This document provides production details for Natalie Cole's recording of the jazz standard "Nature Boy". It describes the large orchestra and personnel involved, including arrangers and the recording studios used. Cole's background and success covering her father Nat King Cole's songs is mentioned. The sequencing and structure of the song is outlined, including the 3/4 time signature for the trumpet and piano solos. Mic placement and mixing techniques are discussed. The orchestration is described as drawing from Stravinsky and Debussy with dramatic effects to match the poetic lyrics about a wise yet lonely boy.

1. NATURE BOY by Eden Ahbez
• Natalie Cole “Unforgettable”
• A 20th Century Jazz Standard
• Pop icon as a songstress ~ 3 Grammys
• Classical, and Romantic era orchestrations
• Recorded as a Pop hit and film score…

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uu9_1_BDcs
 Produced by Andre Fischer
 Arranged by Michel Legrand
 Piano: Alan Broadbent
 STUDIOS: Capitol Studios, Conway, Group IV,
Hit Factory, Hollywood Sound Recorders,
Lighthouse, Oceanway, Pacifique, Schnee
Studios, Tracks, Twentieth Century Fox
Scoring Stage, Westlake Audio, and Johnny
Yuma
 Mastered by Doug Saks at Mastering Lab

3. Born 1950 in Los Angeles. Natalie is
an American singer, songwriter and
performer. The daughter of Jazz
Legend Nat King Cole, Natalie rose to
musical fame in the mid-1970s as a
Pop/R&B Star with hits like “This Will
Be”, “Inseparable” and “Our Love”. In
the 1990s, she re-recorded standards
by her father, resulting in her biggest
success, Unforgettable, with Love,
which sold over seven million copies
and also won Cole numerous Grammy
Awards. She has sold over 30 million
records worldwide.
(1)Wikipedia

4. Tommy LiPuma David Foster
The Band
Personnel includes: Natalie Cole
(vocals); Johnny Mandel, Ralph
Burns, Marty Paich, Michel
Legrand, Bill Holman (arranger);
John Chiodini, Alfred Viola, Dennis
Budimir, John Pisano, John Collins
(guitar); Gary Foster (alto
saxophone); Pete Christlieb, Don
Menza, David "Fathead" Newman
(tenor saxophone); Conte Candoli,
Chuck Findley (trumpet); Dick Nash
(trombone); Clare Fischer, Joe
Sample, Ike Cole, Brad Cole, Alan
Broadbent, Mike Lang, Michael
Melvoin, Monty Alexander (piano);
Andrew Simpkins, John Patitucci,
Ray Brown, James Hughart, Chuck
Domanico, John Clayton (bass);
Harold Jones, Dave Weckel, Jeff
Hamilton, Sol Gubin (drums).
The Orchestra
Personnel: Natalie Cole (vocals); Dennis Budimir, John
Collins, John Chiodini, John Pisano, Al Viola (guitar); Jo
Ann Turovsky, Katie Kirkpatrick, Gayle Levant, Dorothy
Remsen (harp); Raymond Tischer (violin, viola); Gerald
Vinci, Assa Drori, Nathan Kaproff, James Getzoff, Anatoly
Rosinsky, Harris Goldman, Barbara Porter, Ken Yerke,
Ronald Folsom, Dorothy Wade, Edith Markman, Ezra
Kliger, Mari Tsumura-Botnick, Lily Chen, Rene Mandel,
Michael Ferril, Ralph Morrison III, Gail Cruz, Henry Ferber,
Murray Adler, Dixie Blackstone, Alexander Treger, Irma
Neumann, Stanley Plummer, Sid Sharp, Karen Jones,
Bernard Kundell, Diana Halprin, Yoko Matsuda, Pavel
Farkas, Isabelle Daskoff, Sid Page, Israel Baker, Marilyn
Baker, Arnold Belnick, Jacqueline Brand, Stuart Canin,
Bonnie Douglas, Bruce Dukov, Julie Gigante, Clayton
Haslop, Kathleen Lenski , Brian Leonard, Paul Shure, Armen
Garabedian, Darius Campo, Michael Markman, Berj
Garabedian, Miwako Watanabe, Endre Granat, Haim
Shtrum (violin); Carole Mukogawa, Kenneth Burward-Hoy,
Dan Neufeld, Kazi Pitelka, Myra Kestenbaum, Alan
DeVeritch, Mike Nowack, David Stockhammer, Myron
Sandler, Don McInnes, Pamela Goldsmith, Roland Kato,
Milton Thomas, Harry Shirinian, Samuel Boghossian,
Denyse Buffum (viola); Paula Hochhalter, Dennis
Karmazyn, Jodi Burnett, Armand Karpoff, Ronald Cooper,
Anne Karam, Nils Oliver, Antony Cooke , Stephen Erdody,
Armen Ksadjikian, Daniel Rothmuller, Frederick Seykora
(cello); Gary Foster (flute, woodwinds, alto saxophone);
Louise di Tullio (flute, woodwinds); Susan Greenberg,
Ronald Langinger (flute); Gene Cipriano (oboe,
woodwinds); Tom Boyd (oboe); Pete Christlieb
(woodwinds, saxophone, tenor saxophone); Jack Nimitz
(woodwinds, baritone saxophone); Steve Kujala, Sheridon
Stokes, Ronnie Lang (woodwinds); Dan Higgins (soprano
saxophone, alto saxophone); William Perkins, Lanny
Morgan (alto saxophone); David "Fathead" Newman , Don
Menza, Rick Mitchell, Richard Mitchell (tenor saxophone);
Bob Efford, Bob Tricarico (baritone saxophone); Chuck
Findley, Conte Candoli, Gary Grant, Larry Hall , Nolan
Andrew Smith, Oscar Brashear, Rick Baptist, Steve
Huffsteter , Warren Luening, Frank Szabo, Charlie Davis

