SESSION SHENANIGANS

The studio guitarist’s guide to happiness and personal fulfilment, as related by our resident session ace. This month: Where There’s A Hit There’s A Writ

With the recent Ed Shearan court case decided, Mitch's piece is somewhat timely

Irecall it as if it were yesterday.I descended the stairs to the subterranean Soho black hole that was Joe&Co, replete with armfuls of instruments and eternal hope of any early finish. Working for Paul Hart was always a delight. Composer, arranger, orchestrator, and multiinstrumentalist. Laid back, supportive and appreciative.

Oh, yes. One other detail.The man was a total genius, in the true sense of the word. And certainly not one of the scores of relatively talented individuals to whom the term has been mis-applied. No. This is a man who could write a commercial for a symphony orchestra morning, within two hours of receiving the brief, have it copied and prepared by lunchtime, the musicians booked and the music recorded by the end of the afternoon. Often the ad would be on screen that evening. All achieved with a minimum of fuss and an absence of artistic temperament. I was 20 minutes early for the one-hour booking, to hear “Do you fancy starting early?” Not an uncommon occurrence when working for the gentleman. I’d frequently find myself driving home before I was officially due to begin.