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Trustees Award: Rudy Van Gelder

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Fusion star Jeff Lorber pays tribute to innovative jazz engineer
Jeff Lorber
GRAMMYs
Feb 1, 2012 - 3:32 pm
GRAMMY.com

As a young music student at Berklee College of Music in 1970, I started to buy what was considered the classic jazz music library and started a lifelong love of music that still sounds as alive and creative today as it did when it was recorded. Later, as I started to pay more attention to the credits of these records, one credit stood out: "Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder at Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey." Obviously, Englewood Cliffs was a magical place where all kinds of amazing recording took place. Horace Silver's Song For My Father and Blowin' The Blues Away;  Sidewinder by Lee Morgan; Life Time by Tony Williams; The Prisoner and Speak Like A Child by Herbie Hancock; The Real McCoy and Tender Moments by McCoy Tyner; Joe Henderson's early records; Freddie Hubbard; Miles; and the list goes on ... and on! These are records that I loved then and I still can’t get enough of listening to.

Of course, the amazing cover artwork of the Blue Note classics helped establish that label as the gold standard of jazz, but without the inspired music and superb recording techniques of Rudy Van Gelder, no one would have noticed. I'm sure that Rudy's training as an optometrist helped him master the new technology of recording and the fine adjustments that are required by a master recording professional and mixer. He astutely chose his tools carefully as newly invented microphones and recording gear became available.

Rudy went on to record and mix an unprecedented number of jazz classics, including works by Bud Powell, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Charles Mingus, and Thelonious Monk, among others. He even recorded most of the albums released by Creed Taylor's CTI Records, which were a bit more in the pop and R&B directions, and pointed the way to a more modern style of jazz music production.

I'm glad to report that Rudy is still busy recording. The legacy of the brilliant jazz records he helped bring to life only seems to gain importance as time goes on.

(Four-time GRAMMY nominee Jeff Lorber was a major force in jazz fusion in the '70s, '80s and beyond as a solo artist and as the architect of Jeff Lorber Fusion. Jeff Lorber Fusion's latest album, Galaxy, was released in January.)

In addition to the GRAMMY Awards, The Recording Academy presents Special Merit Awards recognizing contributions of significance to the recording field, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, Trustees Award and Technical GRAMMY Award. Each year, The Academy invites friends and colleagues of Special Merit Awards recipients to pay tribute to the honorees' career accomplishments, while also adding colorful anecdotes and personal accounts. In the days leading up to the 54th GRAMMY Awards, GRAMMY.com will present the tributes to the 2012 Special Merit Awards recipients.

Follow GRAMMY.com for our inside look at GRAMMY news, blogs, photos, videos, and of course nominees. Stay up to the minute with GRAMMY Live. Check out the GRAMMY legacy with GRAMMY Rewind. Explore this year's GRAMMY Fields. Or check out the collaborations at Re:Generation, presented by Hyundai Veloster. And join the conversation at Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

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A Special Affair

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GRAMMYs
Feb 11, 2012 - 9:33 pm

By Paul Grein

The Recording Academy's Special Merit Awards Ceremony was especially heartfelt this year, a reflection on the mortality of several of the honorees. Glen Campbell, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2011. Three of the recipients died last year: Gil Scott-Heron, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award; Steve Jobs, who received a Trustees Award; and engineer Roger Nichols, who received a Technical GRAMMY Award.

"Hallelujah!" exclaimed Diana Ross, striking a personal note in accepting her Lifetime Achievement Award. "Lifetime Achievement?" she mused. "To me, my lifetime achievement are my children," pointing to her three daughters, two sons and first grandson, who joined her onstage.

Campbell let his wife, Kimberly, offer most of his thank yous, but he did single out the songwriter who gave him "By The Time I Get To Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman" and "Galveston." "I probably wouldn't be here today if it weren't for Jimmy Webb," he said. Campbell was an in-demand Los Angeles session guitarist before he became a country crossover star. In 1969 he became the first country artist to win a GRAMMY for Album Of The Year.

