So what instruments do you play?
Piano, sort of... everybody has to play piano in order to study ear training, theory, and composition studies. And then I play drums as another instrument.
I heard that you are a very, very good drummer...
You did! From whom?
Yeah, everybody from Frank London (Klezmatics) to...
They never heard me play really... [blushing!]
Well, they told me all about it! James Blood Ulmer (Odyssey Band) said so too. Who did you study with?
Well, his name is Jerry Granelli and he's from San Francisco, and he teaches a jazz faculty in Berlin. The school, in the beginning, was very classical oriented, which is where I started. It was very much about stereo techniques and the whole classical scene is a little more into the sounds that you get from a good room. As the jazz faculty developed and got stronger I was more into jazz. I just wanted to get into the studio and try out stuff recording. One day there was a big CD project workshop that was between the jazz faculty and the engineering faculty, and producer Lee Townsend was invited for that. That was a big kick, a huge inspiration and motivation for me to get into jazz.
What were some of the things that drew you in?
Well, first of all it's the music. The improvisation part, the creativity, and personal expression of the musicians; this whole process has always fascinated me. It's something more lively, less about reproducing and more about creating something new. Working with Lee Townsend and having him as the person in between the technical part and the musician was really exciting, because he knew both sides and he knew how to help communicate. For the engineers, to learn how to communi- cate with the musicians-and for the musicians, how to communicate more about the technical side. The whole process of multitrack recording is much more interesting to me than the stereo recording in classical, jazz and rock music. I mean now, even classical projects get more into multitrack recordings as well, but more of like a backup if they need to. But the process of mixing is really fun- it's where the creativity is, where the input is, and it's where the relationship between the musician and the engineer becomes really important. The musician wants to work with someone they can trust who is not just doing something. This is where Lee Townsend again was a huge influence...
Fill us all in on who Lee Townsend is...
Oh, he produces Bill Frisell, and he has done several John Scofield records. He also does a bunch of singer-songwriter stuff too. He also knows Jerry Granelli and David Freedman, who are great American jazz guys. What was really thrilling was learning about the process of recording, mixing and then putting the whole project together... it's really deep. It's not just putting the mic up and then you have a recording that you put out! It's really sitting down with a musician and trying to understand what they want, what their tone is, what they are going for and then helping them to create that. That's a pretty big part of the whole thing and that's what makes it really exciting and really fun. To be that close, to have that much input, ideas and creativity for the whole process.
I have to ask... Do you think that there are more or less female producers and engineers in Germany than here?
