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John Jennings has long maintained a solid international reputation as a producer and multi-instrumentalist. A longtime member of Mary Chapin Carpenter’s band, with whom he’s produced and recorded 11 Top Ten singles and 2 Grammy winning albums. His guitar playing and singing have graced numerous recordings by artists such as Kathy Mattea, George Jones and [...]

Where do you go from here?
Fishing! (Laughs) What do they say? I’ve got a good career behind me. So, it’s been times when I think maybe now’s the time of my life where I can ease out of playing and start writing more, because I’ve always been a frustrated arranger. And I’ve felt that writing [...]

Of all the types of music you play, which type is your favorite?
Do you have a favorite?
Well, I think I listen to jazz more than I listen to anything else. I think the music I really like playing the most is playing with the Philharmonic. Not only because of the music but because, well [...]

What’s different now from when you first got started?

What isn’t different? Everything’s different. First of all, today there’s not as much in common with live people as there was when I got started. You had to make sure that everything was ready to go so that when you played some notes they were going to [...]

What does it take to be successful?
(Laughs) Luck! A lot of luck but again a lot of motivation, you have to hang in, you have to get rejected all over the place, but when I think of how tough it is to make it in music I think about actors or I think about [...]

What have you learned about the music business that has surprised you?
Nothing surprises me anymore. The way the business goes now I’ve learned not to be surprised. Like I say, right from my first days when I got to New York – studios were gone, live playing was just about nil. But I got to [...]

What’s the best advice you ever received?

The best advice I ever received? When I was in high school I was accepted to the Eastman School of Music and one requirement that they said I had to learn was to learn the piano because I had no knowledge of the piano whatsoever. So I found the [...]

Internationally renowned Saxophonist, Al Regni, shares with MusicPro Magazine readers a humorous memory of the best career advice he ever received.

With playing credits including Liza Minelli, Debbie Reynolds, Charles Mingus, Bob Mintzer, David Bowie, Roberta Flack, George Benson, and Nancy Wilson…….a better question to ask is who hasn’t Al Regni played with? Al is currently an adjunct professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. It was truly an honor to interview this world- renowned master musician.
How [...]