The
affable Klein is enjoying the best
reviews of his career for his production
on the masterful sophmore record
of singer/songwriter Madeleine
Peyroux's Careless Love "(This
album) is a stunner…" raves
the Wall Street Journal and it
was named to Newsweek's Top 10
Best Albums of 2004. What's even
more incredible is the noted producer
is receiving the accolades in the
same workman-like quietude with
which he began his career more
than three decades ago.
From his earliest session and
touring work with jazz greats such
as Freddie Hubbard, Willie Bobo,
Carmen McRae and others, (including
a year-long sentence as in-house
bassist on the Merv Griffin show)
to room-stopping collaborations
with rock culture icons such as
Don Henley (Building The Perfect
Beast), Bob Dylan (Down In The
Groove), Joni Mitchell (Grammy
winning Turbulent Indigo, among
others) Tracy Chapman (Fast Car),
Peter Gabriel (So), Warren Zevon
(My Ride Is Here, among others),
to touchstone soundtrack offerings
like Raging Bull and the Allison
Anders film Grace Of My Heart,
to acclaimed producing/songwriting
forays with female trailblazers
such as Shawn Colvin, Julia Fordham
and the above-mentioned Peyroux,
the prolific Klein has consistently
proffered only one mantra: 'It's
about the work, stupid.'
Klein grew up in California, and
it was an after-school musical
program at U.S.C. that enabled
him to hone his playing and compositional
skills with university professors
while still in high school. "I
had been playing the guitar since
I was 7, but I soon grew to love
the bass. When I was in my teens
I had a teacher who would sneak
me into the old Playboy club in
L.A. where I could see greats like
Bill Evans. It was just mind-boggling.
I mean I was 16 years old and here
were all my icons playing right
in front of me every night."
He began sitting in with various
Jazz and Latin groups while still
a college student at Cal State
L.A, early breaks that led to nearly
five years of touring with Hall
of Fame caliber groundbreakers
like Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter
and Joe Henderson, among others.
But Klein also knew he had other
worlds to conquer. It was that
kind of vision that would later
cause the legendary Stanley Clarke
to cite Klein in an interview as
one of the most admired musicians,
calling him one of the handful
of great bass players who have
'moved beyond the bass.' Klein
traces such evolution to his early
desire to broaden his horizons
and kick the monotony of constant
touring.
"I had an omninivorous appetite
for music and despite all these
great experiences with the masters
that I was working with, I was
also looking to break out of narrowness
of the jazz mold after a while," he
says. Talk about your six degrees
of separation, Klein appeared on
a head-turning assortment of records
in the mid-70's and early 80's,
displaying a tremendous range as
he worked with everyone from Dianne
Reeves to Bobby McFerrin, from
Robbie Robertson to Neil Diamond.
As Klein recalls, it was the 'Robbie
Robertson tributary' that led to
his acclaimed work with the up-and-
coming tier of groundbreaking rock
musicians, with Klein appearing
on Robertson's first solo project,
1987's Robbie Robertson. He also
collaborated with the legendary
songwriter/guitarist, along with
his equally brilliant cohorts from
The Band, Garth Hudson and Richard
Manuel, on the soundtrack of the
historic Martin Scorsese masterpiece,
Raging Bull, which kicked off Klein's
growing interest in the production
side of making albums.
But it would be Klein's celebrated
collaboration in and out of the
studio with revered singer/songwriter
Joni Mitchell that critics viewed
as the nexus of his career. The
two fell into couple hood during
the making of 1982's Wild Things
Run Fast, becoming husband and
wife the same year, inaugurating
a notorious working/romantic relationship
the would endure for more than
a decade, and include such monumental
albums as their first joint production,
1985's Dog Eat Dog, and their Grammy
winning swan song, 1994's Turbulent
Indigo, a programmatic suite of
songs describing the dissolution
of their marriage.
It was during the mid-80's that
Klein's rep also gelled as a genre-defying
musical marksman, with some of
rock's biggest names seeking his
bass and his ear, with Klein putting
his magical touch to some of the
seminal albums of the decade: Don
Henley's Building the Perfect Beast
(1984) featuring his work on the
classic single "Boys of Summer",
Peter Gabriel's So (1986), Tracy
Chapman's self-titled debut album
with the smash hit "Fast Car" (1988),
and many others.
In 1985, Klein knocked off his
first solo production credit with
Cars bassist Benjamin Orr's The
Lace. In 1988, Joni Mitchell released
the Klein produced Chalk Mark In
A Rainstorm, and critics began
recognizing the bassist as multi-talented
musician whose true calling might
be behind the knobs.
Next, a fruitful session with
hallowed producer John Robert "Mutt" Lange
during work on Bryan Adams' 1991
release Waking Up The Neighbors,
became a transformational production
encounter for Klein. "I just
have tremendous respect for Mutt
as a producer; he is incredible
at making the complex sound simple,
I learned so much from being in
that studio." He also fondly
recalls his sessions with Peter
Gabriel as memorable in both a
learning sense and capturing the
essence of a song. He also points
to the ten years of sessions with
Joni Mitchell as possibly the best
production school one could ever
attend. "She always stressed
the importance of having the right
climate and feel to a session.
