person ’ s gift over the others ,” or any number of phrases meant to downplay the concept of greatness . I realize that by mentioning personal greatness , I might be getting scorn from some in the church , and from others , an “ amen !” But , don ’ t we all want to be great at what we do ? Isn ’ t that why we scour through Worship Musician magazine and other publications for a little tip that will help make us just a little bit better ? Isn ’ t that why we watch hours of YouTube videos about our chosen discipline ? Isn ’ t that why we go to college or seminars or music lessons or read books or …?
It takes time , passion , hard work , diligence , relentless pursuit , and a stiff dose of God-given ability to be great at anything . We saw all of these aspects of greatness in the life of Bruce Swedien and still in the life of Quincy Jones . In the interviews I did for Q on Producing , Quincy said that he always went to a recording session with every note written and planned , just the way he envisioned the final product . However , and this is so impressive , he stressed that he always left room for God to walk through the studio ! That ’ s the way Quincy and Bruce worked on every project and they were both open to the impact of spiritual influence on the music they created . They knew that one tiny nudge from God could take the production to new and unimagined heights . Could we put Bruce or Quincy into any traditional or nontraditional church classification ? That ’ s certainly not my call , but I can attest from seeing them both work in the studio in person that they both opened themselves to spiritual aspects of the music they create .
moving in the Spirit . I ’ ve been able to play at that level at points of my life and I know that the creative release of a great musician is just like the release of a new language of praise . I believe that Bruce and Quincy operated in that same free and uninhibited flow of creativity in their work together and that they gave way to outside input in the music they created . That ’ s a fundamental component of true greatness .
IMAGINATION Bruce was one of the first engineers to start working from his imagination to create sounds . Prior to the mid- ’ 60s , recording was about faithfully archiving acoustical events . But , around 1965 , Bruce started to work outside the lines . On a big band recording , he had the trombone soloist stand away from the band during the solo . He had imagined what that setup would sound like and decided to capture the music according to his imagination instead of according to the traditionally accepted reality . It worked ! Everyone loved the sound and the rest is history . In our modern era , there aren ’ t many things that are tethered to naturally occurring sounds . If we open up our mind and soul to imagine the sounds and music we ’ re creating before we start twiddling with knobs , I ’ m pretty sure the quality of our work will take a giant leap forward .
POSITIVE ATTITUDE Both Bruce and Quincy are extremely well-loved by the artists with whom they work . Everything in their sessions is positive . Bruce is constantly saying , “ It ’ s about the music !” Both he and Quincy are known for saying that , “ No one ever went home humming the console .” The power in a Bruce Swedien session rests in his positive attitude toward the artists , producers , assistants , or anyone at the session . He and Quincy both create an environment of love
Bruce would always say that he worked to make the sounds on his recordings so good that they gave him goosebumps . In other words , he worked on the sounds until they had an eerie supernatural feel — isn ’ t that the kind of thing that gives you goosebumps ? When I see a truly great soloist — someone who is so proficient and in control of an instrument that they just seem to open up their soul and pour out musical greatness — I ’ m blown away by how similar that flow of heart and soul is like
Bruce was a dog lover and he had several Great Danes . He would say often , “ Boy , I wish I could hear through his ears .”