Preparation session for "Kisses On The Bottom"

About

Work on what would become “Kisses On The Bottom” (released in February 2012) starting in July 2009, when Paul McCartney contacted producer Tommy LiPuma.

I met with Tommy (LiPuma), and we just hung out, talking about the old singsongs, and we found we had a lot in common. But we tried to work out a slightly different approach and used a selection of songs that wouldn’t be the obvious ones, like The Way You Look Tonight, songs that everyone tends to cover. We looked for songs that were a little more unusual. It’s a good idea to go slightly off-piste. Even to the extent where I didn’t know some of them.

Paul McCartney – from the “Kisses On The Bottom” liner notes

Tommy LiPuma was invited to spend a few days in Hog Hill Mill, in March 2010.

I first got involved with the project two and a half years ago. I guess Paul had been thinking about it for quite some time. I have known Nancy Jeffries, who runs Paul’s MPL music publishing company, since she was Elektra’s senior vice-president of A&R back in the ’90s. When he asked her for a recommendation as to who should produce the record, she contacted me, and July 2009 was when I had my first meeting with Paul. If we were going to do something of this nature, we’d have to agree on what made sense stylistically, so for the next eight or nine months, we emailed each other, threw some song ideas back and forth, and in March of 2010 I spent four or five days with him.

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

I had some ideas, but nothing specific. So to try them out, I brought the pianist Tamir Hendelman with me — not necessarily the keyboard player who I had in mind to work on the record, but someone who could change keys at a second’s notice for this trial run-through. Every so often, when we’d come across material that showed promise, we’d put it down on tape so that we at least had something to refer to, and at the end of those few days I walked away with a sense of what Paul’s strengths were and what would make sense in terms of doing a project of this nature. I now had a pretty concrete idea as to the stylistic direction we should take and who we should use, so I ran those thoughts by him and we really were in agreement on quite a few things.

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

After those few days spent together, Tommy LiPuma was tasked to recruit musicians for the project – he decided to approach Diana Krall and her band:

When I told Diana about the project with Paul, she said, ‘Look, if you need me for anything, I’d love to be involved’. I said, ‘Yeah, that makes sense. Let us just get to the point where we start assembling the material.’ She knows this music so well — nobody knows the period better than she does — and she also plays absolutely fantastic stride piano. So, having her play a key role was a natural choice and, fortunately for everyone, Paul agreed. He knew of her and, I think, he’d heard some of her records and recognised that she’s very talented.

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

Formal recording sessions would start in April / May 2011.

Last updated on November 6, 2020

Staff

Musicians

Tamir Hendelman:

Piano

Production staff

Tommy LiPuma:

Producer