Since the Bee Gees' heyday ended at the dawn of the '80s, Mardin has notched major successes with Chaka Khan ("I Feel for You") and Scritti Politti, whose Cupid and Psyche '85 was one of the most interesting blends of funk and disco that decade (Mardin produced three tracks on it).
Mardin kept current by listening to the radio, ordering the latest discs and studying them at home. He also wrote modern classical music and enjoyed early 20th century work in that genre, above all the music of Alban Berg and Arnold Schoenberg.
"I like layers in music that give you the feeling of distance," Mardin said. "I like having things going on in the background. You have something to define the furthest point, then things that are nearer." Mardin's own albums have remarkable depth of field.
Mardin retired from Atlantic in 2001, but he soon reappeared at EMI's revived Manhattan label under Blue Note chief Bruce Lundvall. There he put an extraordinary grace note on his career, co-producing Norah Jones' Blue Note smash Come Away With Me, which won Grammys for album of the year and record of the year in 2003 and earned Mardin producer of the year honors. He also produced Jones' follow up effort Feels Like Home, which sold over 1 million copies in its debut week alone in February 2004.
Mardin, who had been suffering from pancreatic cancer for about a year, is survived by his wife Latife, son Joe, and daughters Julie and Nazan Joffre. His funeral will be in Istanbul.
Article comments
1 - Glen Boyd
What an incredible resume this man had. I didn't realize Mardin has had a hand in so many great records over the years. You could probably make a far shorter list of artists he hasn't worked with. Very nice eulogy EO.
-Glen
2 - JP
This guy's a legend, no doubt. So many careers influenced, it's hard to sum up..but you've done so pretty well.
Godspeed, Arif.
3 - Eric Olsen
thanks Glen and JP - I was kind of in a hurry or I would have gome more into specific records, but the bottom line is he worked with almost everyone of consequence who wasn't hard rock at Atlantic
4 - DJRadiohead
He did work with damn near everyone, didn't he? I know him best from the two Norah Jones records he produced. Beautiful, timeless records. Come Away With Me sounds incredible on SACD- just a magical record that was incredibly well made.
5 - Eric Olsen
I agree - to have had that kind of artistic and commercial successful so late in his career is simply amazing. The combination of space and warmth on the Jones records is remarkable.
6 - Mark Saleski
and Come Away With Me on vinyl? oh...my...gawd.
7 - DJRadiohead
The combination of space and warmth on the Jones records is remarkable.
The warmth of the vocals on the SACD version (and I would imagine even moreso on the vinyl) is positively amazing. I felt like I was hearing the record all over again when I bought the hybrid version. I wish Come Away With Me had been SACD'd as well.
8 - Eric Olsen
Mardin and soulful women: Jones, Aretha, Dusty, Chaka, Roberta Flack, Anita Baker, Nyro - remarkable
9 - Murat
What a great gentleman and accomplished professional. Growing up in Istanbul, I used to turn over Atlantic Record covers and look for his name as well as the names of Ahmet Ertegun and Nesuhi Ertegun. They made me and the rest of Turkey so proud with their achievements in the New World.
I read in your article ""How Can I Be Sure." The Mardin version ultimately became a lounge hit in London dance clubs - in 1996." How can I find the version that was popular in the 90s?