The Lifetime Achievement Award to the Allman Brothers Band was accepted by eight past or present members of the legendary Southern rock group: Gregg Allman, Oteil Burbridge, Warren Haynes, Jaimoe, Chuck Leavell, Mark Quinones, and Butch and Derek Trucks, as well as representatives on behalf of the late Duane Allman and Berry Oakley.

Jaimoe told a funny story about how he came to join the band when he was just 16. "When I met Duane, I was on my way to New York to become a jazz musician and starve to death," he said. "But Charles Otis, who was a friend of mine, always said, 'If you wanna make some money, go play with the white boys.' So I forgot about going to become a jazz musician."

Derek Trucks noted that when the band was founded, "it took balls of steel" to have an interracial rock playing "the chitlin' circuit." Butch Trucks said simply, "Thank you, Duane, for giving me my life."

Scott-Heron was cited for his social commentary and influential role in the development of rap and hip-hop. He died last May, and his Lifetime Achievement Award was accepted by his four children. Daughter Raquiyah Kelly Heron said she thought her father "would be tickled pink" by the award. But she added, "I'm kind of glad it's not televised. He would have probably said something and gotten CBS fined."

George Jones was cited for a career that started with his first album in 1957. Jones has won two GRAMMYs, including one for the all-time country classic "He Stopped Loving Her Today." Like several of the other honorees, Jones primarily thanked his fans "for making my career successful."

The Memphis Horns (trumpeter Wayne Jackson and tenor saxophonist Andrew Love) played on countless hits on Stax Records and Hi Records in the '60s and '70s, as well as sessions for everyone from Neil Diamond to Bonnie Raitt. "It's been a dance of love between me and that trumpet," said Jackson, who singled out Jerry Wexler for his help.

Antonio Carlos Jobim spearheaded the bossa nova sound that swept the globe in the '60s. His Lifetime Achievement Award was accepted by his widow, Ana. Jobim died in 1994.

This marks the second time Jobs' work has been honored by The Academy. He was a co-founder of Apple Computer Inc., which received a Technical GRAMMY Award in 2002. His continuing contributions led to this personal acknowledgement for the visionary, who died last October. Jobs' Trustees Award was accepted by Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet software and services, who made note of Jobs' love of music.

"Music shaped his life and made him who he was," said Cue. "When he introduced the iPod in 2001, people asked, 'Why are you doing this?' He said, 'We love music and it's always good to do something you love.'"

Dave Bartholomew is a musician, bandleader, composer and arranger, best known for his work with Fats Domino, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987. Bartholomew wasn't able to accept his Trustees Award in person, so it was accepted by his two sons.

Engineer Rudy Van Gelder has recorded thousands of jazz sessions, including classic albums for Blue Note Records by Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane. His Trustees Award was accepted by pianist/composer Cecilia Coleman.

Audio engineer Nichols won six GRAMMYs for his work with Steely Dan and a seventh for his work with John Denver. He also worked a span of artists including Crosby, Stills & Nash to Cher. His Technical GRAMMY Award was accepted by his widow and two daughters.

The German-based company Celemony also received a Technical GRAMMY Award. The company specializes in the digital audio pitch-correction software known as Melodyne. Founded in 2000, the company has just 20 employees, which prompted co-founder Peter Neubacker, to say, "Our company is the smallest ever to win a Technical GRAMMY — and also the strangest." 

News

Trustees Award: Al Bell

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Huey Lewis on 2011 Trustees Award recipient Al Bell, the man who put Memphis on the map
Huey Lewis
GRAMMYs
Feb 4, 2011 - 7:00 am
GRAMMY.com

In addition to the GRAMMY Awards, The Recording Academy presents Special Merit Awards recognizing contributions of significance to the recording field, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, Trustees Award and Technical GRAMMY Award. Each year, The Academy invites friends and colleagues of Special Merit Awards recipients to pay tribute to the honorees' career accomplishments, while also adding colorful anecdotes and personal accounts. In the days leading up to the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards, GRAMMY.com will present the tributes to the 12 Special Merit Awards recipients for 2011.

Al Bell might be the person most responsible for my musical taste.

