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Arif Mardin R.I.P. from Billboard:
http://www.billboard.com/...1002728021 June 26, 2006, 12:30 PM ET Ken Schlager, N.Y. Arif Mardin, the legendary producer/arranger whose career spanned landmark recordings from Aretha Franklin to the Bee Gees to Norah Jones, died yesterday (June 25) in New York. Mardin was 74 and had been suffering from pancreatic cancer for about a year. Born in 1932 into a prominent family in Istanbul, Mardin attended the London School of Economics, but it was a lucky meeting in 1956 in Turkey with Dizzy Gillespie and Quincy Jones that lead to his decision to attend the Berklee School of Music in Boston. He graduated from Berklee in 1961 and Nesuhi Ertegun, a fellow Turk whom he met at the Newport Jazz Festival, brought him to Atlantic Records two years later. At Atlantic, Mardin took his lessons about engineering and producing from a team of in-house giants that included Ahmet Ertegun, Jerry Wexler and Tom Dowd. Mardin originally wanted to be a big-band arranger, but he caught the pop bug in 1965, while co-producing the Rascals with Dowd. In the coming decades, he produced hits for a remarkable array of Atlantic artists, including Franklin, Average White Band, Phil Collins, Hall & Oates, Roberta Flack, Brook Benton and Dusty Springfield. In the mid-'70s, Mardin helped the Bee Gees redefine their sound and revive their career with the album "Main Course," which included the No. 1 hit "Jive Talkin'." Mardin showed great diversity, with successes ranging from Bette Midler's sweeping ballads "From a Distance" and "Wind Beneath My Wings" to Chaka Khan's funky "I Feel For You." He also produced memorable folk albums for John Prine, jazz albums for Eddie Harris, Herbie Mann and Charles Lloyd and country sets for Willie Nelson. Mardin remained at Atlantic until 2001, rising to senior VP. Shortly after retiring from the label, he re-emerged as co-VP/GM of EMI's revived Manhattan label under Blue Note chief Bruce Lundvall. It was at EMI that Mardin put the final crescendo on his career, co-producing Norah Jones' breakthrough Blue Note album "Come Away With Me." "Come Away With Me" won Grammys for album of the year and record of the year in 2003 and earned Mardin producer of the year honors. He also produced Jones' "Feels Like Home," which sold 1.02 million units in its debut week in February 2004. According to his official biography, Mardin collected close to 60 gold or platinum albums and won 12 Grammy Awards. In 1990, he was inducted into the Recording Academy's Hall of Fame. No announcement has yet been made about funeral arrangements. | |
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Wow! That's terrible.  One of the all-time greatest producers. What a legacy... | |
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R.I.P. | |
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If not THE BEST PRODUCER in the 20th Century!!!!! R.I.P.!!!!! | |
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All the great "music men" of the industry are leaving us (which explains a great deal).
tA  Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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Rest in peace, my fellow Turk.
I liked the 80´s stuff he did with Chaka Khan. " I´d rather be a stank ass hoe because I´m not stupid. Oh my goodness! I got more drugs! I´m always funny dude...I´m hilarious! Are we gonna smoke?" | |
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A true genius. | |
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All these people are dying. This is scaring the shit out of me. All you others say Hell Yea!!  | |
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wow...so sad.
 Space for sale... | |
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sosgemini said: wow...so sad.
Sadder still is the fact that a topic about grills has 5 times as many posts as does the topic about the death of one of the most influential men in popular music. | |
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RIP. A great great loss. There are three sides to every story. My side, your side, and the truth. And no one is lying. Memories shared serve each one differently | |
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RipHer2Shreds said: Sadder still is the fact that a topic about grills has 5 times as many posts as does the topic about the death of one of the most influential men in popular music.
 And this surprises you?
Wake up and smell the teenybop. 
tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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Arif Mardin: Tales from the Recording Studio (12/19/05)
http://www.npr.org/templa...Id=5061890 tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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Trickology said: from Billboard:
http://www.billboard.com/...1002728021 June 26, 2006, 12:30 PM ET Ken Schlager, N.Y. Arif Mardin, the legendary producer/arranger whose career spanned landmark recordings from Aretha Franklin to the Bee Gees to Norah Jones, died yesterday (June 25) in New York. Mardin was 74 and had been suffering from pancreatic cancer for about a year. Born in 1932 into a prominent family in Istanbul, Mardin attended the London School of Economics, but it was a lucky meeting in 1956 in Turkey with Dizzy Gillespie and Quincy Jones that lead to his decision to attend the Berklee School of Music in Boston. He graduated from Berklee in 1961 and Nesuhi Ertegun, a fellow Turk whom he met at the Newport Jazz Festival, brought him to Atlantic Records two years later. At Atlantic, Mardin took his lessons about engineering and producing from a team of in-house giants that included Ahmet Ertegun, Jerry Wexler and Tom Dowd. Mardin originally wanted to be a big-band arranger, but he caught the pop bug in 1965, while co-producing the Rascals with Dowd. In the coming decades, he produced hits for a remarkable array of Atlantic artists, including Franklin, Average White Band, Phil Collins, Hall & Oates, Roberta Flack, Brook Benton and Dusty Springfield. In the mid-'70s, Mardin helped the Bee Gees redefine their sound and revive their career with the album "Main Course," which included the No. 1 hit "Jive Talkin'." Mardin showed great diversity, with successes ranging from Bette Midler's sweeping ballads "From a Distance" and "Wind Beneath My Wings" to Chaka Khan's funky "I Feel For You." He also produced memorable folk albums for John Prine, jazz albums for Eddie Harris, Herbie Mann and Charles Lloyd and country sets for Willie Nelson. Mardin remained at Atlantic until 2001, rising to senior VP. Shortly after retiring from the label, he re-emerged as co-VP/GM of EMI's revived Manhattan label under Blue Note chief Bruce Lundvall. It was at EMI that Mardin put the final crescendo on his career, co-producing Norah Jones' breakthrough Blue Note album "Come Away With Me." "Come Away With Me" won Grammys for album of the year and record of the year in 2003 and earned Mardin producer of the year honors. He also produced Jones' "Feels Like Home," which sold 1.02 million units in its debut week in February 2004. According to his official biography, Mardin collected close to 60 gold or platinum albums and won 12 Grammy Awards. In 1990, he was inducted into the Recording Academy's Hall of Fame. No announcement has yet been made about funeral arrangements. I have read posts/comments about the poor producers in the music industry at present, and what is important to note is Mardin's background as compared to the background of today's producers. Arif Mardin had formal education, and was blessed with not only a business mind, but also musical skill and talent ~ He knew music ~ He knew business. That is the combination we are missing today. Today's producers became 'producers' by using their money....IMHO they are essentially 'financial backers', not producers. And, by appearance, those same 'producers' choose who to support/promote by association, not by talent. The loss of Arif Mardin is a tremendous loss to the music industry, and the effects will be felt for many years to come.   "Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive."
Dalai Lama | |
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One of my favorite producers of all time....
Rest In peace, Arif, you're leaving a great legacy..... .... " I've got six things on my mind --you're no longer one of them." - Paddy McAloon, Prefab Sprout | |
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shit we lost Mardin,Dowd,Wexler right there you have the trinity of the sound of Atlantic. | |
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Finess said: shit we lost Mardin,Dowd,Wexler right there you have the trinity of the sound of Atlantic.
Another... 
...connection. 
tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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cubic61052 said: I have read posts/comments about the poor producers in the music industry at present, and what is important to note is Mardin's background as compared to the background of today's producers. Arif Mardin had formal education, and was blessed with not only a business mind, but also musical skill and talent ~ He knew music ~ He knew business. That is the combination we are missing today. Today's producers became 'producers' by using their money....IMHO they are essentially 'financial backers', not producers. And, by appearance, those same 'producers' choose who to support/promote by association, not by talent. The loss of Arif Mardin is a tremendous loss to the music industry, and the effects will be felt for many years to come. Times have certainly changed. Now you know I know this 1st hand. Because of the inexpensive technology, all it takes today is a pulse and a few hundred bucks for the minimum amount of equipment, not only can one claim the title of producer (small p) but also Record/CD Company Executive. tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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theAudience said: cubic61052 said: I have read posts/comments about the poor producers in the music industry at present, and what is important to note is Mardin's background as compared to the background of today's producers. Arif Mardin had formal education, and was blessed with not only a business mind, but also musical skill and talent ~ He knew music ~ He knew business. That is the combination we are missing today. Today's producers became 'producers' by using their money....IMHO they are essentially 'financial backers', not producers. And, by appearance, those same 'producers' choose who to support/promote by association, not by talent. The loss of Arif Mardin is a tremendous loss to the music industry, and the effects will be felt for many years to come. Times have certainly changed. Now you know I know this 1st hand. Because of the inexpensive technology, all it takes today is a pulse and a few hundred bucks for the minimum amount of equipment, not only can one claim the title of producer (small p) but also Record/CD Company Executive. tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 Oui....$100 bucks for the equipment, another $500 to have the CD pressed and...voila....you have a CD on minimal dollars. And hopefully a storage room large enough to keep them in when you cannot sell them...like a classical music CD, perchance? 
Today's producers have the bucks to promote and market.....but they do not have the savvy, talent and business sense of an Arif Mardin. "Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive."
Dalai Lama | |
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