Fat Horn Sound

Here's the deal....
Went into the studio today for the second time with the horn section. Came out with a great sound, actually better than I had ever hoped for.  I have been working on this deal for over 19 months.  Why is it worth waiting for?  Because most people "settle".  And I ain't settling anymore.  Sometime you have to put time aside and go for the whole deal.
Both of these guys, the sax player and the trumpet player, are excellent musicians.  And I mean EXCELLENT.  So good in fact that they started trying to outdo each other.  From cut 1 on it was a challenge.  But, even though every minute is costing me money, I let them go.  I do not step in and tell them how to do what they do. Oh we have charts, but the charts are not what I want anyway.  I let them play through the charts the first session, costing me over $500.00, and let them go wild on the leads.  Each time the sax player wants the jazzy trumpet player to know he has some chops and the trumpet player plays as if saying "you can not keep up with me."  It is hard but I let them go.  When the first session is over I book more time and confirm with everyone and go home counting losses.  Now at this point you can either blow up and get some mad horn players willing to destruct your project or you can just keep you mouth shut and wait tell next time and soothe it over.

So what I did was wait until the next session, mainly because a good part of the "fill" parts were great.  But I had no use for the leads, mostly. And really some of the "fill" parts were too busy.  Most good musicians will eventually recognize it is not what you play but what you do not play that matters.  Probably the hardest lesson for most to learn.  So I approach them at the second session and tell them they are great and I am so proud to be playing with both of them in the studio and how this is such and important project for me.  I mean I have been doing this for over 40 years and this is the best stuff I have ever written and how I have come full circle to a simple, full sound and how glad I am that I do not have to try and impress anyone anymore and boy you guys, well you guys have a lot going on. Finally they get the picture.  This ain't about them.  They take a more professional attitude and the sax player, who is really a mellow dude, accepts the fact that his work on arranging the charts is just a guideline and we are about to throw out the whole mess.

They start asking me what I want. I start telling them.  They start working it out between them and come up with some suggestions that are beyond my musical expertise and Voila!  With everyone on the same page we knock out some arrangements that are as good as any I have ever heard, and I have been around a long time. Lesson...let em play first, then reign em in.  You have to have ego to play professional.  You also have to have an ear that is larger.