I am now enjoying my eleventh year mixing FOH sound for James Taylor and his Legendary Band. I have come to believe the word “Legendary” doesn’t begin to describe the musical talent present on the stage each night. Throughout his career, James has always assembled an astounding group of musician’s musicians who each contribute their wondrous virtuosity to the performance.
I may be a bit biased, but I honestly believe that the current assemblage of players and singers represents the zenith of these storied aggregations.
The men in the current band — Jimmy Johnson, Steve Gadd, Mike Landau, Larry Goldings, Arnold McCuller, Luis Conte, Lou Marini and Walt Fowler — are joined on the stage by two remarkably talented women. Kate Markowitz and Andrea Zonn combine with Arnold McCuller to create harmonies, accents and colors that enrich and enhance every song arrangement that involves their stellar singing. Kate and Andrea have exceptionally beautiful voices, and each woman has recorded her own solo project. Kate Markowitz’ masterfully performed CD, Map Of The World, was released by Compass Records in 2003.
Also on Compass Records and released in 2003, Andrea Zonn’s first effort on her own is a CD entitled Love Goes On. This album of songs clearly announced Andrea’s arrival as a formidable solo artist. My favorite track from Love Goes On is called “Galilee Road,” a hauntingly beautiful song written about the 1992 riots in my hometown of Los Angeles. Sung with some help from Amy Grant, the composition anecdotally recalls the passion and sadness of that turbulent event. Andrea’s clear and evocative voice carries a message of hope that rises from the ashes of those terrible days of conflict.
Coincidentally, Andrea’s soon-to-be-released CD for Compass Records is titled Rise. Her newest work is a compilation of 10 brilliant compositions that Andrea either wrote herself or co-wrote in collaboration with several standout Nashville songwriters. The carefully ordered progression of the tracks plays like a story that recounts her recent journeys as a woman, an artist and a mother. The album provides an intimate and accessible view into the heart, mind and spirit of an exceptional and much-beloved Nashville musician. The list of artists appearing with her on Rise is testimony to the great esteem in which Andrea Zonn is held in Music City.
Vocally supporting Andrea on several tracks are James Taylor, Vince Gill, Keb’ Mo’, Trace Adkins, Mac McAnally and Sam Bush. Steve Gadd on drums and Willie Weeks on bass anchor the rhythm section. Jerry Douglas can be heard weaving his dobro magic through two of the tracks. Michael Landau adds his incomparable tone and style on electric guitar on two other songs. The resulting musical collaboration transcends categorization. Influences pulled from country, folk, Americana, Celtic, rock and blues create a musical tapestry that belongs only to Andrea. Her distinctive, uplifting voice, her poignant, intensely personal lyrics and her lush, flowing melodies are defining elements that bind all the parts together.
It was a fantastic privilege to receive an advance copy of Rise from Andrea — the official release date is September 25, 2015. Having spent so much time on the road with her over the past 11 years, I felt an immediate connection to the musical content and the messages in the lyrics of each song. As soon as I had finished listening to Rise from beginning to end, I added the song “You Make Me Whole” to the walk-in music we play at James Taylor shows. I loved the slow, soulful groove, the beautifully crafted lyrics and the vocal interplay between Andrea and James that makes the song so memorable.
Andrea soon told me that she would be appearing on Music City Roots in Nashville in late August after we completed the summer leg of the James Taylor tour. When she informed me that most of the players and singers on the Rise CD would participate at the show, I told Andrea I absolutely wanted to be included. We are a very supportive family on the JT tour, and I happily volunteered to participate with no expectation of payment. A hometown appearance with the level of talent Andrea had invited to share the stage required an audio presentation that would maximize the impact of the show. I believed that my long experience with Andrea made me the right person for the job.
