Rudy van Gelder: A Signature Sound (2011)

In a way, this is more than an analogy because Rudy's initial recording studio was the living room in his parents' home in Hackensack, NJ before he built his own studio in near-by Englewoods Cliffs, NJ. Rudy doesn't talk much about himself or his views on the subject of sound engineering. The editorial staff at JazzProfiles thought this rare glimpse of Rudy van Gelder discussing himself and his technical approach to sound recording would make an interesting feature for its readers. "Dr. Rudy Van Gelder's formal education was in optometry, but his heart and the majority of his professional years have been devoted full-time to the recording industry." Ask any Jazz buff about Rudy, and they'll name him as the recording engineer responsible for all those classic Blue Note and Prestige Records, among almost countless others. Who is responsible for making the decision to alter the sound at this late a stage in the recording process? Considering the reverence given to the his­torical Blue Note recordings and the fact that they were accomplished direct to two-track, do you get many requests nowadays to record direct to two-track? That's why some digital recordings sound terrible, and I'm not denying that they do, but don't blame the medium.