Tierra Sessions Volume 5 – Bryan Harkness

“The songs in this list are songs that inspired me as a musician and as a writer. As you can tell, I am a fan of all music. My guitar inspirations, Pat Metheny, George Benson, and Pat Martino are great players and their music is timeless. I find myself exploring their music endlessly. As for the country songs, listen to the writing as some of the songs tell more than one story. I hope you enjoy listening to my mixtape as much as I enjoyed putting it together!” – Bryan

Alan Jackson- Drive – Buy on iTunes

Blues Traveler – Hook – Buy on iTunes

Collective Soul – December – Buy on iTunes

Fleetwood Mac – Dreams – Buy on iTunes

George Strait – Texas Cookin – Buy on iTunes

Lyle Lovett – If I Had A Boat – Buy on iTunes

Thomas Hulten – Cambiando Camas – Buy on iTunes

Pat Metheny Group - Letter From Home – Buy on iTunes

Robert Earl Keen - Front Porch Song – Buy on iTunes

Robert Earl Keen - Don’t Turn Out The Lights – Buy on iTunes

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Wildflowers – Buy on iTunes

Waylon Jennings – Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way? – Buy on iTunes

Our head engineer and studio manager, Glenn Wheeler, delivers the goods for our 3rd mixtape of the Tierra Sessions Series.

Glenn’s thoughts about his mixtape:

This being my first mix tape for our site, I approached it from a different direction that my dj Spettro. He is just great. Not only are we lucky to be able to work with him daily, but so are the artists that he comes in contact with here at Tierra.

I have been engineering and producing records for many years. Over the years fortunately, I have been exposed to many different genres and artists along the way. My mix tape is all over the place in terms of artists and styles, but each one of these songs has a deep and personal effect on me. Let me take a moment and tell you about them.

1. Midnight at the Oasis – That has to be the best summer song ever written. It has such a warm tonal texture. The sounds were recorded in such a natural way for the day. I just can’t listen to this song without a smile on my face by the time the chorus hits.Buy at iTunes
2. Mr. Blue Sky – I was introduced to E.L.O. by my uncle Bud when I was about 10 years old. He had the most amazing stereo system for the time and the lights, knobs and VU meters intrigued me. He would put vinyl records on one after the other when we would come to his house for family gatherings. E.L.O. were in my opinion great pioneers in music. Their use of synthesizers and small orchestral elements was fascinating to me and still is.Buy at iTunes
3. You are the Sunshine of my life – This song was recorded at a time where the instruments and sound you heard during the time were all played by people. There was only aanalog tape to record on and there was no Pro Tools. The foirst time I ever heard this song was in my house on aa Saturday morning. I think I was 7 and my dad was singing it with the radio at the top of his lungs in the kitchen with my older sister. We lost her last year and I put this on and go right back to that day. I love Stevie Wonder he is an amazing artist and I love music.Buy at iTunes
4. All or Nothing at All – This is one of my favorite songs. The players that were put together for this album are some of the best jazz musicians in the world. I love the way the record was produced. All of the instruments sound just like they should.
5. Summer Breeze – What an amazing cut by Al Jarreau and George Benson. This disc was cut and mixed for 5.1 surround. The sounds are pristine. The two guys are incredible. You can’t listen to this song and not want to dance around the house. It makes me feel fine.Buy at iTunes
6. Floatin’ – This was a song written by Houston Jazz great Bernie Hatch. Larry Slezak recorded this song for his album “No Worries”. This was such a thrill for me to record this record. The album is loaded with top flight Houston talent. Floatin’ takes the listener through many different harmonic moods. I take a different path myself every time I hear it.Buy at iTunes
7. The Look Of Love – What can I say about this song except Diana Krall. Let me add Al Schmitt to that as well. The production on this album is amazing. The way that Al records instruments and mixes records is fascinating to me. Everything he does is just beautiful. He has a way of placing the listener in the middle of the music. As I listen to mixes he has done, I feel as if I can reach out and touch each musician. Production work like this makes me want to figure out better ways to record and mix.Buy at iTunes
8. Cambiando Camas – A great song by Thomas Hulten. Thomas is a Texas Jazz Master on trombone. Thomas has the amazing ability to play anything. I cut this album for Thomas last year and Dr. Robert Linder produced. The Album “Slide Side” features Houston musicians and was done here at Tierra Studios. As a trombone player myself, this was especially close to my heart. There is so much soul in his music. Thanks Thomas for such a great time.Buy at iTunes
9. Put Your Hand In Mine – This is just a great song. Sung by Tracy Byrd. Let correct that and say told by Tracy. He probably tells a story better than anyone I know. As I listen to this song, I feel like I am right there with my son. Not many songs make me teary-eyed, but this sure does. This is a great song. On so many levels, I am sure that we can all say we have been there. Thank you Tracy.But at iTunes
10. The Lady In My Life – From the “Thiller” album. This is a beautiful song. Micheal Jackson was so versatile. He seemed to put all of the raw emotion of the song out there for the listener. The tones and the quality of the recording are top notch. Engineer Bruce Swedien recorded this album in the analog domain. The entire record has a rich smooth quality. I never get tired of listening to this record.Buy at iTunes
11. Send Her My Love – I know……. Let me just say that I am a huge Journey fan. I really love the production work. The song has so much depth and strength all the way across the spectrum. Thank you Bob Clearmountain for an amazing mix.Buy at iTunes
12. The Logical Song – I have to thank Uncle Bud for this song. I think I owe him a new record. I wore this song out. Supertramp is such an organic group. They talk about everything in their music. Nothing is off limits. I find something new musically every time I hear it.Buy at iTunes
13. SyncronicityII – I want to just say thank you to the Lancaster’s. They had MTV. This was the first music video I ever saw. I became a police fan that day. A band where the bass player is the lead singer. How cool is that.Buy at iTunes
14. Easy – A timeless classic from the Commodores. It just makes me feel like everything is going to be alright. Lionel Ritchie has a great voice, but the band behind him is just as fine. I am a fan of great songs and great sounds.Buy at iTunes

