Episode #69

This session took us back to Forge Recording Studios in Oreland, PA (USA). Oreland is located just outside of Philadelphia. This was the first of two episodes we taped that day. It featured four terrific musicians…the great bassist Nathan East, guitarist Gil Parris, keyboardist and B3 master Matt King, along with drummer James “Biscuit” Rouse. Nathan is arguably one of the most in-demand bass players in the world. He has played with just about every major artist you can think of…Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Eric Clapton, Quincy Jones, Kenny Loggins, Madonna, Aretha Franklin, Michael McDonald, to name but a few. He has appeared on over 2,000 albums. Nathan and I have been talking for about five years trying to coordinate our schedules, so we were both thrilled that we were finally able to pull it together. Gil, Matt and James have all appeared on the show before so they knew what to expect.

We started early that day..around 10am. Gil and Nathan drove down together from New York City having played on the same bill the night before, so they were more than ready for that first cup of coffee! True to form, the folks at the studio had everything set up and ready to go. They are such pros.

It didn’t take long for everyone to get situated in the studio. Nathan started things off by simply looping a bass part which led to a nice, comfortable “Open Jam.” It sets the stage for some great performances that followed. After the “Open Jam,” Gil suggested “Fungi Mama,” written by the late Blue Mitchell. He quickly gave everyone a chart and, with no actual rehearsal, we recorded a wonderful take of this classic. I loved it! Next, the group just sort of fell into the song “Sugar.” Again, nice solos from everyone. After “Sugar,” someone (I don’t remember who) suggested Thad Jones’ “A Child Is Born.” By simply following a chart, and again with no actual rehearsal, we quickly recorded a single take of this tune.

Sometimes when you assemble such a great group of musicians, the material just flows from them and rehearsals don’t really seem to happen at all. Such was the case for the next two songs…both popular songs they all most likely have played hundreds of times before. First it was “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.” That was immediately followed by the Miles Davis staple, “All Blues.” As expected, both these tracks included some wonderful, mind-blowing solos from Nathan, Matt and Gil.

One of the many things I love about Gil Parris participating in these sessions is that he always comes prepared. Often he will call some unexpected tune out of left field to play…something that actually surprises most of the other musicians. He did it again at this session. To close things out, Gil suggested an old song by the group War, called “The World Is A Ghetto.” What a wonderful call, indeed. Not something you hear every day. After a short rehearsal, we recorded a single take of the tune.

This was another session that I truly loved. It was such a treat to finally be able to bring Nathan in for a session. The musicianship from everyone was extremely high from start to finish that day…and the choice of material was truly inspiring.

– Tom Emmi / Producer