Patrick Peters

Ethnomusicology

The Man Behind the Music: How Rudy Van Gelder and

his Studio Propelled Jazz Into the Future.

1
 Many jazz fans have heard Art Blakey’s “Moanin’” and “Free for All,” “Out to

Lunch” by Eric Dolphy, “Saxophone Colossus” by Sonny Rollins, “Maiden Voyage” by

Herbie Hancock, and John Coltrane’s legendary “Blue Train.” However, what’s more

impressive is that all the recording, producing, and mastering of these legendary albums

was handled by a single man: Rudy Van Gelder.1 Van Gelder’s studio, located first in

Hackensack, then relocated to Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, was arguably the most

influential recording studio in jazz throughout the 50s and 60s.2 Known for his unique

sound and the freedom he gave to musicians, Van Gelder came up with a slew of new

techniques, some way ahead of their time, to try and get the most pure sound from each

instrument playing in his living room studio.3 As he stated during an interview for the

movie Blue Note – A Story of Modern Jazz, “[The musicians] wanted to communicate

music to other people. Everything was directed to that.”4

Rudy Van Gelder revolutionized not only jazz and its production, but also music

as a whole. His engineering techniques are often manipulated today, and he is known for

creating some of the most iconic sounds in music history, such as the classic Harmon

buzz of Miles Davis5, or the iconic chant of Coltrane and his band on “A Love

Supreme.”6 Without Rudy Van Gelder’s mastery of recording techniques, the progress of

jazz would have slowed dramatically. Rudy’s intense interest in jazz as a whole, the

unique sounds that he was able to create for each instrument, his ability to keep up with

the evolving technology, and his willingness to work with each musician to capture their

1
Peter Keepnews, “Rudy Van Gelder, 91, Audio Engineer Who Helped Define Jazz Sound on Records, Dies,” The New York Times
(August 25th, 2016): https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/26/arts/music/rudy-van-gelder-audio-engineer-who-helped-define-sound-of-
jazz-on-record-dies-at-91.html?_r=1.
2
Keepnews. “Rudy Van Gelder, 91, Audio Engineer Who Helped Define Jazz Sound on Records Dies.”
3
Dan Skea, “Rudy Van Gelder in Hackensack: Defining the Jazz Sound in the 1950s,” Musicological Studies 71/72 (2002): Pg. 58
4
Blue Note – A Story of Modern Jazz, directed by Julian Benedikt & Andreas Morell (1997; Los Angeles, California: EuroArts
Entertainment, 1997), DVD.
5
Thomas Owens, Bebop: The Music and Its Players (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996), Pg. 118.
6
“Rudy Van Gelder Dies at 91. Recording engineer defined the sound of Blue Note, Prestige, “A Love Supreme” and more,”
JazzTimes, Inc., August 25, 2016, https://jazztimes.com/news/rudy-van-gelder-dies-at-91/.

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expression led to the most innovative period in jazz history7 and propelled the genre into

the future.

Interest in Music and Engineering

Van Gelder was interested in music, and especially jazz, from a very young age.

He came from a musical family, as his father played cornet in the Navy band and he had

two uncles who were professional musicians.8 As a child, Van Gelder took lessons from

Bertram Russell, a trumpet player from the John Philip Sousa band, and he continued to

play trumpet into college.9 Around the same time, Van Gelder also fell in love with the

idea of being a recording engineer. As he said, “[my friends and I] ended up going to a

radio station—WCAU in Philadelphia. I walked into their control room, and the

environment there gave me a very strong feeling. It was that "this was the sort of place

that I'd like to be."”10 From there, Rudy started to put the two aspects of his love together,

setting up a recording studio in his family’s house and recording some of his friends as

well as some other local acts.11

It wasn’t until jazz pianist Bill Triglia, a fellow New Jersey resident, contacted

him that Van Gelder’s career started to take off. The impact of his love for music,

especially jazz, showed immediately. As Triglia stated, “We knew [Rudy] was a good

engineer, and he liked jazz. We pushed him, because he was a nice guy, and he did have a

love for jazz. And he respected us.”12 That respect was given to all musicians who

recorded with him, and even the label owners noticed it. Bob Weinstock, owner of the

