Last Updated: 20051004, mei
History of the Grand Recording Studios of New York City
Moderator:
Elliot Mazer, Columbia Studios, A&R, Bell Sound
Panelists:
Brooks Arthur, Mira Sound, A&R
Bob "Red" Eberenz, Fine Recording
Harry Hirsch, Mediasound
Frank Laico, Columbia 30th Street
Jeffrey Lesser, Mediasound
Phil Ramone, A&R
Don Puluse, Columbia Studios
Jim Reeves, Columbia Studios, Record Plant
Walter Sear, Fine Recording, Sear Sound
Ed Stasium, Mediasound, Power Station
Abstract:
What makes a great record? Good songs and performances, obviously, but beyond that the mysterious alchemy of the recording process. In New York during the late 1940s, ‘50s, ‘60s, and beyond, that process took place from within a tightly knit consortium of studios fashioned out of old hotels, abandoned offices, and electric plants covering an area barely 10 blocks wide, using equipment and effects that were sometimes good, sometimes bad but almost always built from scratch.
Author Dave Simons’ recent book Studio Stories, How the Great New York Records Were Made (Backbeat) compiled 30 years worth of this fascinating history, featuring fabled old facilities like Columbia’s 30th Street Studio, A&R, Bell Sound, Fine Sound, Mira, Dick Charles, Allegro and Associated and centered around a basic theme: the spark of ingenuity that marked the early and middle years of modern recording.
“History of the Grand Recording Studios of New York City” will commemorate this remarkable era with a panel featuring many of the book’s most prominent players, whose astonishing expertise and brilliant improvisation helped give each of these studios their “fingerprint” sound (that you can still hear on the radio today). A multimedia presentation of recordings and photos from the featured studios and sessions will serve as backdrop.
A book signing with the author and panelists will immediately follow the event.
