“I am very people oriented and I want the music to have a universal appeal.  That is always a big focus for me. Everyone that I have worked with has shared that same thing. As an artist, I want to do my own thing, but I want to ensure that the music is going to reach people and that people want to listen to it. (As a producer) I want to ensure that the musicians’ instruments are heard with (the artists’) personalities. If it is too contrived, I don’t think that it will do as well,” he says. 

Someone eavesdropping upon our conversation might think Rahn has a split personality, if they had not caught my question as to how Rahn separates the artist from the producer on studio projects such as Once In A Lifetime, where he wore both hats. “They are two very separate things, and I keep them very separate. As an artist, I try to treat myself as though I was a different producer. When I am working on records, the producer has the final word. Many times I will in a recording booth recording with my saxophone and the artist side of me will say that is really cool, or that is a really great lick, but if it is not right for the song the producer self will tell the artist self, ‘Sorry I can’t do that.’ When I am working on records, I always defer to that producer self. As musicians, we like to play and sometimes we get carried away. I have to let the producer set the ground rules, and I have to make myself redo things. It is no different than when I work with other artists. As an artist, I may want one thing, but the producer makes the final decision,” says Rahn the producer, or was that Rahn the artist. 

Having a dual career has enhanced Rahn’s skills as both a producer and an artist. He explains, “Being an artist makes me a better producer, and being a producer makes me a better artist, as long as I keep those two things delineated and understand the role of each. I will even broaden that to say that with music in general, the more that you can learn, the more that you can do, and the more diverse that you can be, it affects every other aspect of your musicianship. For people who play multiple instruments, even if they are not great on some of those instruments it expands their knowledge of them. If you know how to play a little bit of guitar, when you are out touring it is easier to understand what may be going on in the guitar player’s head. You can therefore lead or direct in a way that you might not otherwise be able to do. I think that the more diverse that you can be, helps sharpens you in other areas.” 

Throughout our time together however, Darren Rahn’s conversation always drifts back to how his music affects people. He relates to me an experience he had following his performance at the Catalina Jazz Festival in October of 2006, “We were signing CDs backstage when a woman walked up to me, who had one month earlier been diagnosed with cancer. It had been the darkest time of her life. She said that while we were performing she just felt like something had changed inside of her. She said that it was the first time since she had been diagnosed with cancer that she had experienced joy. I was so humbled by that, and it made me realize that no matter what I am feeling on stage, there are people in the audience who may be there for a reason that I can’t even fathom. To see someone who was touched in that way was the most incredible experience that I have had. The performance felt good, but I will not say that it was the most amazing performance that I have done, however the experience afterwards is the tangible proof that someone was positively affected by the music. That is the moment that stands out most in my mind. When I think about what is important to me as a performer that is the most tremendous experience that I have ever had.”   That is probably the most important thing that you need to know about Darren Rahn, because it tells you that his music flows from his heart.

December 2007

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