I definitely wanted to be there for this premier Andrea Zonn show, and I was excited about mixing a band featuring a Who’s Who of the Nashville musical community: Thomm Jutz on acoustic guitar; Jim Oblon on electric guitar; Jon Coleman on keyboards/organ; Billy Thomas on drums; Eric Darken on percussion; and vocalist Drea Rhenee would accompany Andrea and her special guests: Vince Gill; Trace Adkins; Mac McAnally; Keb’ Mo’; and Alison Brown. I did not want to miss this event, and, happily, Andrea accepted my offer of assistance.
Pre-Show Countdown
When I initially contacted the production team at Music City Roots in early August, I discovered a few challenges that we needed to overcome. The in-house audio gear was unable to handle the large group of musicians who would be appearing with Andrea. They lacked available inputs, wedge monitor mixes, in-ear mixes and quality microphones. I also wanted the capability of pre-programming the consoles to maximize available time on the rehearsal day preceding the show. The in-house consoles are Yamaha M7s. Neither the monitor engineer nor I had any saved files for use on that particular board, and we would be starting from scratch on an unfamiliar surface. On the positive side, I found out the sound contractor at The Factory— where the Music City Roots shows are held — is Sound Image Nashville.
As luck would have it, our production had been in contact with Sound Image Nashville’s Mike Adams regarding the final show on this summer’s James Taylor tour. James and Bonnie Raitt were doing a show at Fenway Park on August 6. Immediately following our show, the Zac Brown Band would appear at the same venue. We weren’t carrying enough P.A. for a stadium show, so early on, it was decided the sound system would be a shared effort between Sound Image (Zac Brown Band) and Clair Global (James Taylor). Sound Image would provide the two side hangs, all delays, subs and frontfills with our Clair i–3s as the two main system hangs.
During my conversations with Mike about the Sound Image gear being deployed at Fenway, I brought up the issues we were encountering at the Music City Roots show. I asked him if it was possible to bring in a pair of Avid VENUE consoles for FOH and monitors so we could quickly build a strong show by using years of saved data. The response I received exceeded my wildest hopes, and the generosity shown by Sound Image was overwhelming.
Mike said he had a show with Ronnie Dunn in Nashville the night before our rehearsal day at The Factory. All the gear we needed to make the Andrea Zonn show work in the best way possible was on that truck — VENUE consoles, additional in-ear mixes, additional wedge mixes and a separate splitter system. When I said that I didn’t know if there was a budget for this extensive system augmentation, Mike told me that Sound Image Nashville would provide this gear as a professional courtesy to Andrea and the stellar Nashville musicians appearing at the event. To say I was blown away is a severe understatement. Andrea was also extremely moved by this act of incredible magnanimity.
Having resolved the equipment needs, all that was necessary to complete the system was me toting a bag full of additional mics from Los Angeles. I could pre-program a VENUE Profile console from home using the James Taylor show as a template and employing channel and plug-in presets I had accumulated from eight years of mixing on Avid consoles. We had a three-hour time window for load-in at The Factory, and having the consoles ready to go after loading our show files would make this doable.
We rehearsed late into the evening on August 25. With every arrangement molded into a finished product, it became more and more apparent that the show on the following day was going to be very special. That promise was fulfilled the next night when Andrea Zonn took the stage. The performance was nearly flawless. Performing the album in sequence was a stroke of brilliance. With each song performed, Andrea, the band and the special guest stars raised the bar higher and higher. By the time Andrea and Trace Adkins concluded the performance with the brilliant and moving song “Ships,” the entire room had been lifted to a higher and more beautiful place. I couldn’t think of any setting in which I would rather be at that particular moment. It was a perfect night of music and love.
It only remains to once again give special recognition to Sound Image Nashville. The show could not have achieved its level of success without the priceless contributions from my old friends Mike Adams and Everett Lybolt at the office, as well as systems engineer Seth Noseworthy and monitor tech Christopher Pence at The Factory. Stage manager Karelie Hennigan for Music City Roots also requires a special shout-out for her tireless efforts. Heartfelt thanks go out to all. We couldn’t have done it without you!
Safe travels!
