"As much as sound is important to me as an engineer, it is the performance and the feel that sell the record."

• Born Albert Harry Schmitt April 17, 1930, in Brooklyn, New York.
   
• Throughout his career, Al Schmitt has worked with a variety of artists from Henry Mancini, Steely Dan and Toto to Ray Charles, Diana Krall, Natalie Cole, and Paul McCartney. His patented engineering work on George Benson's 1976 album, Breezin', helped the album reach the top of Billboard's pop, jazz and R&B charts.
   
• Schmitt won his first GRAMMY for Best Engineering Contribution for 1962 for Mancini's Hatari soundtrack.
   
• Dating back to the 1960s, Schmitt has won GRAMMYs in six consecutive decades. In 2006 he was honored with a Recording Academy Trustees Award.
   
• In 2013 the Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing honored Schmitt at An Evening of Jazz in recognition of his ongoing support for the art and craft of recorded music.
   
• Schmitt is a co-chair of the annual Recording Industry Golf Tournament, which supports the music and recording program at A Place Called Home, a dynamic community center and safe haven in South Central Los Angeles.