Smitty: Do you think that your….the process that you take an artist through, do you think that that’s sort of a discovery or a taking them out of a comfort zone or is it just bringing out what they’ve had all the time?
MH: I think it’s bringing out what they’ve had all the time. I think it’s that simple. I’m one of those people that I believe everybody could write the great American novel. I think everybody has it in them. And I don’t think that I’m anymore special than anybody else. It’s just how you choose to express yourself creatively. For people who are lucky enough to be musicians, I understand a little bit about that language. I can be helpful creating a musical environment in which their uniqueness can shine through.
Smitty: I’m always so curious about the producer’s role in music because, you know, we get the CD, we sit down, we listen to it, we love it, or we think it’s “Oh, it’s okay,” and, you know, me personally I’m such a deep thinker when it comes to music….I love to get to the deepest part of the music….but I often wonder how does that work in the studio? How does that work as a producer? Are you in control when the artists come to you with songs or you have songs for the artists? Who says “I think this is a great song, I think this song fits you, let’s arrange this a little different, let’s think about it differently.” Who makes those calls when you’re discussing that with the artists?
MH: Well, that’s the funny thing. “Producer” can mean many things. A producer in music could be simply the guy who’s in charge of the money, who’s paying the musicians, keeping an eye on the budget, renting / authorizing the studio space, the rehearsal space, whatever it is. It could really be that simple, although it’s not too much these days. And it can go as far as that’s just a small part of the responsibility and you’re also…...a producer’s also the guy that chooses the material and, you know, creates the sound for an artist or with an artist or is in charge of how this album is going to sound, how this artist is going to be presented, and usually those things, between the artist and the label and the producer, depending on who all these people are, they usually share a lot of those responsibilities. I’ve been pretty fortunate. A lot of the work that I do has been exclusively with the artists. I don’t really answer to the labels too much which has been really helpful.
Smitty: Thank God. (laughs.)
MH: Yeah, I know. I can say that, you know, as far as Mindi [Abair] goes, she has an A&R guy, Bud Harner who I think is fantastic and who is someone I will really listen to.
Smitty: He’s one of the best.
MH: Yeah, ‘cause I know he’s a fan of mine, he’s a fan of Mindi’s, and if he says something about a song his response is usually positive. And if he says “Man, I like this one song, but I just don’t understand this section”, I’ll spend a lotta time thinking about, okay, well, what is he hearing that I’m not? Which is the type of respect that I’ll give anybody I work with because there’s always the chance that I’m not hearing it or that the point I’m trying to convey in a certain section I haven’t worked hard enough on to make it clear. For me, we were talking about producers and there are some amazing producers. I mean, I look up to Quincy Jones….I look up to Phil Ramone, I look up to Rick Rubin, and I look up to Brian Eno , there are a lot of fantastic producers and they all do things very differently. I never consider myself a producer; I consider myself a songwriter, and I consider myself someone who understands arrangements. I think, you know, there have been a couple of things that have really influenced my production style and usually those are things like just arrangements, you know, like what Gil Evans did with Miles Davis.
Smitty: Yeah, baby!
MH: I mean, I don’t think Gil Evans was considered the producer; I think he was given the arrangement credit, but to me that was production. I mean, he made the song beautiful, he made the songs work, you know?
Smitty: Yes I can dig it.
MH: So I definitely approach it from an arrangement standpoint. And sometimes it’s just as simple as, like, well, the song’s pretty much there, who should we hire to play it? Or who should play what? And what should it sound like? And let’s make it happen, you know?
Smitty: I think it takes a lot of skill, a great ear, and a great heart especially, to recognize that. To say that this song is ready or it needs a touch of this or just a change here and a change there, because one change can completely alter the whole song.
MH: Yeah, and I really appreciate what you said about a great heart. My job is to keep my ego out of it. My job is to make sure that this isn’t the Matthew Hager Project. When I work with Mindi Abair, this is Mindi Abair’s sound. I don’t care if I played every instrument on it or if I played nothing. What I’m going for is Mindi Abair’s sound, and the way we came across the sound was through writing, was through me understanding where she was at musically and what her strengths and, possibly, weaknesses were, you know?
Smitty: Yeah, I totally agree.
MH: And with Mindi specifically I’ve had the luxury of knowing her since college, so I feel uniquely qualified to be her collaborator, you know?
Smitty: That’s cool. I like that.
MH: I consider production to be a collaboration.
Smitty: Yeah, exactly, So is it easier to work with a cocky artist or one who is humble and says “Hey,” you know, “I want you to feel me here”?
MH: Well, “cocky’s” cool if they’re backing it up.
Smitty: Yeah. (Laughing.)
MH: It’s one thing, you know, if I was just sitting in my house blowing myself away all the time, then it doesn’t matter. If what I do blows someone else away, that matters. So if an artist is cocky and they’re bringing me stuff that is just blowing my mind, then that’s great. I mean, at that point, I just wanna do better. There’s an energy about people who are really confident and who are so good that they make you better.
Smitty: Yeah, there’s a pushing effect there, yeah, musical kinetics.
MH: Yeah, and sometimes, when an artist says, “Hey, I’ve got this idea for this song, but I’m completely lost. What should we do?” I’m very comfortable working in that scenario too. Again, it’s just about it not becoming the Matthew Hager Show. I know a lot of producers that are more interested about carrying on their name and their lineage, rather than actually listening to the artist and making sure that they’re giving the artist the best snapshot of who that artist is at that moment.
Smitty: You know what I love about your work, Matthew, is that we don’t hear your sound, but we can feel your heart. And I think that will “automatically” carry on your name or profound lineage.
MH: Oh, thanks, man.
Smitty: Because not only are you working in Smooth Jazz / contemporary jazz with artists…I mean, you’ve crossed many lines and genres with your work, and you can feel the “heart” of Matthew Hager in any of those projects, and I think….
MH: Well, I appreciate that. I mean, if that’s true, I mean, that’s my goal, you know?
Smitty: Yeah, man. And that’s a cool thing because then you know that you have put the artists where they really should be and wanna be, and I think that’s a beautiful combination.
MH: Well, you know, it’s funny. As a human being I’m a sensitive guy, I’m an emotional guy, I’ve had a relationship with music my whole life and as with most musicians and most writers, it’s always been a form of escape and when we start becoming adults and we go out there and we have to play ball with the big boys, and we have to walk into business meetings and explain to people why this track should be on the record and all that kind of foolishness, and we have to become businessmen all of a sudden, it’s like, I could see why it would be very easy to buy into that, the notion that this is a business, but to me, every time I write a song and every time I do a production, it’s really about closing my eyes and feeling it.
