SRI Records & SRI Jazz

I am often asked what makes a great record? There are many factors that make up a great record.

There are so many things that separate a good record from a great record. The talent of the Artist, the song choices, the musicians, the arrangements and the producer must be combined to achieve that goal. If you are lucky enough to bring it all together you just may have a great record.

First of all, the Artist has to have the kind of talent that sets him apart from the crowd and has a style that is truly his own. When I produce and album I study the Artist to learn the strengths and weaknesses of the Artist. I then make the song choices, either from listening to the Artist’s original songs or, by selecting songs that I feel the Artist can bring something special to. It’s up to the producer to have creative foresight to understand what will work even if the Artist doesn’t quite know why you have selected a given song.

Hearing what you want a song to sound like tells you what kind of arrangements will make a song special. The arrangements will tell you what instrumentation is needed and that’s when I decide on the musicians. They have to be carefully selected according to their, talent, style of playing and attitude. Once that is all decided it’s time to choose what studio and the engineer that is best to capture the sound that I want. Not all studios or engineers can create the same sound. You must choose wisely.

Once in the studio the real work begins. It’s not enough to just bring in the right Artist, musicians, songs and arrangements. You must be able to get that special performance out of each and everyone involved. There is a very fine line that a producer must tread to get the best out of everyone. You need to encourage, instruct and guide the musicians in order for them to give you what you need to hear. You need to gently coach and push the Artist to get the best possible performance from them. If the producer is good he can get a performance out of an Artist that even the Artist did not know was possible. You also have to be careful that you do not hurt the Artist’s feelings or make them feel that you do not believe that they have the talent to create something special.

Sometimes you do all of that and a song just doesn’t end up being what you thought it would be. That’s why I generally select and record more songs than I need for an album. That way if one falls short, you still have enough material to complete the project. Hopefully in the end you have a great record. Not every album from a great Artist or producer turns out to be a great record. You do your best work and in the end the audience will judge your work. All you can do is make sure that you put all of the right elements together and if you are lucky you end up being a part of the magic that happens when a great record is produced. In the end it’s the Artist’s album – if the public likes it or hates it – it’s the Artist’s album. A good producer must always keep that in mind.

Friends And Family Celebrate Ellas Birthday Tickets Go On Sale.

Tickets went on sale today for the all-star charity event starring Ray Brown Jr, whose dad was famed bassist Ray Brown and mother was Americas First Lady Of Song, Ella Fitzgerald. Brown will perform songs from his latest SRI Jazz release, Friends And Family, an all-star duets style album released late last year. The show date is set to commemorate the anniversary of Ella Fitzgeralds birthday, April 25th entitled Friends And Family Celebrate Ella’s Birthday and will be held at historic Generations Hall, in New Orleans. Cost of the tickets range from $25 to $100 VIP tickets and can be purchased at BrownPaperTickets.com Additionally the show will be taped for a future televised airing, with the proceeds from the show and the future televised event to benefit America’s Wetland Foundation. This live event is being produced by Shelly Liebowitz, who also produced the Friends And Family CD, in association with ActiveMusic.

Guest stars joining Brown include some of the artists on the original release, including Terry Gibbs, Haylee (Ella’s grand-daughter), Sophie B. Hawkins, Kim Hoyer, Sally Kellerman, Jane Monheit, James Moody, Maria Muldaur, Freda Payne, David Somerville and Paul Williams. Additional guests not on the album, such as Billy Vera will join Brown on the stage with more additions to be announced shortly. The show will also include a special tribute to David Fathead Newman and a very special duet by Ray and his Mom.

For more information please visit www.friendsandfamilyshow.com.

In addition the show will host the “Global Green Piano”, an eco-friendly one of a kind piano, autographed by many guests from the album and Fats Domino. Proceeds from the sale of the piano will go to Global Green’s New Orleans efforts to rebuild the Lower 9th ward with eco-friendly housing.

About SRI Jazz: SRI Jazz is dedicated to producing great jazz and blues. Our catalog contains recordings by the greatest names in music. We also produce and distribute recordings by talented major new artists and musical television shows. The management of SRI Jazz is made up of experienced music industry professionals and headed by CEO and veteran Producer, Shelly Liebowitz.

About America’s Wetland Foundation: America’s Wetland is one of the largest and most productive expanses of coastal wetlands in North America. This valuable landscape extending along Louisiana’s coast is disappearing at a rate of 25 square miles per year.

In the largest public awareness initiative in its history, Louisiana is leading America’s Wetland’s Campaign to Save Coastal Louisiana. The America’s Wetland Foundation through the Campaign is raising awareness of the impact of Louisiana’s wetland loss and increase support for efforts to conserve and save coastal Louisiana.

