Tom Dowd and the Language of Music

D I R E C T O R ’ S N O T E S

I first met Tom Dowd in 1995 at Criteria Recording Studios in Miami. I was there photographing a recording session for singer-songwriter Arlan Feiles, a friend of mine, who had been signed to Island Records. Tom Dowd was producing the album. I was familiar with the name Tom Dowd, as I had seen it for years in the liner notes of some of my favorite records.

After two days of shooting, Arlan's manager handed me Mr. Dowd's typewritten autobiographical manuscript. Upon reading this 200-page document, I could not believe that one man could have been a participant in the making of so much history, yet no one outside of the music business knew who he was. Not only had he worked with many icons of modern music, he had smashed atoms on the Manhattan Project! Most impressive, though, was his warmth and humility as a person. As a filmmaker, I felt a responsibility to tell his unique story.

After several face-to-face meetings with Mr. Dowd regarding my proposed film project, he sat with us for a memorable videotape interview conducted in February1996. His sharp mind and energetic storytelling convinced me of his ability to effectively tell a complex story in easy-to-understand terms. I decided then to tell a story of Tom Dowd and his influence on the history of modern music and recording techniques.

We began shooting film in December 1996, capturing a series of interviews with Tom Dowd protégés including record producers Phil Ramone and Arif Mardin. They were in Miami to see Mr. Dowd receive a lifetime achievement from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences.

In January of 1997, we shot a backstage interview with Ray Charles, who was pleasantly surprised by Mr. Dowd's sudden, unannounced appearance. In April of the same year, we shot an extensive interview with Mr. Dowd at Criteria Recording Studios regarding the evolution of technology and its effect on music capture. At that same time, we filmed him working in the studio with The Goods, a Miami-based indie rock band.

In June, we arranged and shot interviews with the original surviving members of The Allman Brothers Band. Gregg Allman, Butch Trucks, Dickey Betts and Jaimoe provided heartfelt insight into Tom Dowd's role as a producer, father-figure and friend to the band.

In August of 1997, I conducted a candid interview with Eric Clapton in London . Later in September, we took a small crew from Miami to New York City . In what proved to be the most enjoyable day of our filmmaking, Mr. Dowd showed us, on-camera, where he grew up, went to school, worked on the Manhattan Project and worked for Atlantic Records. Also on this trip, we secured interviews with Atlantic 's founder and president Ahmet Ertegun, record producer Al Schmitt and the legendary guitarist Les Paul.

Finally, in November of 1997, we shot the most ambitious sequence of the film. Mr. Dowd secured the 16-track sub-master of the song Layla, by Derek & the Dominoes, and in one memorable scene, he isolated the guitar tracks of Duane Allman and Eric Clapton. On the soundboard, he brought up the mix, track by track, reliving the moments he recorded the song some 30 years before.

With resources exhausted, nearly a year passed before we shot another frame of film. That was in August of 1998, when we conducted another lengthy interview with Mr. Dowd at Criteria Studios. He recalled, with staggering detail, the making of some of the all-time great albums in American rock, soul and jazz.

Over two more years passed before we could afford to shoot again. That was in December of 2000, when we interviewed Mr. Dowd in his apartment, reflecting on his personal and professional life.

In January 2001, Tom Dowd took us backstage to a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert where we conducted an interview with original surviving band members Gary Rossington, Leon Wilkeson and Billy Powell. In February of that year we shot the venerable Mr. Dowd assisting 25-year old guitarist Joe Bonnamassa in the songwriting process.

For the next several months I edited, on my home computer, what became the foundation for the narrative of Tom Dowd & the Language of Music. On the strength of this cut, we were able to secure finishing funds, allowing us, in 2002, to shoot era-specific recording equipment in Los Angeles , archival material in New York , recording studio re-enactments in Miami and interview Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler in Sarasota . Post-production has all taken place in Miami.

This project has truly been a labor of love on the part of a community of film professionals in South Florida . We've considered it a privilege to tell Mr. Dowd's story, and over the course of making the film have had the good fortune of getting to know the man. He was warm and gracious, and never ceased to exude positive energy and good humor. I speak on behalf of the entire crew when I say that it was an honor to have spent so much time in his presence.

It took seven years to make this film, and that turned out to be three months too long. Tom Dowd passed away October 27th, 2002 . I had visited him in the hospital one week before, on his 77th birthday, and spent time with his family who had gathered to spend their last days with the dying man. I gave him a videotape copy of the edit, and he called later in the week to tell me how happy he was with the film. I could hear in his voice how much it meant to him, and that meant everything to me. We now look forward to bringing the story of this one-of-a-kind human being to the world.

Mark Moormann is a Miami-based filmmaker with extensive cinematography and directing credits on documentaries, music videos, commercials and interactive media. His documentaries include Once Upon A Time On South Beach , Hidden Rivers of the Maya and Moonlighting In Haiti .

Moormann's extensive body of work with recording artists includes film shoots in the studio with Aerosmith, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Michael Jackson, as well as collaborations with directors such as Spike Lee and Gus Van Sant. A graduate of the Florida State University in Tallahassee , he has won several grants and fellowships for his work. Moormann is currently developing his next documentary feature about the life and career of bass guitar revolutionary Jaco Pastorius.