UPDATE: We arrived at the Fox studios to find out the producer that approved the “Texas Jazz Masters” segment was out on location. The stand-in producer had not seen the piece so they are airing it at a later date. When we find out what time, we’ll let everyone know.

In the meantime, here is Bryan Harkness performing live:

Fox News 26 will be running a story on Tierra Studios and our Texas Jazz Masters series on a date TBA.  Thomas Hulten was the point man to represent the Texas Jazz Masters series, and held a recording session that was captured on film.

Here’s a behind the scenes view of the interview.

The Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Houston, Noe Marmolejo, interviews Thomas Hulten about the recording process on his album “Slide Side”.

Thomas Hulten commenting on his song “Pilska Polka” from his album Slide Side. You may buy it now!

Thomas Hultén is a jazz and classical trombone player, arranger and composer. Thomas is currently Acting Principal trombone with the Houston Grand Opera. His 1st studio album was released in September, 2009 by Tierra Studios.

He started playing at the age of ten in the local Salvation Army Band in his hometown of Katrineholm, Sweden. After completing his military service with the Swedish Army Band in 1984, he studied trombone performance at the Gothenburg Conservatory with Ingemar Roos as his primary teacher. After graduating he won a position with the Bohus Big Band, one of Sweden’s two professional big bands. In 1990 Thomas became a member of the Hässlö Brass Ensemble (later re-named Messing Around), a full-time brass ensemble, along with being Principal trombone of the Västerås Sinfonietta.

He was also a sought-after freelance player, and has performed with the Gothenburg Symphony, the Gothenburg Opera, the Helsingborg Symphony, the Norrköping Symphony, Stavanger (Norway) Symphony and the Trondheim (Norway) Symphony.

Since moving to Houston, Texas, in 1997 he has performed with Ray Charles, Tony Bennett, Dave Brubeck, Natalie Cole, Barry Manilow, Patti Austin, Johnny Mathis, Michael Bolton, the Moody Blues, the Temptations, the Four Tops and the O’Jays. He performs regularly with the Houston Symphony, the Houston Ballet, the Houston Grand Opera and Theatre under the Stars. Thomas was in the orchestra for the touring Broadway musicals “The Full Monty”, “The Producers”, “42nd Street”, “Music Man”, “All Shook Up”, “Swing” and, most recently “The Rat Pack” at the Hobby Center in Houston. He has been featured at the Texas Jazz Festival and the Kemah Jazz Festival with his own group, and at the International Trombone Festival, both as a soloist and as a member of “Spiritual to the ‘Bone”. His quartet opened for Maynard Ferguson’s Houston concert in February of 2006.

Thomas teaches low brass at the Houston Baptist University and the Houston Community College, and directs the jazz ensemble at the Tomball College. His wife Tina is a microbiologist at Baylor College of Medicine, and they have three sons, Jakob, David and Philip.

Thomas Hultén records a trombone part for a song on his upcoming jazz album at Tierra Studios on May 21, 2009.

Trombone overdubs for upcoming Jazz album from Thomas Hultén on Vimeo.