As we begin a new year it is a good time to look back on the year that has just ended. I know that it has been a very difficult time for many of us but at the same time there is much for me to be thankful for.

For me 2008 was the year of Friends And Family. Producing this CD was a wonderful experience as I was able to work with an amazing group of artists. From the onset this was a difficult yet very rewarding experience in so many ways. Any time that you try to assemble so many talented stars and musicians, work out the song list and arrangements with the artist, in this case Ray Brown Jr, and arrange for the best studio to accomplish the work, it is never easy. I chose a great studio that was secluded and has a very talented engineer. The location was necessary to set the stage for a relaxed atmosphere. As you know it worked out very well. The CD has received rave reviews and it has been embraced by radio.

As we move into 2009 I am excited by the fact that we plan to produce a live stage version of Friends And Family that will be video taped for broadcast on television. I will update everyone with the broadcast date as soon as we have it confirmed.

I wish you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. I also want to thank you all for your joy of music and for allowing us to be a part of your life.

I have known Ray Brown Jr. for many years and when I first decided to produce an album for him, I thought that it would be great to do a duets album. Then I thought it would be nice to bring in a group of old friends, new friends and also family. Well that is what we did and each one of these wonderful artists brought something very special to this project. Their talent, warmth and love shows in these recordings and the musicians gave us great performances as well. I chose Blue Moon Studios because of the relaxed setting, the warmth and quality of the studio plus the engineer, Joe Vannelli. Combine all of this with terrific arrangements, a wonderful collection of songs, the talent of Ray Brown, Jr. and you have the magic that is Friends And Family.

I felt very fortunate that we were able to bring The Global Green Piano to the studio for this project. This is a one-of-a-kind, eco-friendly piano built by Baldwin. I had each of the artists on this CD sign the piano and it will be sold at auction to benefit the Global Green efforts to rebuild a Green 9th Ward in New Orleans. Each and every artist on this project were happy to be able to help everyone in New Orleans by adding their signature.

Dr. John was our first guest artist to come into the studio and from the moment that he arrived there was sheer magic in the air. The musicians, our engineer Joe Vannelli and Ray were all mesmerized. As always when he is in the studio it is an amazing experience. We had already recorded the track of the old Chuck Berry hit Cajun style with a piano on it but I asked him to replace it with his own unique piano style. It would have been odd for two men to sing about a little girl so I asked him to be the long distance operator. The vocals were pure fun, and like everything he has ever done, Memphis is uniquely Dr. John.

Our second guest was David Fathead Newman. He arrived with a big smile on his face. The man has this special aura that filled the room and he is jazz personified. Fathead is Mr. Cool! He listened to the track and then proceeded to add the most romantic feel with his sensational saxophone track. I am sure that I Wish You Love will be the new make-out song for lovers everywhere.

Then the charming Sophie B. Hawkins entered with her warmth, that special smile and tons of energy and talent. After listening to the song a few times Sophie proceeded to perform a terrific duet with Ray on Up On The Roof. At one point during the song she reached out and took Ray by the hand as she sung ..take my hand Ray and lets go up on the roof. It was sheer magic, as you can hear on this track.

I was really thrilled when Paul Williams agreed to be a part of this project. What a classy gentleman. He suggested a duet on Ordinary Fool, a song of his that Ella recorded and he felt it would make a great duet with Ray. He listened to the track with the wonderful arrangement by Fredrico Ramos and loved it. Then what transpired was this fabulous duet especially with Paul being playful at the end of the song.

Freda Payne is a wonderfully talented and gifted singer. I had a unique arrangement of Lullaby of Birdland for her duet and she did not disappoint anyone. It is an unusual arrangement with tempo changes and what a great job she did with Ray. That duet was so terrific that I asked her to also do Somethings Gotta Give. Both Ray and Freda did amazing renditions of both songs.

When I heard that Haylee (grandddaughter of Ella) had won a school talent contest singing A Tisket-A-Tasket, I knew we had to have it on this CD. So I asked Haylee if she would do Grandmas first hit as a duet with her dad. I am so very proud to have produced her first recording, I know there will be many, many more to come.

Ray came up with a very unusual arrangement of an old Beach Boys song, Girls On The Beach. I know that Brian Wilson will love this arrangement of his song when he hears it. We were not sure who to have sing it with Ray, and then I thought of another old friend, David Somerville. David is a rock legend, having been the lead singer of The Diamonds. I flew Dave in and he and Ray had a ton of fun recording this song. Another gem.

