Daily News
By Fred Shuster
Friday, December 15, 2000
Producer-musician Jon Brion is someone you've probably heard if not heard of.
Known by insiders as the sought-after producer of Fiona Apple and Rufus Wainwright as well as a session player on hit albums by the Wallflowers, Elliott Smith and the Eels, Brion also hosts one of Los Angeles' most reliable nights out.
His informal weekly shows at Hollywood's intimate Largo club have been among the town's best underground bets for years. Brion can be counted on for relaxed, eclectic evenings that often include cameos from pals like Michael Stipe, Neil Finn, Aimee Mann, Rickie Lee Jones and Michael Penn.
Even while working on the orchestral score for Paul Thomas Anderson's acclaimed epic, "Magnolia," Brion -- popular in recording studios for his collection of vintage keyboards -- continued his residency at the Fairfax Avenue nightspot, where his performances often give way to song-sharing sessions until the wee hours.
"There's no set list and people do drop by but it's not like an open mike or blues jam," Brion said. "We'll do songs people know but in a more intimate manner. Or it can be completely crazy avant-garde music or me taking requests. It depends on my mood. I could do my own songs all night or make up songs on the spot, depending on titles from the audience. It varies each week."
Brion and Anderson first worked together on the director's 1997 screen debut, "Hard Eight." For "Magnolia," Brion penned the evocative score and produced many of the extensive soundtrack contributions made by Mann.
"Jon is one of those musical-genius types," Anderson said. "So when it came time to create an hour and a half worth of orchestral score for the movie, I came to Jon. In other words, Jon was asked to write a few full symphonies."
For his part, Brion recalls his scoring technique as surprisingly simple.
"I watched Paul watching the film," he said. "We sat together in a room and I would work out what he wanted by watching the visual cues he provided me as he responded to what was happening on screen."
Brion's reputation in the biz began growing in the early '90s when he was often called to sessions not for his Beatlesque pop spirit but for his collection of barely working synthesizers from decades past.
The interest in vintage keyboards started early. Growing up in New Haven, Conn., the son of a mom who sings and an orchestra-conductor dad, Brion was exposed to family friends who experimented with the then-revolutionary Moog synth.
"I began looking for instruments that had a humane quality," Brion explained. "I began collecting vibraphones and old recording gear. I would put on records I loved, like the Beatles, and try to figure out how they managed to be so populist and creative and artistic. Those elements don't ordinarily collide but they do on those records."
It's rare for a behind-the-scenes guy like Brion to have a public persona. But at the Largo each Friday, the in-demand producer mixes pop standards by the Beatles and the Beach Boys, campy '80s tunes and his own often skewered songs for crowds of friends and admirers.
"I have an odd career," the Hollywood-based Brion, 36, admits. "I'm a musician who doesn't specifically make hit records even though I've been involved in some. When I'm producing, my main thing is lyrics. I'll sit around and obsess about the words and question if the music is giving proper support to them."
Along with studio work for others, Brion has completed a solo album, "Meaningless," which is so far unreleased. A compilation of material recorded live at Largo may also come out someday.
And despite his renown in the industry, Brion doesn't even have a manager -- nor does he want one.
"It's really very simple," he says. "Over the years, people like lawyers and managers have told me I should focus on just one thing, either be an artist or producer. I always hear if there's an opportunity that comes along that could make a lot of money, I should do it. But I believe if I want to go off and produce someone -- whoever it is -- it's not going to be detrimental to my career. It's hard to get these concepts across to people. I make the big-picture decisions on my life.
"And ever since I've taken control of that, I quite like the life I have."
