and
he’s
also a prolific composer for films and TV. Last year he was
musical director for the Grammy Awards Show. Recently, however,
he’s gone back to his first love—playing jazz piano with one of
the best trios you’ll hear anywhere.
We at Broken Newz are very honored that Mr. Melvoin agreed to take
time out from his busy schedule to answer a few questions.
You’ll find his answers to be every bit as witty, hip and
insightful as his phenomenal piano playing.
BN: You’ve had such an extraordinary career. Can you tell
us a little bit about your background and how you got into
music?
MM: I was too young to know any better. Singing at 2 and
playing piano at 3. Reading music before words. Thinking the
alphabet ended at G. Copping songs off the radio by ear. By the
time I was a teenager I was playing classical music in recitals
and with some student orchestras, and sitting in at Milwaukee
nightclubs with jazz musicians who mentored and encouraged me.
On to college (Dartmouth) leading a big band and bebop quintet.
Encouraged by Louis Armstrong, Teddy Wilson, Art Blakey to
continue doing it. Took my English degree (1959) to NYC to play
jazz with the big boys, moved to LA in ’62.
BN: Who have been the most important musical influences
in your life?
MM: Bach, Chopin, Tristano, Evans, Kelly, Bird, Miles,
Diz
BN: You are one of the most important behind-the-scenes
figures in the music business. Can you tell us about your film
and TV work?
MM: There is so much it is hard to pick out the high
points. As a player, I worked for virtually everyone, great and
atrocious. I tried to learn from them all, so that when I began
to write I knew what to emulate and what to avoid. Composing
music for film is very gratifying. Performing that music as well
enhances the experience even more. Music directing, arranging,
conducting, and producing are all incredible experiences, but
are “what I do” as opposed to playing jazz, particularly my
compositions, which is “who I am.”
BN: As a studio and session musician you’ve worked with
almost everyone in the jazz and pop fields. What are some of the
most memorable experiences you’ve had in the recording studio?
MM: The live Tom Waits “Nighthawks At The Diner” The B3
performances on Frank Sinatra’s “That’s Life” and the Beach Boys
“Pet Sounds” and “Good Vibrations” The Piano performances on
Lalo Schiffrin’s “Mission Impossible” and John Lennon’s “Stand
By Me”, Bill Conti’s “Rocky”, and Natalie Cole’s “Unforgettable”
Album of the Year. The synth performance on “We Are The World”
The arranging and conducting for Peggy Lee. The accompanying of
Joe Williams and Billy Eckstine. And most recently, playing jazz
with Phil Woods for my next CD, “It’s Always You.”
BN: Your new CD, OH Baby is simply amazing, and your
sidemen are phenomenal musicians. Could you please tell us a
little bit about the genesis of the album and fill us in on the
members of your trio?
MM: I wanted to make a definitive trio project. I feel
that the piano trio is the core of the jazz band and the most
enduring and satisfying instrumentation for performance. It’s
totally exposed and complete. Playing with John Guerin and Brian
Bromberg was such an inspiration (and continues to be) that I
needed to document it. John is a composer /arranger/producer and
one of the most recorded drummers of all time, and plays with a
sense of melody and texture that is very rare. Brian is the
preeminent virtuoso on his instrument playing today, yet he
leads always with music and heart not chops. They both swing
their asses off. I’m very lucky.
BN: You’re a former Chairman of NARAS (National Academy
of Recording Arts & Sciences). What did your duties entail in
such a position? It sounds pretty far afield from
composing/arranging/performing.
MM: It is of course different but related. It seemed then
that it was appropriate to give back to the community that had
been so good to me. I’ve been a member of the Academy for many
years and came up through the ranks into volunteer leadership. I
was the first active musician ever elected National President.
The best part was getting to speak on behalf of our community
about excellence, artistry, diversity, and professionalism. The
Academy was and continues to be the only venue in which that is
possible. I’m honored to have served. The 2 year term of my
presidency was time consuming but worth it. Since then I have
been involved on other levels that leave me more time to do what
I do, make music.
BN: What’s it like to be the musical director of the
Grammys?
