Abe John Jacob (born October 7, 1944) is an American
sound designer
In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
and
audio engineer
An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...
. Called the "Godfather of Sound", Jacob greatly influenced the design of
sound reinforcement
A sound reinforcement system is the combination of microphones, signal processors, amplifiers, and loudspeakers in enclosures all controlled by a mixing console that makes live or pre-recorded sounds louder and may also distribute those sounds ...
in modern
musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...
, and was one of the first persons credited in the role of sound designer on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
,
with a sound designer credit in ''
Playbill
''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the show's pr ...
'' in 1971.
Jacob brought many new techniques to musical theatre, including head-worn wireless microphones, powerful concert loudspeakers with dedicated electronic processing,
delayed speaker zones, under-balcony speakers, front-fill speakers, mix position in the audience,
FFT
A fast Fourier transform (FFT) is an algorithm that computes the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) of a sequence, or its inverse (IDFT). Fourier analysis converts a signal from its original domain (often time or space) to a representation in the ...
analysis, scene recall,
digital mixing console
In professional audio, a digital mixing console (DMC) is a type of mixing console used to combine, route, and change the dynamics, equalization and other properties of multiple audio input signals, using digital signal processing rather than an ...
s, and delay used to focus audience attention. Jacob sparked the creation of the
Meyer Sound Laboratories
Meyer Sound Laboratories is an American company based in Berkeley, California that manufactures self-powered loudspeakers, multichannel audio show control systems, electroacoustic architecture, and audio analysis tools for the professional sound ...
UPA loudspeaker, which became their flagship product.
In 1998, Jacob won an
Ovation Award
The Ovation Awards are a Southern California award for excellence in theatre, established in 1989. They are given out by the non-profit arts service organization LA Stage Alliance and are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Winne ...
for his sound design of ''Harriet's Return'' at the
Geffen Playhouse
The Geffen Playhouse (or the Geffen) is a not-for-profit theater company founded by Gilbert Cates in 1995. It produces plays in two theaters in Geffen Playhouse, which is owned by University of California Los Angeles. The Playhouse is located i ...
. He never received a
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
, largely because the
American Theatre Wing
The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...
and
The Broadway League
The Broadway League, formerly the League of American Theatres and Producers and League of New York Theatres and Producers, is the national trade association for the Broadway theatre industry based in New York, New York. Its members include thea ...
began giving out
Tony Awards for sound design in 2008 after his career highlights. He served on the Tony Award committee from 2011 to 2014, but then the committee halted the sound design category. Lighting designer
Jules Fisher
Jules Fisher (born November 12, 1937) is an American lighting designer and producer. He is credited with lighting designs for more than 300 productions over the course of his 50-year career in Broadway and off-Broadway shows, as well extensive ...
, Jacob's colleague on many productions, said that Jacob should have won a Tony Award in 1978 for ''
Dancin'
''Dancin'' is a musical revue created, directed, and choreographed by Bob Fosse and originally produced on Broadway in 1978. The plotless, dance-driven revue is a tribute to the art of dance, and the music is a collection of mostly American song ...
''.
In 1999, the
United States Institute for Theatre Technology
The United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) is a membership organization which aims to advance the skills and knowledge of theatre, entertainment and performing arts professionals involved in the areas of theatrical design, design, ...
(USITT) bestowed upon Jacob the Distinguished Achievement in Sound Award. The same year, Jacob received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the EDDY Awards sponsored by ''Entertainment Design'' magazine. In 2008, the USITT gave Jacob their highest award, the USITT Award, and they commissioned the organization's first audio engineering monograph, titled ''The Designs of Abe Jacob''.
[ In 2016, Jacob was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Live Design Awards ceremony. In 2017, the Theatrical Sound Designers and Composers Association (TSDCA) granted Jacob the Distinguished Sound Designer Award.
]
Early life
Abe John Jacob was born on October 7, 1944, in Tucson, Arizona
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
. His parents were Abe Taft Jacob and Victoria Jacob (née Shaar), both of Lebanese heritage; his grandparents owned a supermarket in Tucson. After the supermarket closed because of wartime rationing, Jacob's father and his uncle George opened a Mexican restaurant in 1946, named Club 21, which operated for the next 73 years. When he was four years old, Jacob was crossing the street with his aunt, mother and maternal grandmother when a car struck two of them. His mother and grandmother were fatally injured. Abe and his aunt Mabel survived because she ran and pulled him out of the way. After this, he was raised by his aunt until he was 11.