5. Mancini Rimsky-Korsakov

6. Seating Chart Mic flow chart
Orchestra
 Strings: Violins, Violas,
Cellos, & Basses
 Brass: Trumpets,
Trombones, Horns &
Tubas
 Winds: Clarinets, Flutes,
Bassoons, & Oboes
 Percussion: Timpani,
Bass drum, Snare drum,
& Cymbals etc…
Big Band
 Saxes (5)
 Trombones (4)
 Trumpets (4/5)
 Rhythm section:
bass, drums, guitar,
piano (3-4)
 Conductors…

7. Symphony Orchestra Jazz Rhythm Section

8. Theme and variations
with repeated motifs.
Irregular phrases,
drama, chromaticism,
embellishments and
short cadenza.

9.  32 Bar Form, four 8-bar sections
 A-B-A-B Jazz Standard 4/4 Rubato’
 Intro – 4 bars w/fermata Orchestral Passages
 [A] – Vocal lead
 [B] – B section
 [A’] – A prime vocals
 [B’] – B prime or chorus
 4 Bar intro ¾ meter change pre-solo
 (Solos/A’’) – ¾ Trumpet solo with Piano &
jazz rhythm section accompaniments
 Fermata cadenza flourishes back to 4/4 rubato
 [B’’ Tag to Coda] – 4/4 Vocals last chorus
 Coda – Orchestral Coda with small Piano
cadenza/fills
fermatas

10.  Studio: Live Studio Recording
 Genre: Jazz Ballad
 Released: USA 1991 Album of the year
 Formats: CD, Album, & Cassettes (wav/mp3s)
 Label: Electra, BMG marketing
 Style: easy listening, smooth jazz, big band,
contemporary jazz, swing and possible film
score orchestration…

11.  Decca Tree ‘micing’, 3 omni-directional mics in
an upside down “T” formation @6’-3’ apart
respectively, fits on a tall boom high up in the
air @above the conductor…probably Neumann M-
50s small diaphragm pressure transducer tube
condensers
 The rest of the orchestra & rhythm section are
spot ‘miked’ individually and in sections for full
stereo effect, could be AT2020s, APEX 190s, or
Rodes 2000 could be some AKG’s?
 Winds and other solos are panned according to
the sections the traditionally play in, and are
mixed a little higher than their orchestral
accompaniment, because they are solos…

12.  High strings to low strings tend to move from left
to right…
 The brass, French horns, low brass t-bones and
trumpets are placed in the rear of the mix like a
live performance and how they are placed
geographically in the orchestra…
 Vocals move from the left to the right sometimes
but always fuller & with more gain in the mix
 The woodwinds float around above in the mix,
with a light ethereal feel (hi-center-rear)
 The rubato feel lends itself well to the story
telling style of this ballad, with pauses and
flourishes between each Lyric as afterthoughts to
this gripping poetic tale of a young boy’s
journey…or message!