MM: I loved my experience last year and hope some day
they will ask me to do it again. The composing and realization
of the theme and cue music was very exciting. It was an
opportunity to apply a wide stylistic palette to communicate the
diversity of Grammy musics. I used a great medium sized jazz
band on top of cutting edge techno rhythm. And the work as
liaison between the production company and the various
performers was fun. And of course having my orchestra back some
of the performances was quite wonderful.
BN: What is your take on the big controversy over CD
burning and the issue of MP3 internet file-swapping?
MM: When nobody is paid for music, only amateurs will
make it. So they are turning a profession into a hobby.
BN: Who are some of your favorite classical composers?
MM: As I said, Bach, and Chopin to play, but others to
listen and be moved: Ravel, Brahms, Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff
BN: What about the pop music scene? Anything worth
listening to?
MM: Peter Gabriel, Jill Scott, some techno/dance music.
Mostly the need to satisfy corporate stockholders on a 90 day
basis has strangled the music. No melody, only melisma, no
harmony, only drone, no human rhythm, only machines. Maybe we
should just buy the stock and not the CDs, then play and support
jazz and classical music.
BN: You have a new CD coming out with the legendary alto
saxophonist Phil Woods. What’s on the album and how was it to
work with Phil?
MM: I think Phil is the greatest living saxophonist. He
is deep, witty, erudite, ironic, a melodist of the highest
order, and his sense of time is sinful, and no one has ever
navigated chromatic harmony with such grace. The new CD , with
his guys, Bill Goodwin on drums and Steve Gilmore on bass, is a
peak experience for me. Standards and originals of mine that
Phil just ate alive.
BN: Do you have any plans to tour with your trio?
MM: Absolutely. I want to get out and play. Everywhere
I’ve done so has been very gratifying. I’m playing The Cutting
Room in NYC and Fino in DC at the end of this month. Then back
to for some West Coast work. I hope Europe soon.
BN: What are your thoughts on the future of jazz, its
musical and economic viability?
MM: Did you ever hear Stan Kenton’s answer? He was asked,
“Where is jazz going in the future?” And he said, “The band
leaves for Santa Barbara tomorrow morning.”
In all seriousness, I think that nobody has caught the
marketability of this music except Madison Ave. When they want
to sell gum and beer, the use Rock. When they want to sell you a
Lexus they use jazz. There is a lesson there about demographics.
I wish some jazz record company would target that niche. The
music will live for generations. One needs to think in the
longest range, growing audiences.
BN: Some of our readers may be aspiring pianists. Do you
have a daily practice regimen, Clementi exercises, scales,
arpeggios, etc?
MM: Play what you love. And play it like you love it.
Listen to what you are playing. The notes are the map not the
trip.
BN: I forget who said it; it might have been Gerry
Mulligan, but whomever it was once said that it is easy to make
a small fortune in jazz. All you have to do is start out with a
large fortune. What advice (besides go to medical school) would
you give to young musicians who are considering getting into
music, especially jazz, as a profession?
MM: The only thing more important than having a good time
is having good time.
There are no points for being admired, only for being believed.
BN: At ZCPortal we have a tradition of asking all of our
interviewees the same light-hearted concluding question: Besides
this question, what is the most annoying question that you have
ever been asked on an interview?
MM: Q. “Doesn’t playing in the studios ruin you as a jazz
player?”
A.. “Doesn’t asking dumb question make it hard to get dates?”
BN: Mike Melvoin, thank you very much for your time.
MM: Thank you.
To order Mike Melvoin’s CD Oh Baby, please click
here
This interview originally ran on zcportal.com March 2003
You may not know
Mike Melvoin by name, but you’ve heard him perform many times.
One of the busiest musicians in Los Angeles since the 1960s,
Melvoin has played piano on recordings ranging from the Beach
Boys to Billy Eckstine, and
he’s
also a prolific composer for films and TV. Last year he was
musical director for the Grammy Awards Show. Recently, however,
he’s gone back to his first love—playing jazz piano with one of
the best trios you’ll hear anywhere.