Episode #21

This session featured another interesting and diverse group of musicians. First, there was guitarist Carlos Alomar…perhaps best known for his outstanding work with David Bowie (Station to Station: Fame, Wild Is The Wind, TVC15, etc.). Next, we invited South African-born bassist Bakithi Kumalo (Paul Simon, Josh Groban) to join us. Joining them were Keith Carlock on drums (Steely Dan, John Mayer, Sting), Jason Miles on keyboards (Miles Davis, Luther Vandross, Marcus Miller, David Sanborn, and so many others), Jaared on saxophones and Emedin Rivera on percussion. Collectively, it was a truly wonderful blend of A-list musicians. Many of them were working together for the very first time.

The session was taped at Star City Recording Studios in Bethlehem, PA…a wonderful facility tucked away in rural America, located about an hour and a half north of Philadelphia. Interestingly, my biggest challenge that day had nothing to do with the session or the music. It had to do with coordinating all of the transportation. The musicians were coming in from all different directions. We had to arrange for a car to transport Carlos to and from NYC, as he does not drive. We had to do the same for Jason and Keith, as they were coming in from Reading, PA, about an hour away due west. Bakithi came down from Long Island, Jaared from the Baltimore, MD area, and Emedin from North Jersey. My crew and I were coming in from Philadelphia, due south. Plus, everyone was on their own individual tight timeline – with various gigs and the like scheduled for later that day and evening. I felt one part travel agent, one part air-traffic controller! But as challenging as it all was, it was definately worth the effort…as the music came together quite easily. Everyone seemed to enjoy it.

One of the things that made this particular session so memorable was, rather than work through actual songs – as is the case in most Studio Jams episodes – they opted to instead simply jam on a few different grooves. The vibe that day was very fresh and spontaneous…something that is unfortunately so sorely lacking in much of the music being produced these days.

– Tom Emmi / Producer