The Greatest Ears in Town: The Arif Mardin Story (2010) Reviews

• Ode to a Musical Genius

  larrys32014-08-26

  This documentary is really an ode to the musical genius of arranger-producer Arif Marden, whose recordings won over 50 gold and platinum awards, plus 12 Grammys. Of course, he was extremely well known by those in the music industry, but for an outsider like myself his name was not known to me before viewing the film. The movie documents his life and career, starting with his birth into an aristocratic family in Turkey, and as a young boy his passion for music already in full gear. With the help of his friend Quincy Jones, Mardin secured a scholarship with the Berklee School of Music, in America. Later, after moving to New York with his wife Latife, he was unable to find work for over a year, until Atlantic Records hired him in an administrative capacity. However, they would eventually discover Mardin's remarkable musical abilities, and as they say the rest is history. The documentary highlights Mardin's amazing instincts in the recording studio, as he would go on to arrange and produce numerous artist's music in a way which led to highly successful results, including commercial success. In addition, Mardin, by virtue of the testimony of one artist after another, was able to work with them in a most sensitive and productive manner, exhibiting both grace and class, and they seem to genuinely like and admire him. The list of superstars that he has worked with, many of whom appear in the film, is too long to note entirely, but I'll mention a few. They include Phil Collins, Norah Jones, Quincy Jones, Bette Midler, Barry Gibb, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, and Daryl Hall. We don't find out until late in the documentary that Mardin is dying of inoperable pancreatic cancer. He would eventually pass away at the age of 74, in 2006. During the film, Mardin is trying to get his final album "All My Friends Are Here" recorded, for which he composed and arranged all the music, and selected individual artists for each song. In summary, I found this movie, directed by Doug Biro and Joe Mardin (Arif's son), to be quite interesting and informative, and there's lots of fine music as well. RATING: B+

• Amazing insight into the creative process of a great producer!

  me-419-5717792014-02-01

  I was glued to the screen for several portions of this documentary and for me that is highly unusual. Especially intriguing were the shots of Mr. Mardin in the studio as he partnered with the artists in creating each track. Interspersed with the modern studio footage was a variety of historical footage and photography and selections from a stunning progression of hit songs. Also interesting were the interviews with artists and colleagues. It's not perfect, about twenty minutes could be cut and the film would be better for it, but there's enough here to merit eight stars. Bottom line: Mr. Mardin's All My Friends Are Here is about to become the latest addition to my musical repertoire!