Rudy Van Gelder
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Commonly regarded as one of the most important recording engineers in music history, Van Gelder is one of the legendary behind-the-scenes figures in jazz, recording several hundred jazz sessions, including many widely recognized as classics. Bringing an unprecedented clarity to jazz recording, Van Gelder has recorded many of the great names in jazz, including trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Thelonious Monk, saxophonists Wayne Shorter and John Coltrane, and many others. He worked with many record companies, but is most closely associated with Blue Note Records.
Van Gelder's recording techniques are often admired for the warmth and presence he brings to the end result. However, this view is not universally shared, and, in particular, critics have expressed a distaste for a thin and recessed sound in the piano; critic Richard Cook notes that the manner Van Gelder recorded piano was often as distinctive as the pianists' playing.