recording industry

George Avakian has produced so many pop and jazz recordings over his 50 plus year career with several labels it might be easier to list the recordings he did not take part in. Before entering World War II George had already produced his first recording, as well as writing about the music that he loved so dearly--jazz. While in college he became friends with the great Louis Armstrong, whom George would work with in the 1950s on such products as an album dedicated to the music of W. C. Handy. George played a very important role in reissuing recordings that otherwise may have been lost. He worked hard to bring traditional jazz recordings to newer audiences such as his work with Sidney Bachet in the later part of the great clarinetist’s life.

Ham Brosious began his career in the audio industry as a salesman for Scully in 1960. He went on to establish Audio Techniques, which became a source of innovative pro audio products for years. Among the many products he handled was the mini mixing board created by Andy Bereza for the Allan & Heath Company in England. Ham's influence on the industry can be measured in the number of people who claim him as a mentor and the many who call him friend. Before Ham was interviewed in 2011 for the NAMM Oral History program his was the most-often suggested name to be included in the collection. A sure sign he made his mark on many!

Ed Cherney won a Grammy Award for his work as recording engineer for the 1989 Bonnie Raitt’s album “Nick of Time.” This was just one of his many projects as mixer and engineer. He has worked with the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Elton John, just to name a few. During his career he helped to pioneer recording techniques and equipment as well as build several studios. Ed has won TEC Awards for his work in the industry and is a founding member of the Music Producers Guild of America, which is now the Producers and Engineer’s Wing of The Recording Academy.
 

Lou Curtiss has been a long time supporter of American folk music and in fact, he helped coin the phrase “roots music.” For over 30 years he created, arranged and promoted the annual folk music festival in San Diego beginning in 1967. Lou has also hosted a jazz radio program as well as running his rare record shop in San Diego for over 40 years. His vast knowledge of the growth and development of American music is nothing short of amazing as are the many stories he tells of promoting music and the music makers he has worked with for over 50 years.
 

Nick Firth served as the chairman of BMG Music Publishing for several years during his long and noted career in the music industry. His grandfather and great-uncle owned Chappell Music in the United States as well as in England beginning in the 1910s. Nick grew up in the business and worked for Chappell himself for several years before the company was sold in the 1980s. Nick was also active in the publishing of songs written by BMG Music recording artists.
 

Leslie Ann Jones is the renowned recording engineer and pioneering producer and mixer who helped re-define the craft of engineering in the 1970s and 80s. She is well known for her long list of successful and award winning projects as much as she is known within the industry as a giving and talented professional. She is also a past chair of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Board of Trustees and a multiple Grammy Award winner. Her impressive projects over the years includes the films “Apocalypse Now” and “Happy Feet” as well as the album “Good Night, Good Luck” by Dianne Reeves, which won the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album.

George Klein first met Elvis Presley when the two attended Humes High School in Memphis. Over the years, George became one of Elvis’ closest friends. He was a part of many of the King’s important moments. George appeared in the 1957 film “Jailhouse Rock,” was a groomsman during Elvis’ wedding in 1967, and was a pallbearer at Elvis’ funeral in 1977. He also served as an advisor on many of Elvis’ projects, including the now classic recordings during the late 1960s at the California Recording Studios in Memphis. In fact, it was George who suggested that Elvis record the song “Suspicious Minds.”
 

Dr. Ruth Lion’s late husband, Alfred Lion, was the founder of Blue Note Records. Together they played a colossal role in the documentation of jazz throughout most of the 20th century. The long and impressive list of artists they recorded and promoted reads like a Who’s Who of Jazz including Monk and Gillespie to Rollins and Silver. Her charming personality and warm demeanor resulted in the close friendship with many of the recording artists in jazz. Dr. Lion provided wonderful insight into this era as well as stories behind many of those classic recordings.  Dear Ruth passed away on May 20, 2011, however, the work she did to document jazz music will live forever.

Michael Lloyd is among the most prolific recording producers of the 1970s and 80s. His long list of successes include the Dirty Dancing movie soundtrack and Debbie Boone’s 70s mega hit “You Light Up My Life.” Michael has been equally innovative in the use in his recordings of electronic musical instruments such as synthesizers and the mellotron. In fact his own mellotron, which was originally owned by Karen Carpenter and used on several of Michael’s own recordings, is currently on display in the Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, California.

George Massenburg has been the recording engineer on countless successful albums during his long and varied career, but may be best known for changing the way the music products industry looked at pro-audio gear with his 1972 paper on the parametric equalizer. Parametric equalizer, also known as EQ allows audio engineers to control the three primary parameters of an internal band-pass filter which are amplitude, center frequency and bandwidth. In 1982, Massenburg founded GML, Inc., which produces equipment for specific recording applications, with a strong focus on EQ products.