Prestige label, one of the many giant labels that Van Gelder recorded for, stated that,

7
“Rudy Van Gelder Dies at 91. Recording engineer defined the sound of Blue Note, Prestige, “A Love Supreme” and more.”
8
Skea, “Rudy Van Gelder in Hackensack: Defining the Jazz Sound in the 1950s,” 55-56.
9
Ibid 55-56.
10
Ibid 56.
11
Steve Huey, “Rudy Van Gelder Biography,” Allmusic.com, March 18, 2017, http://www.allmusic.com/artist/rudy-van-gelder-
mn0000305301/biography.
12
Skea, “Rudy Van Gelder in Hackensack: Defining the Jazz Sound in the 1950s,” 59.

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“There was always mutual respect—the musicians for him and him for the musicians . . .

See, the main thing about him—he wasn't a bullshitter. He loved the music. Even before

he recorded it, he loved the music. And he loved the musicians, like I did. So it wasn't

some guy just doing it for the money. He put his heart and soul into it.”13 Perhaps

Michael Cuscuna, a producer who was a colleague of Van Gelder’s, said it best, “Inspired

by the live music experience, he sought to record jazz in a controlled environment as

close to what it sounded like in person.”14 Rudy Van Gelder’s love of jazz was a huge

factor in his drive to record. He knew what it was like to experience jazz live, and he

worked to make sure that experience was available to all who would buy his records. As

is discussed later, Rudy took input from all the musicians he worked with in order to

make sure he could present their bands as if they were right there in the room, as opposed

to just on a recording. That kind of innovation was unheard of, and caught the attention of

many fantastic jazz artists of the day.

Recording Techniques

One of the most important things to remember about Van Gelder, and he

expressed this sentiment, was that he was an engineer, not a producer.15 Instead of

staying behind the glass, Van Gelder would roam the room, setting up the microphones

and balancing the band. Unfortunately, Van Gelder was extremely protective of his

techniques, refusing to share his secrets with anyone. The most significant innovation that

we know of for certain is that he reinvented microphone placement. For a long period of

time, records were made with one or two microphones located by the horns and the

rhythm section. Van Gelder would have a microphone for every instrument in the room

13
Skea, “Rudy Van Gelder in Hackensack: Defining the Jazz Sound in the 1950s,” 68.
14
“Rudy Van Gelder Dies at 91. Recording engineer defined the sound of Blue Note, Prestige, “A Love Supreme” and more.”
15
Keepnews, “Rudy Van Gelder, 91, Audio Engineer Who Helped Define Jazz Sound on Records, Dies.”

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and his locations, while not known, “allowed the musicians to sound as though they were

playing from different locations in the room, which in reality they were. This created a

sensation of dimension and depth,” according to Van Gelder himself.16 Other techniques

of his include wrapping a microphone in foam, and then sticking it into the tone hole in

the piano, although this is not confirmed.17

Aside from his setup techniques, Van Gelder is especially well known for his

fantastic cutting of lacquer masters. Using a Scully lathe, a device with a rotating drive

that turns the piece being worked on against certain tools, Van Gelder taught himself how

to transfer audio from the many tapes he recorded to the disc itself.18 This is the most

critical step in the process, and unlike many major record labels, which turned the job

over to associates, Rudy handled the task on his own. He actually became so proficient at

it that he was hired by companies specifically to master their tapes.19

Innovations and Other Recording Challenges

Rudy also tackled many other challenges, like live recordings. Van Gelder

traveled to many of the popular jazz venues of the day and recorded full performances at

really high quality, doing so before most of the industry. Over the years, Van Gelder

produced several fantastic live albums such as A Night at Birdland by Art Blakey,

Smokin’ at the Half Note by Wynton Kelly, and“Live” at the Village Vanguard by John

