Session musician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Session musicians are musicians available for hire, as opposed to musicians who are either permanent members of a musical outfit or who have acquired fame in their own right. Although the term generally refers to musicians skilled in contemporary musical styles such as rock, jazz, country, pop, etc., it can also be used to describe musicians from classical and other traditional styles.
[edit] Terms and usage
"Studio musicians" are session musicians who do not work outside of the recording studio environment. These players work exclusively inside a studio environment, sometimes for a single studio whereas a session musician may perform at concerts or in any other performance scenario.
Session musicians are used in any situation where musical skills are needed on a short-term basis, ranging from a few hours to many months. Typical uses of session musicians are:
- in a recording studio to provide backing for advertising, film and television music
- to provide instrumental or vocal backing for established solo artists or groups, both in the studio and in concerts and appearances
- to act as temporary replacements for permanent members of a band or ensemble
- to provide additional instruments or vocals when needed by a band or ensemble
- in ensembles for theatrical productions
The term generally does not refer to:
- recording artists
- solo musicians or ensembles (without recording contracts) who give public or private performances for hire by themselves, such as wedding singers or bar bands
- amateur musicians
- full-time members of professional ensembles, such as symphony orchestras
Instead, session musicians perform with (and are hired by, or on behalf of) some other musical act or artistic production.
Apart from being highly competent at their instruments, skilled session musicians are also expected to learn parts rapidly, and to play music by sight (reading directly from the musical score).
The above definitions do not always apply to earlier times. For example, during the 1920s and 1930s most record companies had their own prolific "studio bands" turning out records of the latest pop hits. These were often made up by jazz and dance band musicians who were at the same time members of regular working bands and who divided their time between studio work (recordings as well as broadcasting) during the day and live performances in the evenings. Notable such "studio musicians" include Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, Red Nichols, Miff Mole and Mike Mosiello.
[edit] Notable session musicians
Many session musicians have long and successful careers. Although session musicians do not usually achieve popular celebrity (three notable exceptions include the members of the band Toto, formed by a group of regular studio musicians in Los Angeles; John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page, who were well known as session musicians before their later success with Led Zeppelin; and keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who started his career as a session musician before becoming a member of popular progressive rock band Yes), some achieve considerable fame within the musical industry.
The 1954 recording session for the epochial "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets featured several session musicians, most notably guitarist Danny Cedrone, who performed the song's trademark guitar solo.
Other notable session musicians include: The Funk Brothers; The Wrecking Crew; The Memphis Horns; Atlanta Rhythm Section; Booker T and the MGs; Sly and Robbie; guitarists Duane Allman; James Burton Michael Landau, Dann Huff, Lee Ritenour and Larry Carlton; bassists Marcus Miller, Tommy Sims, Jimmy Lee Sloas, Abraham Laboriel, Joe Long, Leland Sklar, Nathan East and David Hungate; drummers Steve Gadd, Jeff Porcaro, Jim Keltner,Paul Leim, Joey Waronker, Vinnie Colaiuta and Abraham Laboriel Jr.; vocalists Chris Rodriguez, Tommy Funderburk, and Bill Champlin; keyboardists Keith Thomas, Steve Porcaro, and David Foster; and saxophonist King Curtis.de:Gastmusiker it:Turnista ja:スタジオ・ミュージシャン fi:Sessiomuusikko
