**** What exactly does a record Producer do? ****
So sorry to burden you with an answer to your question:
A music producer does very much what a director does in the making of a film. A distinction should be made between the executive producer and the music producer when both are listed. The executive producer handles the financial aspects of the project. The music producer can be the person that conceives the project and chooses the backing musicians and arrangers (when necessary) when there is a featured soloist and the recording engineer unless there is one on staff in the case of an artist under contract. As discussed previously, producers have different styles; some choose to let the players do their thing and exercise little influence on the final product while some can be very controlling of every aspect of the process; choose the tunes and even the tempos. For many of the classic recordings discussed here there is relatively little "producing" that is required since there is usually only a rhythm section and horn front line involved in a pretty standard live-performance-like setup; or it could be as simple as a piano trio or solo piano. In these situations the producer may help choose the material and assist the engineer in developing how the recording will "present" the music. The producer may be chosen by the record label that the artist is under contract with or may be chosen by the artist to assist, manage and realize the artist’s vision for the project.
In the case of projects like many of the CTI recordings where the music is very "arranged" with the use of horn sections, string and woodwind sections, extra percussion and perhaps even backing vocalists it all becomes much more complicated. In many situations like these the producer’s vision can supersede the artist’s; of course, it is usually a combination of both. It should be easy to understand how going this route opens up many "cans of worms" on the way to the final product. A producer or record lable may have a certain sonic aesthetic in mind for their product which they feel can only be achieved by separating all the players or singers and putting each in separate "booths" where they are each isolated from each other and they listen to each other via headphones. This can work, depending on the skill of the engineer and quality of the studio, but the results are seldom as musically organic as they are when the musicians have some physical connection in the same room and can hear each other acoustically at least in part. Some music lends itself much more to complex production values. Imo, generally speaking, with jazz (particularly acoustic jazz) there occurs a kind of clash when there is complex production involved, while electric jazz and pop can really benefit from all the electronic tools available to musicians and producers; in these genres these tools can be considered and used as musical instruments themselves. Of course, it is the producer’s skill and musical integrity that determines whether these tools serve and benefit the music or do no more than create a mess.
So sorry to burden you with an answer to your question:
A music producer does very much what a director does in the making of a film. A distinction should be made between the executive producer and the music producer when both are listed. The executive producer handles the financial aspects of the project. The music producer can be the person that conceives the project and chooses the backing musicians and arrangers (when necessary) when there is a featured soloist and the recording engineer unless there is one on staff in the case of an artist under contract. As discussed previously, producers have different styles; some choose to let the players do their thing and exercise little influence on the final product while some can be very controlling of every aspect of the process; choose the tunes and even the tempos. For many of the classic recordings discussed here there is relatively little "producing" that is required since there is usually only a rhythm section and horn front line involved in a pretty standard live-performance-like setup; or it could be as simple as a piano trio or solo piano. In these situations the producer may help choose the material and assist the engineer in developing how the recording will "present" the music. The producer may be chosen by the record label that the artist is under contract with or may be chosen by the artist to assist, manage and realize the artist’s vision for the project.
In the case of projects like many of the CTI recordings where the music is very "arranged" with the use of horn sections, string and woodwind sections, extra percussion and perhaps even backing vocalists it all becomes much more complicated. In many situations like these the producer’s vision can supersede the artist’s; of course, it is usually a combination of both. It should be easy to understand how going this route opens up many "cans of worms" on the way to the final product. A producer or record lable may have a certain sonic aesthetic in mind for their product which they feel can only be achieved by separating all the players or singers and putting each in separate "booths" where they are each isolated from each other and they listen to each other via headphones. This can work, depending on the skill of the engineer and quality of the studio, but the results are seldom as musically organic as they are when the musicians have some physical connection in the same room and can hear each other acoustically at least in part. Some music lends itself much more to complex production values. Imo, generally speaking, with jazz (particularly acoustic jazz) there occurs a kind of clash when there is complex production involved, while electric jazz and pop can really benefit from all the electronic tools available to musicians and producers; in these genres these tools can be considered and used as musical instruments themselves. Of course, it is the producer’s skill and musical integrity that determines whether these tools serve and benefit the music or do no more than create a mess.