Inside the Studio - Mixing the Tom Hemby Band

While I mix tracks for many people, I still feel that my best-sounding mixes are tracks I also recorded. The mix also goes much faster when I am present for the recording process. That is because I believe that mixing starts when you put that first mic up for the session.

Recently I co-produced and engineered the new Tom Hemby Band album. It is a very hip, modern-sounding jazz fusion instrumental record with a who’s who of players: Tom Hemby (obviously) on guitar, Keith Carlock on drums, Adam Nitti on bass, Michael Whittaker on keys and Mark Douthit on sax. Look any of them up and you’ll see a list of credits that would stop a train, from Steely Dan to Michael McDonald and so on.

It was recorded over several years at various recording workshops I conducted at Sweetwater Studios in Fort Wayne, IN, and we finished it during lockdown. So, let’s take a look at some of the sounds on this record. Feel free to listen along on Spotify, Apple Music, etc.