When Terry Gibbs arrived the studio was all abuzz about this jazz legend. His big smile and gracious manner set everyone at ease. Terry joked with everyone then layed down a his vibes on a killer track on Lullaby of Birdland. Knowing that this was my chance, I asked Terry if he would like to hear another song we had done. That led to his playing on Beginning To See The Light.
Terry Gibbs is the man!

Shortly after Terry Gibbs finished recording James Moody arrived with that wonderful smile on his face. These two jazz giants greeted each other as everyone looked on in awe. After they talked for a few minutes we began recording . Moody gave a performance on Sunny Side of The Street that is destined to become a jazz classic. His vocal performance was astounding as was his playing and sax solo. There is only one James Moody!

Later the same day Dr. Lonnie Smith graced the studio with his big smile and great sense of humor. I asked my old friend to do a song that he did not know. After listening to the track twice he had it down – big time! Then I asked him to sing the duet and his performance with Ray on Everybodys Cryin Mercy was enough to leave everyone speechless. We talked in the control room for a little while after and then I asked him if he wanted to hear the Dr. John track. He said sure, so we played it for him and I asked him if he would like to add his magical touch to the track. Well we ended up with two doctors operating on that gem.

We had this amazing track recorded of I Thought About You but no one selected to sing it. Then I thought of Sally Kellerman. I called her and thankfully she said yes. When Sally and Ray started on their first take I knew I had made the right choice. Sally has such a unique and sensual sound and it blended so well with the smooth vocals by Ray. Sally did a great job and with her playfulness that gave us another great track.

Melba Moore is a one of those charming women that make you smile from the moment she enters the room. I had not seen her in a long time and she still has a fabulous voice and I was really happy when she agreed to be a part of this CD. I knew that she and Ray could do a great job on a duet and she proved me right when she performed her duet with Ray on Beginning To See The Light.

When we were talking about song choices and arrangements, I thought that Maria Muldaur would be perfect for the slow, sexy version of Too Close For Comfort that we wanted to do. She has a naturally sensuous sounding voice and I knew this duet would be very hot. I was thrilled when she agreed and Maria was nothing short of wonderful.

Right after finishing the duet with Maria, Ray and I headed to the airport and took a red eye to New York to record our last two duets the following day. A few hours after we landed in New York we headed over to Quad Studios.

Jane Monheit was one of the first artists I asked to be on this album and our first duet in New York. I knew that a duet with Jane and Ray would be special. From the moment that she walked into the studio with I knew that Cant Take My Eyes Off You was going to be a terrific addition to this album. Jane is very sweet. She and Ray had fun and you can hear it in this song.

In order to have this album truly be Friends And Family we needed someone who is like family to Ray and that is why I asked Dionne Warwick. She was very close to Ella and she considers Ray family. What a classy lady she is. Her distinctive voice and her performance with Ray on I Wish You Love makes this one of the most romantic versions of this song ever recorded.

On the first list of songs that Ray wanted to do on this album was Laughter In The Rain, the old Neil Sedaka song. Ray worked up a great arrangement for the song with the guys and it was one of the first tracks we recorded. It ended up being the last song we recorded vocals on. I had Kim Hoyer come in to sing it with Ray. Kim has a very versatile voice and the lady can sing just about anything. The blending of their voices worked out very well and I think it is a great addition to this album.

Having Ray sing a song with his Mom with his Dad playing bass was a natural choice. Since I had this live version of Ella singing How High The Moon with Ray Brown Sr. on bass I knew this was the song. Hearing Ray sing with his parents in the studio was very emotional for us both and is truly magical.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of our friends and family for making this project as special as it is. There are no words to express how much I appreciate and love you all. Your graciousness and kindness are only exceeded by your talent. Thanks also to Joe, Diane and Jeremy at Blue Moon and Eric at Quad. A special thanks to Pavanne, Bill and Brigit. Thank you Rob, and the Four Seasons Hotel in Westlake Village, for taking such great care of our guests. I also want to thank Richard Wegman at Global Green and Susann McMahon at ActiveMusic for allowing us the honor being the temporary custodian of the Global Green Piano.

What can I say about Ray Brown Jr except thank you for trusting my judgment and allowing me to produce this wonderful album. You are a consummate gentleman, a true talent and a joy to work with. I am proud to call you my friend. I want you to know that I am sure that both your mother and father would be so proud of the work you have done on this album.

I think this is an important album in so many ways. To have such a group of legendary artists on one project is magical and their performances with Ray make this an album for all time. We hope you enjoy this CD as much as we have enjoyed making it.

Shelly Liebowitz, Producer