13.  When the trumpet and piano solos come in at the last
verse, the rhythm section of the jazz band come in
with a steady medium slow 3/4 swing grove for 4 bars
before the solos…swinging all the way (old school
jazz)…then back to 4/4 rubato for the chorus/end
 muted trumpet solo is lower and more distant in the
mix with some room reverb
 The piano is a little higher, in the front of the mix,
and sounds like it’s recorded in stereo or with omni-
directional mics…
 When the vocals come back in with the last chorus,
the time stops again, and goes back to the rubato out
of time ballad feel with flourishes reminiscent of
…Sibelius Symphony No. 7 or maybe Claus Ogerman
(German 20th century) of present…?
 Now when the vocals take over, they are panned and
mixed front and center as they should be with the
orchestra & jazz rhythm section in the background

14.  It sounds like there is only a little natural large
room reverb on the orchestra like in a big
church…
 There is very little or no compression, EQ or
effects at all, most of it sounds like ambient
room, and natural acoustics effects from the
recording studios they’re recording in
 The vocals on the other hand, sound a little dry
with a hint of reverb, some delicate EQ, a touch
of compression and maybe a little expansion, not
much if any…[thickening/fattening]
 Most of the vocal panning is a very precise stereo
image occasionally moving from left to right but
always; full, round, and up-front in the mix

15. orchestra
solos
-40
-35
-30
-25
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
Faders/Panning
Intro
4/4
Verse 1
Chorus
1
Verse
2
Chorus
2
3/4
intro
Solos
chorus
in 4
Outro
orchestra -3.5 -5 -4 -4.5 -5 -6.5 -5 -3.5 -3.2
vocals -40 -3.5 -3.1 -3 -3.3 -40 -40 -3.2 -7.7
solos -3 -40 -40 -7.5 -40 -40 -3.5 -40 -4.5

16.  The orchestration reflects a more tonal version
of Stravinsky or Tchaikovsky and Debussy that
explore neoclassical (return to order) themes
ranging from the Romantic periods through to
Impressionism/Expressionism~rubatos with
advanced harmonic and melodic devices
(evoke~poetic images) very dramatic!
 The solos in the introduction capture the
individuality of a strange, lonely and exotic boy
through the drama the music provides with light
airy woodwind solos, flourishing around overhead
 The rich harmonic and melodic textures express
the magic of a sad, shy, and possibly melancholy
boy who has gained incredible wisdom in his
journeys…and about to share all this with us in a
simple & straightforward message.

17.  The melancholy of the parallel musical textures with
a little chromaticism, lend themselves well to the
‘past-tense’ and sadness that, maybe the boy passed
away or disappeared…
 The orchestral mix and panning have an ethereal
wandering feel, like the boy’s journey over land and
sea
 Another interesting feature is that the solo section is
in a medium slow ¾ swing and the rest of the song is
in a relaxed 4/4 rubato tempo/non-tempo
 The song was originally written and played in both
meters: ¾ or 4/4…time signatures!
 On the magic day they met, the musical score
reflects a cheerfulness with flourishes of light and
happy excited flute solos…
 The brass and strings bring the solemness of the boy’s
message home with full swells and long whole tone
homophonic chordal tonal textures

18. "Nature Boy“
There was a boy...
A very strange enchanted boy
They say he wondered very far, very far
Over land and sea
A little shy and sad of eye
But very wise was he
And then one day
One magic day, he passed my way
And as we spoke of many things,
Fools and kings,
This he said to me
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn
is just to love and be loved in return"
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn
is just to love and be loved in return"

20. Album, CD, Cassettes & YouTube

21. Moulin Rouge Massive Attack