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area in the '60s, with folk music and early psychedelic music as a backdrop, my constant radio companion was soul station KDIA in Oakland. Not the obvious choice for a suburban white kid, but then, my dad was a jazz drummer and my mom loved psychedelic stuff, and I needed something of my own. KDIA was the sister station of the famous WDIA in Memphis. Needless to say, both stations played a healthy dose of Stax records, which were either promoted, commissioned, produced, or written by Al Bell.

Alvertis Isbell was old school before the term. Soul music came from the church, and Al knew the church. As a young man he worked for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and when he speaks the similarity is striking. He came to Stax from radio where he was a DJ, both in Little Rock, Ark. and Washington, D.C. He started as a promotion man. Incredibly hardworking and dynamic, he became a co-owner of Stax and grew the company into the second-largest black-owned business of the '70s. He was incredibly ambitious, famously releasing 27 albums and 30 singles in one month. He was "hands-on," producing and even writing hits for the label including "I'll Take You There" for the Staple Singers. In 1972 he produced Wattstax, the all-Stax concert at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and the Golden Globe-nominated film about the event. It's been said he "put Memphis on the map," an incredible statement when you consider the vast musical history of the town.

The demise of Stax Records in the mid-'70s was complicated and messy and resulted in Al retreating from the business for several years. But Al Bell is a fighter and he did not give up. With the help of Berry Gordy Jr. he rebuilt his career, first as president of Motown Records and then with his own label, Bellmark Records. And now as chairman of the Memphis Music Foundation, Al Bell is back in Memphis, doing what he's always been doing…promoting Memphis music.

At 70 years old, he seems newly invigorated. He's still a workaholic (his friends say he works 24 hours a day, breaking only at midnight to eat his wife's fried chicken), and still as passionate as ever. When I last saw him in late 2010, it was at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis at a playback party for our new record, Soulsville, which is a tribute to Memphis soul music. He was dressed immaculately, as usual, in a suit, monogrammed shirt, his tie perfectly matching his pocket square, and his cuff links shining. He was complimentary of the album, and especially the song selection, but then I knew we'd have the same taste.

(Huey Lewis, primarily with his band the News, has earned five GRAMMY nominations, including Record Of The Year nods for "The Power Of Love" and "The Heart Of Rock And Roll," and won the Best Music Video, Long Form award in 1985 for Huey Lewis & The News — The Heart Of Rock 'N' Roll. The group's newest album is the Memphis tribute Soulsville.)

This Special Merit Award is presented by vote of The Recording Academy's National Trustees to individuals who, during their careers in music, have made contributions, other than performance, to the field of recording. The Trustees Award was established in 1967. To view a complete list of Trustees Award recipients, click here.

Lifetime Achievement Award: Julie Andrews, Roy Haynes, Juilliard String Quartet, The Kingston Trio, Dolly Parton, Ramones, George Beverly Shea
Trustees Award: Wilma Cozart Fine, Bruce Lundvall
Technical GRAMMY Award: Roger Linn, Waves Audio Ltd.

 

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The Recording Academy Announces Special Merit Award Honorees

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Allman Brothers Band, Glen Campbell, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Steve Jobs, Gil Scott-Heron, George Jones, and Diana Ross among Special Merit Awards recipients
GRAMMYs
Dec 21, 2011 - 3:50 am
GRAMMY.com

(For a complete list of 54th GRAMMY Awards nominees, please click here.)

The Recording Academy today announced its 2012 Special Merit Awards recipients. This year's Lifetime Achievement Award recipients are Allman Brothers Band, Glen Campbell, Antonio Carlos Jobim, George Jones, the Memphis Horns, Diana Ross, and Gil Scott-Heron; this year's Trustees Award honorees are Dave Bartholomew, Steve Jobs and Rudy Van Gelder; and Celemony and Roger Nichols are this year's Technical GRAMMY Award honorees.

The special invitation-only ceremony will be held during GRAMMY Week on Feb. 11, 2012, and a formal acknowledgment will be made during the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards telecast, which will be held at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, and broadcast live at 8 p.m. ET/PT on the CBS Television Network.

"This year's honorees offer a variety of brilliance, contributions and lasting impressions on our culture," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. "It is an honor to recognize such a diverse group of individuals whose talents and achievements have had an indelible impact on our industry."