Coltrane.20 Van Gelder also was the first to record jazz organist Jimmy Smith.21 The

Hammond B-3 Organ was a very difficult instrument to record, and trying to keep the

natural sound Van Gelder was known for was unheard of. And yet, Blue Note records

16
Keepnews, “Rudy Van Gelder, 91, Audio Engineer Who Helped Define Jazz Sound on Records, Dies.”
17
Marc Myers, “Cultural Conversation/With Rudy Van Gelder: New Jersey Jazz Revolution,” The Wall Street Journal (February 7,
2012): https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203806504577180932802903306.
18
Skea, “Rudy Van Gelder in Hackensack: Defining the Jazz Sound in the 1950s,” 65.
19
Ibid 65.
20
Skea, “Rudy Van Gelder in Hackensack: Defining the Jazz Sound in the 1950s,” 55.
21
Ibid 70.

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owner Alfred Lion entrusted Van Gelder to unveil this new sound to the jazz world. As

Dan Skea notes, “Smith's early Blue Note albums, combining his innovative playing style

with Van Gelder's improved recording methods, made a significant impact in the jazz

world, spawning a generation of Smith disciples and making the organ trio one of the

most popular instrumental configurations in jazz for the next fifteen years.”22

The sound itself that Van Gelder created is an entirely different discussion. As

mentioned earlier, Van Gelder strove to capture the feeling of a live performance, as if

you were sitting in the room with the musicians. Rudy actually delves even further into

this idea in an interview with Marc Myers, where he reveals that he wanted to capture

“the human spirit,” and to make the records sound “as warm and as realistic as

possible.”23 In more concrete terms, Rudy was aiming to reproduce a sense of space in

the overall sound picture, as he noted to Peter Keepnews shortly before his death.24 Each

instrument had a very precise sound as well. Generally, his piano sound, produced from

the small Steinway in his studio, was tight and boxy, but not overbearing. The drums

have been described as clean, crisp, and balanced, which is quite impressive given he

recorded many albums with more wild drummers such as Art Blakey.25 And of course,

the horn solos contained modest echo and a remote sound, yet carry a very heavy

presence in the group balance.26

Adjustments and Evolutions Throughout his Career

Somewhat surprisingly, Van Gelder never stopped evolving with the industry.

While he set a frantic recording pace in the 50s and 60s, Van Gelder continued to record

22
Skea, “Rudy Van Gelder in Hackensack: Defining the Jazz Sound in the 1950s,” 70.
23
Keepnews, “Rudy Van Gelder, 91, Audio Engineer Who Helped Define Jazz Sound on Records, Dies.”
24
Ibid.
25
Thomas Owens, “Van Gelder, Rudy,” The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, no. 2.
26
Thomas Owens, Bebop: The Music and Its Players (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996), 117.

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albums until his much later years. In fact, his studio was used as recently as 2011, to

record pianist Cedar Walton’s The Bouncer. His ability to adapt was evident upon the

very start of his career. Professional recording technology was not commercially

available when he pursued a career as an engineer. In order to upgrade the equipment he

got his hands on, Van Gelder would send away for kits and parts, using them to build

amplifiers and recording consoles.27 When he was firmly established as a successful

engineer, he continued to work ahead of the industry, becoming one of the first engineers

to purchase a German microphone known as the Neuman U-47, which was found to be

vastly superior to its predecessors and all of the current technology available in the

United States.28 Instead of settling for these microphones, Van Gelder contacted a man

named Rein Narma, a studio engineering specialist, who discovered a way to modify the