She taught me to always be cognizant
of the emotional sub-text in the
room, not to just think about solving
problems. I think that the array
of great musicians, songwriters
and artists that I've worked with
has provided more of a learning
curve than sitting down and studying
any particular technique."
Klein's numerous collaborations
as a songwriter have also buoyed
his reputation as an inquisitive
and reliable songsmith, writing
with and for great talents like
Bonnie Raiit - "The Fundamental
Things," and Warren Zevon
- "Genius." Klein also
collaborated with Zevon on much
of his universally acclaimed later
work.
It was partly on the strength
of Klein's songwriting instincts
that a new slew of debut female
singer/songwriters began to seek
out his production skills for their
own albums. Critically acclaimed
female artists such as Mary Black
(Shine 1997,) and Shawn Colvin
(Fat City 1994) and more recently
Julia Fordham (Concrete Love 2002
and That's Life 2004) and most
recently, Peyroux, have all tapped
into his collaborative wisdom.
In 2004 Klein produced actress/singer
Rebecca Pidgeon's recent effort,
Tough On Crime. He also has been
the musical director/producer of
the now famed Don Henley hosted
benefit concerts for the Walden
Woods Foundation. Klein produced
Bjork in a stunning orchestral
version of "Gloomy Sunday" for
the female all-star CD of 20th
century standards.
"Somewhere along the line
I became known as being supportive
of the female singer songwriter," he
laughs. "But all of the women
I've worked with have been so unique
in their own way. Julia has this
beautiful kind of blue-eyed soul
thing, and Shawn is a killer talent.
Madeleine is one of the most genuine
and un-self-conscious artists that
I have ever worked with. The real
deal, no artifice."
Klein has also reunited in the
studio recently with his most formidable
female creative partner, Joni Mitchell,
with the duo releasing Both Sides
Now in 2000 that recontextualized
eight great standards and two pieces
of Mitchell's work for full orchestra.
A subsequent double CD titled,
Travelogue, which hit the streets
in 2004, also traced the familiar
musical and personal territory
of re-setting some of Mitchell's
most sophisticated work.
There is no denying Klein has
unceremoniously arrived as one
of only a handful of session players
to blossom into an acclaimed producer.
As one critic recently wrote of
Klein's work: "It is a textbook
for songwriters and producers alike
on how to make classic sounding
music." With such a rich legacy
of musical genius to draw from,
it isn't surprising that the forward
thinking Klein has a wish list
of artists of his own that he wouldn't
mind producing down the road: Bob
Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Norah Jones,
Willie Nelson, Thom Yorke of Radiohead,
to name a few. Asked to describe
what he is drawn to in an artist,
he replies that he is "drawn
to voices, both as singers and
writers, that don't connote artifice,
ambition or self-consciousness.
To my mind, those are the timeless
diamonds."
"Every record I've produced
has been such an rewarding experience," he
says. "I always try to bring
a new palette to every artist that
I'm working with, and at the end
of the day I'm always amazed at
the sense of fulfillment I walk
away with and by the kind of stretch
we make together."
Current Credits: In the works,
are projects with Grammy award-winning
musician and founding member of
the seminal group Steely Dan, Walter
Becker for his solo record due
out in Spring 08'. Klein is co-writing
and co-producing with Becker. He
is also putting the finishing touches
on music for two phenomenal films.
The first is a biopic of overlooked,
but versatile guitarist Hank Garland.
The independent film portrays the
turbulent life of the man who played
on classic recordings for Patsy
Cline, Kitty Wells, Eddie Arnold,
among others and will feature newly
recorded tracks sung by George
Jones and Shawn Colvin. The second
film, titled "Lucky You" is
set in the world of Las Vegas poker
starring Robert Duvall and Drew
Barrymore and directed by Academy
Award-winner Curtis Hanson. Madeleine
Peyroux will make her screen debut
appropriately as a lounge singer.
Klein is also producing a track
for the forthcoming Joni Mitchell
tribute project on Warner Bros.
Records. He will be working with
Sheryl Crow on the early Joni classic "For
Free."
Klein, having completed many other
projects, including Vienna Teng's "Dreaming
Through The Noise" for Rounder
Records, and Till Bronner's "Oceana",
continues to have an eclectic and
productive year, having finished
Luciana Souza's "The New Bossa
Nova" (released Aug. 21) and
Herbie Hancock's "River: The
Joni Letters" (featuring Norah
Jones, Leonard Cohen, Tina Turner,
Corinne Bailey Rae, Joni Mitchell
and Luciana Souza, as well as jazz
icons Wayne Shorter and Dave Holland)
for Verve Records (released Sept.
25). Klein will start work on a
record with new artist Melody Gardot
in November for Universal Records,
and is working on songs featuring
Rebecca Pidgeon for David Mamet's
new film for Sony Classics titled "Redbelt".
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