All jokes aside, New Jersey is a pretty great place. While it has a lot to offer as a state, it also has a rich musical history of which many people remain unaware. Everyone knows Sinatra and The Boss, but there’s much more.
People abuse hyperbole in this business of media: he/she was a legend, this was groundbreaking, that was the first of its kind. Usually, it’s a bit much, but in this case, Rudy Van Gelder has earned his kudos. Mr. Van Gelder passed away last week at the age of 91. During his time on Earth, Mr. Van Gelder ran two studios (in Hackensack and in Englewood Cliffs) and recorded the majority of the greatest jazz albums ever (no hyperbole).
While not a producer, he was a skilled and thoughtful engineer whose job it was to figure out how to get the sound that the musician and producer wanted to hear on tape. He pioneered the use of tape and brought in the Neumann microphone—both of which have since become gold standards of recording.
There’s much to say about Mr. Van Gelder’s impact on jazz music, recording, and otherwise, but in this case we’ll let the music do the talking. I pulled some of my favorite Van Gelder recordings and cleaned the grooves just for this show. Listen and enjoy.
