In a rare interview given to Keyboard Magazine, Greg Phillinganes, who has worked for Michael Jackson in the studio, on Tour, in Videos but also pays tribute to the King of Pop working on projects such as Immortal Tour, recalls moments with Michael.
Here part of the interview regarding Michael:
Was Quincy your entry point into working with Michael Jackson?
Yes, but before Quincy started producing Michael’s solo albums, a buddy of mine named Bobby Colomby called me one day and asked me, “How do you feel about arranging?” Now, even though I’d done some, I was still a bit timid about my abilities. Bobby said to me, “You should do more arranging.” And I replied, “Well, I don’t know.” He then replied, “Let me put it this way. You will do more arranging. And here’s who you’re going to do it with!” The next thing I knew, I was in a room with the Jackson brothers, doing rhythm arrangements for the Destiny album. Th e first song I worked on was “Blame It on the Boogie.”
How did your work with Michael Jackson develop after that?
I had worked on the Jackson 5’s Triumph album after Destiny. After that, Quincy asked me to be involved in Michael’s solo album Off the Wall. I played on virtually all of that album, and things just took off from there.
Then recording with Michael Jackson led to touring?
I’ll never forget the way Michael asked me to tour with him. We were working on the Bad album, and from time to time he’d say, “Um, you really enjoy performing, right?” And I’d say, “Yeah. It’s great.” I didn’t really think anything of it. Time would pass, and he’d say to me, “Um, you like performing live, right?” I’d reply, “Yeah, it’s great.” More time would pass, and he’d then say to me, “Um, you really like live audiences, right?” This went on and on, until it finally dawned on me. I said to him, “You want me to tour with you, don’t you?” And he said, “Yeah.” The next thing I knew, I was the musical director for the Bad tour, which was huge.
Michael did something really sweet for me that I’ll never forget. The running joke at that time was that I was a famous keyboard player but I didn’t own a Rhodes of my own. After we finished the Destiny album, I was at home minding my own business when my doorbell rang. A guy driving a white truck asked me, “Are you Greg Phillinganes? I have something for you.” He opened the truck and took out a giant case with a Rhodes Suitcase model in it. Attached was a note from Michael: “I knew you didn’t have one of these so I thought you’d like one.” I still have that Rhodes, and I recently had it completely redone. It sounds amazing.
How did you wind up musical director of the Immortal show?
A few years ago, John McClain from the Jackson estate called me and said, “You’re doing this,” and that was pretty much it. I’d turned down other Michael Jackson tribute shows because I thought they weren’t of the quality they needed to be. But when I learned that the Immortal was sanctioned by Michael’s estate and involved Cirque du Soleil, I wholeheartedly signed on. I think it’s the next best thing to Michael doing his own tour. Michael was actually a huge fan of Cirque, and had seen all of their shows.
Jamie King, the show’s director, brought Kevin Antunes on board as music designer. Jamie and Kevin had worked together on many productions, including shows for Rihanna and Madonna, and this time, Kevin had the enviable job of going through all of Michael’s original Sony master tapes. He ultimately assembled them into what we now have as our show.
SOURCE: Keyboard Magazine