At the urging of his aunt, Jacob acted very briefly in film, with a bit part in the 1951 Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
western '' The Last Outpost'' at the age of six, and after that he performed as Tad Lincoln in a staging of '' Abe Lincoln in Illinois'' at the University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory.
T ...
. Jacob appeared in several children's theatre performances in Tucson, but at age nine he was done with his acting career. Though he wished to be a musician, Jacob did not want to practice the piano, which made him realize he would never be a great pianist. In 1955, Jacob moved with his father and new stepmother to the Haddon Hill neighborhood of Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
, where he attended Catholic school classes and served as an altar boy at Our Lady of Lourdes along with his new best friend, Tom Gericke. In September 1958, Jacob entered Catholic high school at St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, while Gericke attended St. Joseph Notre Dame High School in Alameda
An alameda is a Avenue (landscape), street or path lined with trees () and may refer to:
Places Canada
*Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan
**Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan
Chile
...
. Despite this separation, Jacob and Gericke continued their friendship, with Jacob recording Gericke's teenage band around 1960.
Jacob joined the audio-visual department at his school. His first theatrical sound design role came when St. Ignatius was staging performances of ''High Button Shoes
''High Button Shoes'' is a 1947 musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Sammy Cahn and book by George Abbott and Stephen Longstreet. It was based on the semi-autobiographical 1946 novel ''The Sisters Liked Them Handsome'' by Stephen Longstre ...
'', ''The Mikado
''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...
'' and '' The Desperate Hours''. Without realizing it, Jacob put together a sound system design much like those being used at the time in Broadway plays – a system based on a few Altec 639 ribbon microphone
A ribbon microphone, also known as a ribbon velocity microphone, is a type of microphone that uses a thin aluminum, duraluminum or nanofilm of electrically conductive ribbon placed between the poles of a magnet to produce a voltage by electromag ...
s positioned as foot mics along the front edge of the stage, amplified into Altec Voice of the Theatre loudspeakers. Because the school did not have the necessary equipment, Jacob rented a sound system for $150/week from McCune Sound, a regional sound company founded in 1932 by Harry McCune. This early connection to McCune was to prove critically important to Jacob's career.
Early career
Graduating from high school, Jacob worked for McCune during the summer of 1962, then in September he moved to Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
to enroll in college classes at Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...
, where he earned a B.A. degree. At Loyola, he designed sound and lights for the college's theatrical productions, and he put together his own radio show on KXLU
KXLU (88.9 FM) is a radio station broadcasting out of Loyola Marymount University in southwest Los Angeles, California. It was first on the air in 1957, and in 2007, celebrated its 50th anniversary. It is a non-commercial college radio statio ...
, the college's radio station; an early evening classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
program titled ''Eine Kleine Commute Music''. Every summer he returned to the San Francisco Bay Area and worked for McCune. In 1964 and 1965, Jacob worked at the Berkeley Community Theatre
Berkeley Community Theater is a theater located in Berkeley, California, United States, on the campus of Berkeley High School. The theater is administered by the Berkeley Unified School District.
Description
The theater building, a City of Berke ...
on Ben Kapen's summer series theatrical program known as Melodyland. The 1965 year was different as Jacob worked the stage manager
Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including the overseeing of the rehearsal p ...
position for the first and last time, shepherding four productions: Leslie Uggams
Leslie Marian Uggams (born May 25, 1943) is an American actress and singer. Beginning her career as a child in the early 1950s, Uggams is recognized for portraying Kizzy Reynolds in the television miniseries ''Roots'' (1977), earning Golden Glob ...
in '' The Boy Friend'', Godfrey Cambridge
Godfrey MacArthur Cambridge (February 26, 1933 – November 29, 1976) was an American stand-up comic and actor. Alongside Bill Cosby, Dick Gregory, and Nipsey Russell, he was acclaimed by ''Time'' in 1965 as "one of the country's foremost celeb ...
in ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart.
Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus (254–184 BC), specifica ...
'', Pearl Bailey
Pearl Mae Bailey (March 29, 1918 – August 17, 1990) was an American actress, singer and author. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in '' St. Louis Woman'' in 1946. She received a Special Tony Award for the title role i ...
in ''Call Me Madam
''Call Me Madam'' is a musical written by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin.
The musical is a satire on politics and foreign policy that spoofs postwar America's penchant for lending billions of dollars to ...
'' and Richard Chamberlain
George Richard Chamberlain (born March 31, 1934) is an American actor and singer, who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show ''Dr. Kildare'' (1961–1966). He subsequently appeared in several TV mini-series, such as ''Shōg ...
in ''Private Lives
''Private Lives'' is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It concerns a divorced couple who, while honeymooning with their new spouses, discover that they are staying in adjacent rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetuall ...