Neuman’s amplifier so that it could be used effectively at short range.29 It was this

modification that allowed Rudy Van Gelder to record Miles Davis playing with a

Harmon mute on his legendary Workin’, Steamin’, Cookin’, and Relaxin’ albums.30

Ironically, Van Gelder very much disliked LPs and was a big supporter of the

digital age and its innovations. In 1995, he is quoted as saying, ““The biggest distorter is

the LP itself. I’ve made thousands of LP masters … and I’m glad to see the LP go. As far

as I’m concerned, good riddance. It was a constant battle to try to make that music sound

the way it should. It was never any good. And if people don’t like what they hear in

digital, they should blame the engineer who did it. Blame the mastering house. Blame the

mixing engineer.”31 In his twilight years, Van Gelder was an enthusiastic supporter of the

27
Skea, “Rudy Van Gelder in Hackensack: Defining the Jazz Sound in the 1950s,” 58.
28
Ibid 61.
29
Ibid 61.
30
Ibid 62.
31
“Rudy Van Gelder Dies at 91. Recording engineer defined the sound of Blue Note, Prestige, “A Love Supreme” and more.”

7
use of digital audio and would work constantly to learn the newest software.32 “I believe

today's equipment is fantastic,” he says, “I wouldn't want to face a session without the

editing capabilities of digital…After the original is recorded, edited and mixed, then

what? You need a digital delivery medium. In that sense, the final product can be much

higher quality than in the '70s.”33

Relationship with Musicians

More important than any of his technological advancements was his attention to

the musicians themselves. In the end, the musicians are the ones creating the sound and

pouring their soul into their notes, weaving stories with each melodic line. Van Gelder

understood this and made sure to work very closely with everyone who visited his quaint

studio. This respect for the musicians has already been displayed in quotes like those of

Bill Triglia, “We knew [Rudy] was a good engineer, and he liked jazz. We pushed him,

because he was a nice guy, and he did have a love for jazz. And he respected us.”34 The

mutual respect between musician and engineer went a long way in creating the perfect

sounds. Billy Taylor, another famous jazz pianist, went to Van Gelder with a specific

request for his sound. As he describes, “I took some [Art] Tatum records out and some

other pianists' records that I thought would help me explain what I was trying to get at.

And we listened to them. He was the first engineer that I worked with who was that

sensitive, and really just took time and cared about mike placement and all that sort of

stuff. And I was just knocked out because here was a guy who was willing to take that

kind of time on his own to listen and to, you know, say, "Well, okay— play something’'

32
Jeff Forlenza, “Rudy Van Gelder: Jazz and the Art of Technical Excellence,” Newbay Media, May 1, 2005,
http://www.mixonline.com/news/profiles/rudy-van-gelder/375282.
33
Ibid.
34
Skea, “Rudy Van Gelder in Hackensack: Defining the Jazz Sound in the 1950s,” 59.

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And I'd play something, and he'd put a mike in one place and go back in the other room.

And then say, "Okay, let's try that again," and put a mike somewhere else.” 35

Another notable example involves Miles Davis and his Walkin’ studio session.

Aside from working with Miles earlier to create that trademark icy Harmon buzz, Van

Gelder also helped bring legendary drummer Kenny Clarke’s sound to life. Thomas

Owens describes the scenario, “Van Gelder miked the drum set closely and captured the

cymbal strokes cleanly and clearly…The clarity of the recording allows us to appreciate

why drummers take pride in their cymbals, for Clarke's ride cymbal sound is beautiful

here. His playing during the last six choruses — two by Davis, two of a secondary theme,

and two of the main theme — illustrate the beauties of bebop drumming at its best.”36

Even when dealing with the small quirks of musicians, Van Gelder worked only in ways

so as not to cause a racket. Bob Weinstock describes an incident involving tenor

saxophonist Booker Ervin, in which Ervin, “could become so involved in what he was

playing, [he] went into a trancelike state. Rudy, who wanted to stop the take due to some

technical difficulty, walked up to the eyes-tightly-shut Ervin and shined a flashlight in his

face. Some of the people in the studio, myself included, thought it crass at the time. Now

I realize that he probably thought it was better than yelling at Booker. Rudy was basically

gentle.”37

Final Thoughts

What better way to describe Rudy Van Gelder than with his own words. “All I’ll

say is nothing is simple, everything is complex.”38 Van Gelder was not a general engineer

who followed the traditional recording techniques. He was a part of the jazz culture. He

