the rix mix

To get any sense of Arif Mardin's extraordinary career as a music producer & arranger one has to look at his current All Music Guide discography of recordings that have made it to the CD era. He starts off with now-classic jazz sessions by David "Fathead" Newman, Sonny Stitt & Mose Allison, gets a #1 hit with "Good Lovin'" by The Young Rascals, produces Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin ("Aretha Arrives") & "Dusty In Memphis," moves on to Brook Benton ("A Rainy Night in Georgia"), John Prine, Willie Nelson ("Shotgun Willie"), Donny Hathaway, Rod Stewart, & The Bee Gees ("Jive Talkin'"). There's seven pages, much of it compilations & anthologies, extending all the way to new recordings with Norah Jones & Dianne Reeves over the past few years.

Labels: music, obituary