Tommy LiPuma

About

From Wikipedia:

Tommy LiPuma (July 5, 1936 – March 13, 2017) was an American music producer. He received 33 Grammy nominations, 5 Grammy wins, and sold more than 75 million albums. LiPuma worked with many musicians, including Barbra Streisand, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, George Benson, Phil Upchurch, Al Jarreau, Anita Baker, Natalie Cole, Claudine Longet, Dave Mason, the Yellowjackets, Michael Franks, Diana Krall, Paul McCartney, Ben Sidran, The Crusaders, Joe Sample, Randy Crawford and Dr. John.

Tommy LiPuma about working with Paul McCartney on “Kisses On The Bottom“:

The thing I’d really like to stress here is not only what a pro Paul McCartney is, but how he deals with musicians and — in my case — the producer. He lets you do your job, and that isn’t always the case. Some artists I’ve worked with are so insecure, they can’t help but try to second-guess you, but it was never like that on this project. This project was sort of new territory for Paul, although, believe me, he knows when things are right or not right, regardless of what territory he’s in. If the sessions hadn’t been going well, it might not have been quite so simple, but he felt very comfortable with all of the musicians who I surrounded him with, and also with Al Schmitt, who is the stellar recording engineer.

Among the many qualities that Paul has, he recognises talent and respects it. He always made a point, when walking into the studio, to shake hands with all of the musicians and say a few words to them while looking them straight in the eye. Even when we had the string dates, he would make an effort to say hello to each of the players, spend a minute saying something to them and put everybody at ease.

Tommy LiPuma, from an interview with Sound On Sound, May 2012

From paulmccartney.com, March 14th, 2017:

I was very saddened to hear that my dear friend, Tommy LiPuma passed away. We had worked together on my album ‘Kisses On The Bottom’ which he produced. He was a fun-loving, thoughtful guy with a vast knowledge of music. He had been a performer in his youth before he took up production and was always happy to sit with us in the studio whilst I and my fellow musicians worked on a track.

Diana Krall was a very good friend of his and working together with her and Tommy on the album was a special experience. We would often go out to dinner together and on these occasions, he was sure to produce a bottle of fine red wine from his briefcase to accompany the meal. He was an extremely generous man who loved his dear wife Gill (for some reason I called her Gail!!) very dearly.  

I will always have very fond memories of our time together and be proud to share his love with his family and many friends.

Paul McCartney, on the passing of Tommy LiPuma

Last updated on March 13, 2021