35
Skea, “Rudy Van Gelder in Hackensack: Defining the Jazz Sound in the 1950s,” 59-60.
36
Owens, Bebop: The Music and Its Players, 182.
37
Ira Gitler, “Vangelder’s Studio,” JazzTimes, Inc., April 1st, 2001, https://jazztimes.com/news/vangelders-studio/
38
Myers, “Cultural Conversation/With Rudy Van Gelder: New Jersey Jazz Revolution,”

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had grown up listening to jazz with his friends in various clubs around Philadelphia, and

he knew how enticing and invigorating it truly sounds.39 Jazz was not, and is still not, just

music. Each musician is telling their own story. When those stories intertwine, it creates a

community, and up until Van Gelder arrived, that kind of closeness was never conveyed

over records.

“It's not a question of high or low quality; it's just my approach to the music.

Since I was there and I still have a strong recollection of what the musicians and

producers were trying to do, I feel I can carry that through to the mastering process. I

would like to emphasize it's not a question of good or bad, it's just that I'm the

messenger.”40 Ultimately, the listener will decide whether or not they like a certain artist

and their music. Van Gelder never fought to make the music sound popular, or even

‘good or bad.’ At the end of the day, Rudy Van Gelder only worked to make sure that

these prolific artists could tell their stories, and it is difficult to say that he did not

succeed.

39
Skea, “Rudy Van Gelder in Hackensack: Defining the Jazz Sound in the 1950s,” 55-56.
40
Forlenza, “Rudy Van Gelder: Jazz and the Art of Technical Excellence.”

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 Bibliography

Blue Note – A Story of Modern Jazz. Directed by Julian Benedikt & Andreas Morell.
1997. Los Angeles, California: EuroArts Entertainment, 1997. DVD.

Eastwood, Myles. “Rudy Van Gelder.” Eastwoodrecords.co.uk. August 31, 2016.

https://www.eastwoodrecords.co.uk/mini-blog/2016/8/31/rudy-van-gelder.

Forlenza, Jeff. “Rudy Van Gelder: Jazz and the Art of Technical Excellence.” Newbay
Media. May 1, 2005. http://www.mixonline.com/news/profiles/rudy-van-
gelder/375282.

Gitler, Ira. “Vangelder’s Studio.” JazzTimes, Inc.. April 1st, 2001.

https://jazztimes.com/news/vangelders-studio/

Huey, Steve. “Rudy Van Gelder Biography.” Allmusic.com. March 18, 2017.
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/rudy-van-gelder-mn0000305301/biography.

Keepnews, Peter. “Rudy Van Gelder, 91, Audio Engineer Who Helped Define Jazz
Sound on Records, Dies.” New York Times (August 25th, 2016):
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/26/arts/music/rudy-van-gelder-audio-engineer-
who-helped-define-sound-of-jazz-on-record-dies-at-91.html?_r=1

Myers, Marc.“Cultural Conversation/With Rudy Van Gelder: New Jersey Jazz

Revolution.” The Wall Street Journal (February 7, 2012):
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100014240529702038065045771809328029033
06.

Owens, Thomas. Bebop: The Music and Its Players. New York: Oxford University Press,
1996.

Owens, Thomas. “Van Gelder, Rudy.” The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, no. 2.

Rickert, Thomas. Ambient Rhetoric: The Attunements of Rhetorical Being. Pittsburgh:

University of Pittsburgh Press, 2013.

“Rudy Van Gelder Dies at 91. Recording engineer defined the sound of Blue Note,
Prestige, “A Love Supreme” and more.” JazzTimes, Inc.. August 25, 2016.
https://jazztimes.com/news/rudy-van-gelder-dies-at-91/.

Skea, Dan. “Rudy Van Gelder in Hackensack: Defining the Jazz Sound in the 1950s.”
Musicological Studies 71/72 (2002): 54-76.

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