The Lifetime Achievement Award honors lifelong artistic contributions to the recording medium while the Trustees Award recognizes outstanding contributions to the industry in a nonperforming capacity. Both awards are determined by vote of The Recording Academy's National Board of Trustees. Technical GRAMMY Award recipients are determined by vote of The Academy's Producers & Engineers Wing Advisory Council and Chapter Committees as well as The Academy's Trustees. The award is presented to individuals and companies who have made contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording field.

For more information on this year's Special Merit Awards honorees, click here.

For breaking news and exclusive content, join The Recording Academy's social networks on Twitter and Facebook, and on YouTube.

News

Trustees Award: Wilma Cozart Fine

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Editor/writer Harry Pearson on 2011 Trustees Award recipient Wilma Cozart Fine and her commitment to progressing classical music
Harry Pearson
GRAMMYs
Feb 1, 2011 - 11:28 am
GRAMMY.com

In addition to the GRAMMY Awards, The Recording Academy presents Special Merit Awards recognizing contributions of significance to the recording field, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, Trustees Award and Technical GRAMMY Award. Each year, The Academy invites friends and colleagues of Special Merit Awards recipients to pay tribute to the honorees' career accomplishments, while also adding colorful anecdotes and personal accounts. In the days leading up to the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards, GRAMMY.com will present the tributes to the 12 Special Merit Awards recipients for 2011.

The words Wilma Cozart Fine lived by were "trust your ears." This was the guiding principle that defined her working life. For those who don't know the name, hers was a working life to remember.

Cozart Fine, who died at age 82 in September 2009, was the recording director for Mercury Records' Living Presence classical recordings during the mid-'50s and '60s. And yet, the recordings she produced, though more than 50 years old, even by contemporary standards, sound as fresh on the original LPs and remasterings on CD (she supervised the latter) as any two-channel CDs being issued today.

Cozart Fine was a creature of seeming contradictions. She was a pragmatic, hardheaded visionary, the sharpness of whose business and artistic judgments were matched by the acuity of her hearing. She had an exact memory of the sound of the music she heard and used that as a reference with which to assess any reproductions of it.

She started working for Mercury when it was largely a pop label, taking over its quite small classical division. She built it into a force to be reckoned with, imitated by all the major American labels of the time, even RCA Victor. She signed Antal Dorati (whom she had worked for with the Minneapolis and Dallas Symphony Orchestras, the latter of which she served as his personal secretary and later as de facto manager), Janos Starker, Byron Janis, Paul Paray, Frederick Fennell And The Eastman Wind Ensemble, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, among others. She oversaw the first American recordings made in Cold War Russia, and developed marketing innovations still copied to this day.

Cozart Fine became the keeper of the flame at Mercury, working tirelessly and with an uncompromising will ("the iron fist inside the velvet glove" is a phrase used by more than one associate who worked with her) to preserve the sound of the Living Presence Recordings, which, essentially, she oversaw (with eagle ears), while her husband, C. Robert Fine, provided the engineering know-how to create a simulacrum, which was, at heart, as closely faithful to the original as the technology allowed. All of this was done with minimal miking and jiggling with the signal.

Because of her musical training, both in college and afterward (in Dallas and Minneapolis with Dorati), she subscribed, undeviatingly, to the concept of music itself, the absolute sound, unamplified music occurring in a real space, as her final reference. As a result, virtually every one of the Living Presence issues is a prime example of the recorded art. They were then, still are now, and will continue to be touchstones into the future.

(Harry Pearson is the founding editor of The Absolute Sound, and a longtime reviewer of Cozart Fine's recordings.)

Established in 1967, the Trustees Award Special Merit Award is presented by vote of The Recording Academy's National Trustees to individuals who, during their careers in music, have made contributions, other than performance, to the field of recording. To view a complete list of Trustees Award recipients, click here.

Lifetime Achievement Award: Julie Andrews, Roy Haynes, Juilliard String Quartet, The Kingston Trio, Dolly Parton, Ramones, George Beverly Shea
Trustees Award: Al Bell, Bruce Lundvall
Technical GRAMMY Award: Roger Linn, Waves Audio Ltd.