[vienna]

The local news outlets have been all over the story today. Something that has been happening, and that is rather unique, is the surprising number of studio musicians, engineers, and producers who have made public statements about Prince, all of them describing his generosity toward the musicians and staff at recording sessions and his very great sense of humor. It is surprising, not only in the quantity of the comments, but in how rare here in Los Angeles, arguably the recording mecca of the world, it is for studio personnel to actively comment at all on the passing of a major recording star. There is an almost unspoken code of silence regarding what goes on in the studios. Prince was known to require an NDA from those who worked with or for him, hence very little was ever heard of the behind-the-scenes activities in his sessions. Now those who worked closely with him are saying, to a person, he was nothing less than a consummate professional and gracious presence in the studio. One musician, a well-known and respected bass player who had worked sessions over many years for some of the very biggest names told of how, when he met Prince, the first questions Prince asked were about how it was like to work with all those famous names, particularly Barbara Streisand. There was none of the sort of "me, me, me" you so often find in lesser talents. It says a lot about someone when those who have worked with a person hold not only his talent in high regard, but also his ability to make a human connection with others he worked with...

There used to be a rather famous recording studio studio here in Hollywood, about three blocks from my home. The studio is now gone, torn down to make room for a strip mall. Prince loved the studio and would very often book out an entire day or several days to record. When the studio closed, the owners were interviewed and, when asked about Prince, the told of how he would stay in the studio, all by himself, and play all the instruments and sing all the vocals. The studio provided an engineer, usually the owner or his wife, but Prince also did all the engineering work and the mixing, so all they really had to do was keep the tape rolling and provide Prince with anything he might need for his work. They also said he was very polite and always thanked the owners for their assistance; he was a model client...

Something else a lot of the general public does not know is the extent of his generosity towards various causes and people. A radio DJ here in LA told of the time when a legendary, pioneering, and very loved station was sold and the new owners decided to go from a rock format to a "slow jazz" format. There was a grassroots effort to try to change the new owner's decision; Prince called up, out of the blue, and offered to organize a benefit concert to try to raise awareness and money to save the station. He was the first to offer and, shamefully for the other major rock stars who make LA their home, just about the only one who did anything proactively about the situation...

When Prince came through LA with his Purple Rain tour, I was lucky enough to see what was a truly amazing show; besides Prince, the bill included the Sheila E Band and members of The Time. Even more amazing than the show was what Prince did in the afternoon before the show: at Prince's expense, buses were sent to inner city schools in LA, where students could never have afforded the price of a ticket, and the students were taken to the LA Forum where Prince and the other acts put on a free complete show for the students. Little was known about it at the time because Prince banned the press from the event and used his clout to secure the silence of the reporters. This, I learned later, was something he did at many other places and times in is career. Add to this his many, many shows done to aid charities and raise money for the arts and a more complete picture emerges than is seen in the media reports; and, remember, when he did those acts, it wasn't for the PR or photo-op or pat on the back, he did it because it meant something to him on a personal level...

Prince was an amazing talent, a musician in every sense of the word, someone who could express himself in funk, rock, soul, blues, jazz, hip hop, R&B, and just about any other genre he set his sights on. The world of music is less now he is gone and, for those to whom he extended his generosity, the world is even more so...

RIP, Prince...


<O>