Episode 14: The Hal Willner Conversation Part 1

Compared To What Podcast

Full discloser: I (Mowo!) have known Hal Willner since I was the age of 5. The conversation you are about to hear contains some real gems. We’ve known each other for 35+ years. The conversation is bound to get a little inside. Having said all of that I am getting ahead of myself. Let me introduce you to Hal Willner. Hal has worked on a little lit of everything over the last 40 years. A champion of the downtown new york jazz scene………rock scene…….art scene………you name it, if there is a scene, he knows the key people in it and is without a doubt loved by the folks in that scene. He’s just that guy. How can you not love a guy that Ralph Steadman called “the great american wine slob”………..nuff said. Hal has worked on films as a composer , music supervisor and music consultant for Wim Wenders (“The Million Dollar Hotel”) , Martin Scorcese (“The Gangs Of New York”) , Robert Altman (“The Player”, “Kansas City” and “Short Cuts” ) and Gus Van Sant (“Finding Forrester”). That alone would be cool but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.Hal has been the guy that places all the music in skits for the last 30+ seasons on “SNL”. Hal’s also produced albums for Lou Reed, Marianne Faithfull, Lucinda Williams , Laurie Anderson , William S Burroughs and Allen Ginsgurg. Have you had enough? Just in case you have not Hal also single handedly invented the “tribute album project” with incredible projects focusing on the work of Disney , Monk ,Nino Rota,Harry Smith and Edith Piaf to name but a few.He also was the creative force behind an incredibly important music television show called “Night Music” which was hosted by the great David Sanborn. In an age of very few Renaissance Men/Women Hal is two Renaissance Men. A fascinating character and also personally a very important figure in my career as an artist. He also happens to be a student of my fathers.It’s win win folks. This is a big episode for me personally on the show as Hal shared many experiences with my father in the studio. It ends at 1 hour as there will be a part two and potentially a part 3. Enjoy. CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO HEAR HAL TALK ABOUT A LOT OF THINGS

http://www.comparedtowhatpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ComparedToWhatPodcast-TheHalWillnerConversationPart1.mp3