Interview by William Grim with Mike Melvoin
March 14, 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.
We at ZCPortal 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.
ZC: 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.
ZC: Who have been the most important musical influences in your life?
MM: Bach, Chopin, Tristano, Evans, Kelly, Bird, Miles, Diz
ZC: 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.”
ZC: 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.”
ZC: 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.
ZC: 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.
ZC: 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.
ZC: 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.
ZC: 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
ZC: 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.
ZC: 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.
ZC: 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.
ZC: 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.
ZC: 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.
ZC: 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.
ZC: 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: “Doesn’t playing in the studios ruin you as a jazz player?”“Doesn’t asking dumb question make it hard to get dates?”
ZC: Mike Melvoin, thank you very much for your time.
MM: Thank you.
Buy it Now!
For now, the Mike Melvoin music store is run from another vendor. Purchase of this CD will be added to the shopping cart which will be displayed in a new window.