My guest on Episode 15 is producer and artist Joe Henry. Joe came up through the ranks originally as an artist, but through some early interctions with T-Bone Burnett, ended up being T-Bone's assistant on a number of projects, which led to him producing artists for himself. Joe continues to make great albums of his own every couple of years, and I’m a huge fan of all of them. He’s developed a close working relationship with my guest from episode  6, Ryan Freeland. Ryan’s ability to capture depth and live performances in the studio along with Joe’s abilities to set the stage, and create a sonic vision for his recordings has led to what I think are some of the most interesting albums made over the last 10 or 15 years. Their recordings have inspired me both as a musician and producer, and their philosophy of recording live and letting the moment dictate the feel, and spontenaity override perfection has pushed me more and more down a similar path over the years, and is something that I hold in high regard and strive for. Joe has been at the helm for some great records by Aimee Mann, Bettye LaVette, Allen Toussaint, Rodney Crowell, Mose Allison, Bonnie Raitt, his grammy-winning album for Soloman Burke, my pals the Birds of Chicago, and so many more. It’s a huge and important slice of American Music that his body of work represents, and I was really excited to talk to Joe about some of these sessions and his path to where he is now in his career. Enjoy Part 1 of my conversation with Joe Henry!

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