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Hal Willner (born 1957, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American music producer working in recording, Films, TV and live events. He is well known for assembling tribute records featuring a wide variety of artists and musical styles (jazz, classical, rock, Tin Pan Alley). He is often credited as the inventor of the 'modern' tribute album with Amarcord Nino Rota in 1981. He became music supervisor of Saturday Night Live in 1981, a position which he has continued to hold. He has also produced records for Marianne Faithfull, Bill Frisell, William S. Burroughs, Gavin Friday, and Allen Ginsberg, among others. He produced a live tribute concert to American singer-songwriter Tim Buckley, that ultimately launched the career of Tim's son Jeff Buckley.
Tribute albums
- Amarcord Nino Rota (1981) is a tribute to Italian composer Nino Rota, and features interpretation of his music for Federico Fellini films by jazz musicians including Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Carla Bley, Muhal Richard Abrams, Bill Frisell, Steve Lacy, and Jaki Byard, and pop musicians, including Deborah Harry.
- That's The Way I Feel Now: A Tribute to Thelonious Monk (1984) features musicians ranging from John Zorn to Peter Frampton.
- Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill (1985) includes performances by Sting, Lou Reed, Charlie Haden and many others.
- Stay Awake: Interpretations of Vintage Disney Films (1988) features performances of songs from Walt Disney movies by a large cast of artists ranging from Sun Ra to Michael Stipe, Ringo Starr and Ken Nordine.
- Weird Nightmare: Meditations on Mingus (1992) is a tribute to Charles Mingus, featuring instruments designed and built by American composer Harry Partch, on loan from his estate. Performers include Bill Frisell, Vernon Reid, Henry Rollins, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Don Byron, Henry Threadgill, Gary Lucas, Bobby Previte, Robert Quine, Leonard Cohen, Diamanda Galás, Chuck D and Elvis Costello.
- September Songs: The Music of Kurt Weill (1995) re-creation of the previous Weill tribute as a Canadian TV special directed by Larry Weinstein. A CD was issued and includes performances by Nick Cave and P J Harvey.
- Stormy Weather: The Music of Harold Arlen (2005) Another Larry Weinstein TV program. The CD includes performances by Rufus Wainwright, Debbie Harry, David Johansen, Eric Mingus and Sandra Bernhard
- In Production: "Rogues Gallery", a collection of sea songs and chanteys (due August 2006 and Spring 2007). 2x double CD includes Bono, Nick Cave, Gavin Friday, Andrea Corr, Guggi, Dave-id, Maurice Roycroft, Bryan Ferry, Debbie Harry, Antony and the Johnsons, and Van Dyke Parks.
Live tribute events
- Greetings From Tim Buckley (1991)
- Edgar Allan Poe's writings (1995)
- Marquis de Sade's writings (1998)
- The Harry Smith Project (1999)
- Came So Far For Beauty, An Evening of Songs by Leonard Cohen (2003 - Present (Dublin, Ireland, October 2006)
Spoken word recordings
With the increasing prevalence of tribute recordings in the late 1980s (such as Red Hot + Blue), Willner decided to turn his attention to spoken word recordings.
- Dead City Radio (1990) by author William Burroughs has musical back-up from Sonic Youth, Donald Fagen, John Cale and others.
- Spare Ass Annie and Other Tales (1996) by William Burroughs with music by The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy.
- The Lion For Real by poet Allen Ginsberg features musical accompaniment by longtime Willner associates such as Bill Frisell, and a few new ones like Philip Glass and Paul McCartney.
- Closed On Account of Rabies (1997) consists of readings of Edgar Allan Poe poems and tales.
- In With The Out Crowd (1998) by poet Bob Holman.
- Let The Buyer Beware (2004) is an authoritative six CD box set of historic recordings by the comedian Lenny Bruce.
Film related projects
- The Carl Stalling Project: A CD of music composed and/or arranged by Carl Stalling for Warner Brothers cartoons.
- The soundtracks to Robert Altman's films Short Cuts and Kansas City.
External links
"Hal Willner"