AES New York 2019
Historical Track Event H03
Thursday, October 17, 1:15 pm — 2:45 pm (1E08)
Historical: H03 - Rudy Van Gelder: A Legacy in Audio Engineering
Presenters:Richard Capeless, Deep Groove Mono - New York, NY, USA
Thomas Fine, Tom Fine Audio Services - Brewster, NY, USA
Ashley Kahn
Don Sickler, Second Floor Music - New York, NY, USA
Maureen Sickler, Second Floor Music - New York, NY, USA
Rudy Van Gelder, or “RVG” as most jazz fans know him, was responsible for laying to tape hundreds of classic jazz recordings spanning a period of over five decades, which were released on a variety of labels including Blue Note, Prestige, Savoy, Impulse, Verve, and CTI. His rise from obscurity to engineering fame centered on a unique approach to his work, about which he was famously secretive. Beginning in a makeshift living room recording studio in his parents’ Hackensack, New Jersey, home, Van Gelder would eventually build a one-of-a-kind cathedral-like studio in nearby Englewood Cliffs that is still in use today.
Always on the cutting edge of technology, Van Gelder used a plethora of state-of-the-art tools to create “the Van Gelder Sound,” a distinct and easily recognizable sonic fingerprint that helped define the sound of jazz on record during the classic analog era of the 1950s and 1960s. Van Gelder’s legacy is that of an individual who fully realized his dream to work in a creative capacity, and his story serves as inspiration for anyone striving to make their lifelong dreams a reality.
Sharing that story will be Michael Cuscuna, producer and founder of Mosaic Records, and Don Sickler, publisher and co-founder of Second Floor Music, who along with his wife Maureen, currently runs the Englewood Cliffs studio.