RM: Yeah, it’s great because now it’s like, we have so much more support than we had before and when we started this project, it was like literally….we started this project with my money, my parents’ money, and Willie was just doing it because he loves me. (Both laughing.) He and I met at a wedding in Los Angeles on a gig and he was like “Oh my goodness, I have to produce a CD for you” and I was like “Ahh! I’m not a jazz singer, come on, I’m not, I’m not” and at the time I was trying to do this R&B thing and I had a lot of soul searching to do. And he never stopped calling me, for three years he called me like “When are we gonna do the record? When are we gonna do the record?” (Both laughing.) And I think it’s such a great story because I finally called him back and said “Okay, let’s do the CD. Let’s do it” and then he was like within a month he had the whole band, he had all the arrangements. He was like ready to go.
Smitty: Wow.
RM: It went really fast. We decided to do it in August and we recorded everything between September and October.
Smitty: Wow. He was prepared.
RM: He was probably getting the songs together for the past three years. (Both laughing.)
Smitty: But I think that’s very cool and one of my favorite songs is “Yes My Darling Daughter.” That is a sweet song and you did such a great job with that.
RM: Thank you.
Smitty: Talk about why you chose that song as part of this project.
RM: Well, it’s kinda funny because you’re not the first person who has said that they love that song and I think as an artist we all know what we like as favorites. I have my favorites and then I have my like “Yeah, they’re okay,” you know.
Smitty: (Laughs.)
RM: But we needed a certain sound, we needed a certain tempo for it, you know, to make it really flow and there were a couple ideas and Willie had suggested that tune and so I went and listened to it and I was like “That tune’s kinda silly. I don’t know.”
Smitty: (Laughs.)
RM: And I think I listened to the Eddie Reed Big Band do it or something and I was like “Oh, no.” And it was kinda cute and I said “Well, all right. I think we could spice it up a little bit,” and then it just ended up being really fun because they have the call and response thing with the band at the end and I have put a lot of trust in Willie for this project because we went back and forth quite a bit on song selection. And of course, I wanted to sing a whole album of ballads because that’s my favorite and he was like “Robin, come on, we need this, we need that and da-da-da,” and being an artist I get very distracted and sidetracked. So I said “Okay, I’m gonna trust you. These are the songs I have to sing on the CD, these are the ones and then the rest of ‘em, let’s narrow it down to what you think.” Because I think he really has a gift for putting it together and obviously it’s made an impact and a lot of the song selections were his idea.
Smitty: Yeah.
RM: And although many of them were mine as well, it was kind of equal but, again, I had to put a lot of faith and trust into him because he really knows what he’s doing and I need to be reined in sometimes because I can get on a tangent musically (both laughing), from one song to the next, kinda like how I’m talking right now, just bantering. I’ll stop talking now. (Both laughing.)
Smitty: No, I think it’s cool, I think it’s really cool. I think, in terms of your trust of him….I think you have to have that kind of trust when you’re working together because, the visions are all for the right reasons and I think when you have that kind of trust, it seems to flow and make everything work the way you really intended it to become, because what you’re really after is the right songs and the right outcome.
RM: Exactly.
Smitty: Yeah, and I think you both captured that here very well.
RM: Well, thank you.
Smitty: Yes, and I love “On the Sunny Side of the Street.”
RM: Oh yeah.
Smitty: Oh, that’s a cool song.
RM: Yeah, what I love about some of them….and some people have actually commented and said ….“Oh, wow, there’s a lotta long introductions on these CD’s, or on some of the songs,” but I think the thing is is that it’s just as much about the band on this project as it is me. I mean, just look on the list of people that are playing on it. I never thought I would be able to be recording with some of these guys who have been on so many great projects, I mean, you have guys like Wayne Bergeron and Gary Graham playing lead trumpet and they’ve played on everything from Michael Jackson’s CD’s to the big band and all the L.A. stuff. I just feel so blessed to be working with this level of musicianship and so it’s just as much about the band and I think it doesn’t always have to be, “Oh, the singer, it’s all about the singer,” it’s about the music and it needs to stay true to that, and that’s really why we left those arrangements like that because it’s just good.
Smitty: Yes.
RM: It sets the whole vibe, I think.
Smitty: I totally agree because when I’m listening to this record, you hit it spot on because I hear you singing, which is great, and then this band, it’s such a perfect blend hearing both equally and it is so tight. There’s this great chemistry….This combination of a really killer band and this great voice, and the production is unbelievable. This is magnificent stuff.
RM: Well, thank you.
