Simon, Art Garfunkel and many other
artists over the last 13 years.
“It was a thrill to work with someone
that was such a perfectionist,” said
Webb, about producer Richard Perry.
When Doug would go into the studio,
Richard would tell him what he wanted.
“I’d ask him not to cut-up my solos and
so I would play solos and work on it with
him, sometimes for hours,” Webb
explained.
Perry would then send the recordings off
to Clive Davis who would come back
with constructive criticisms like, “He’s
not playing the melody.” So, they’d go
back into the studio and Perry would
relay their discussion. “I would play
mostly the melody and do a little thing
on the end,” says the dedicated
woodwind artist, who prefers choosing
his own notes.
“I didn’t want him to cut up my solos
and they didn’t,” said Doug, who noted
the benefit was that “I started quoting
the melody a lot more,” which led to
doing gigs with a lot of singers. “I really
enjoyed working with Richard—I think
working for him made me better,” said
Webb.
Newest Posi-Tone release
Just released, is Doug Webb’s 6th album
for the Posit-Tone label, Triple Play.
Produced by Marc Free and recorded in
New York City, Webb is joined by East
Coast tenor saxophone men Walt
Weiskopt and Joel Frahm, along with
Brian Charette on organ and Rudy
Royston on drums.
Webb says that he enjoys working with
Marc Free because he’s more about the
art and creating something. “I started
writing a lot more because Posi-Tone
wanted me to write originals—I really
feel good about some of the things I’ve
written,” says Webb, who credits Marc
Free for getting new things out of the
artists he signs. “He’s adamant that I
write original songs,” Webb added.
Still untitled, Webb has another quartet
record which he recorded while in New
York, the day before Triple Play. Doug
hopes it will be released this year and
says “I feel really good about that record,”
noting that he’d written all the music for
that project.
Emotions you can’t get with words
Scheduled for release the first Tuesday
after Halloween, is “I’ll be Home for
Christmas,” a Holiday Season album
which Webb put together with piano
player and arranger Cory Allen for
Rhombus Records.