of the artist and the music at the same time , doing everything he could toward that goal . I had several of the musicians that worked with Quincy and Bruce regularly say that , if you were on the Titanic , you ’ d want Bruce to be your Captain because he always had everything under control ! In case you ’ re keeping track , there was a whole lot of 1 Corinthians 13 in Bruce Swedien — that ’ s just who he was .
The list of artists Swedien recorded reads like a Who ’ s Who in music : Michael Jackson , Quincy Jones , Paul McCartney , Mick Jagger , George Benson , Roberta Flack , Missing Persons , Siedah Garrett , Oscar Peterson , Woody Herman , Count Basie , Duke Ellington , Stan Kenton , Dizzie Gillespie , Lionel Hampton , Sarah Vaughan , Dinah Washington , Barbra Streisand , The Chi-Lites , Eddie Harris , Chaka Khan , Donna Summer , Buddy Miles , Jackie Wilson , Jennifer Lopez , the Chicago Symphony Orchestra , and so many more ! His movie credits include Night Shift , The Color Purple , The Wiz , and Running Scared .
A big fan of ribbon mics , Bruce Swedien was never afraid to share his opinions and support his friends .
WORKING WITH BRUCE In 2012 I found myself at Bruce Swedien ’ s home studio in Ocala , Florida for yet another several days of interviews and video sessions and hanging out with a legend and his wife and the love of his life , Bea ! Unbelievable ! Through two of the books I ’ d worked on to that point , I was able to probe as deeply as I could into the minds of legends . In 2010 , I spent several sessions at the home of Quincy Jones in Belair writing and developing Quincy ’ s book , Q on Producing . I knew when I was working on Quincy ’ s book , that there simply had to be a Bruce Swedien book . It was clear that Bruce and Quincy complement each other perfectly and that to tell the story of one without the other would be insufficient . And , after a few visits to Bruce ’ s home in Ocala and a lot of follow-up , we released The Bruce Swedien Recording Method .
A TINY BIT OF HISTORY In the ’ 70s and ’ 80s — and much of the ’ 90s — Quincy Jones and Bruce Swedien were the
Quincy Jones , Rod Temperton , and Bruce Swedien outside Allen Zentz Recording for a Michael Jackson recording session .
chosen ones . Both being incredible examples of preparation meeting opportunity , they created some of the best music ever . However , they ’ d both been doing that for a long time in a wide range of genres .
These two different men were joined at the hip for decades . Along with songwriter , Rod Temperton , they created music that ’ s still used as a musical and sonic reference by top engineers and producers around the globe .
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE GREAT ? In the church , when the discussion leads to being great or the best — or even the quality of one ’ s ministry offering — the conversation can quickly take a turn to , “ It ’ s all about the heart ,” or “ We shouldn ’ t put too much focus on one