''. Bailey was such a difficult client that Jacob determined never again to be stage manager.
Jacob was finished with his college coursework at the end of 1965, but his diploma ceremony was in June 1966. In the interim, Jacob worked at McCune. On August 29, 1966, he was part of the sound crew at the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
' final concert appearance, supported by McCune at Candlestick Park
Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco's Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 un ...
. Jacob joined Harry McCune's son, Harry McCune, Jr., in developing the new concept of musicians touring with their own sound system. Jacob's old schoolmate Gericke was now a record producer working with people such as Lou Adler
Lester Louis Adler (born December 13, 1933) is an American record and film producer and the co-owner of the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, California. Adler has produced and developed a number of iconic musical artists, including The Grass Ro ...
of Dunhill Records
Dunhill Records was started in 1964 by Lou Adler, Jay Lasker, Pierre Cossette and Bobby Roberts as Dunhill Productions to release the music of Johnny Rivers on Imperial Records. It became a record label the following year and was distributed b ...
, and through this connection Jacob was introduced to Bobby Roberts, Dunhill's touring manager. Roberts asked Jacob to fix the problems which were being experienced on the road by the Mamas and the Papas
The Mamas & the Papas were a folk rock vocal group formed in Los Angeles, California, which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. The group consisted of A ...
, who were touring in support of their big radio hits "California Dreamin'
"California Dreamin'" is a song written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips and first recorded by Barry McGuire. The best-known version is by the Mamas & the Papas, who sang backup on the original version and released it as a single in 196 ...
" and "Monday, Monday
"Monday, Monday" is a 1966 song written by John Phillips and recorded by the Mamas & the Papas, using background instruments played by members of the Wrecking Crew for their 1966 album ''If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears''. It was the group ...
". Jacob designed a sound system for them and mixed their show at the Boston Armory in October 1966. The group gave only about 30 concerts, and Jacob mixed most of them, including ones at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
and the Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018.
The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...
. The touring career of the Mamas and the Papas ended in early 1967.
Monterey Pop
The Mamas and the Papas bandleader John Phillips assembled a board of directors to mount a free festival in Monterey, California
Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...
. The board included Simon and Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...
, Cass Elliot
Ellen Naomi Cohen (September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974), known professionally as Mama Cass and later on as Cass Elliot, was an American singer and voice actress. She was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the Papas. After the group brok ...
, Lou Adler, John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
and Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
. Many major pop artists lobbied to perform, and the festival grew in scope, expanding to fill three days. The resulting Monterey Pop Festival
The Monterey International Pop Festival was a three-day music festival held June 16 to 18, 1967, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. The festival is remembered for the first major American appearances by the Jimi Hendrix ...
was held during June 16–18, 1967.
Jacob designed the sound system for the whole festival, and he incorporated the stage requirements of the various bands on the bill, after which he determined that he would need a total of 24 microphone inputs on his mixer, which was unheard of at the time. He augmented the proprietary 16-channel stereo sound console designed by McCune head engineer Bob Cavin with two 4-channel mono Altec 1567 tube mixers to get 24 inputs. The mix position was at the side of the stage, a less-than-optimal but common configuration at the time because of cabling limitations. Meagher Electronics Meagher Electronics was a Monterey, California, company which was founded in 1947 by Jim Meagher. It included a recording studio which recorded early demos for Joan Baez, her sister, Mimi Farina and her sister's husband, Richard Farina. The compan ...
, known for supporting the Monterey Jazz Festival
The Monterey Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Monterey, California, United States. It debuted on October 3, 1958, championed by Dave Brubeck and co-founded by jazz and popular music critic Ralph J. Gleason and jaz ...
in the 1960s, supplied additional audio equipment and personnel including electronics technician Charlie Richmond, who observed that the rock festival pushed the sound gear much harder than the jazz festival. Both McCune and Meagher were Altec dealers, so Jacob combined their inventory to create a loudspeaker array appropriate for the Monterey County Fairgrounds main stage. Centered on the roof of the stage was a pair of Altec 612 cabinets topped with a pair of 203B horns. Four Altec 612 cabinets were in pairs at the left and right edges of the stage, surmounted on each side with a 1003B multicellular horn, an Altec A7 "Voice of the Theatre" cabinet, another 203B horn, and an Altec 9844 studio monitor for front fill. A pair of Altec 214 loudspeakers served the musicians as sidefill left and right, which in 1967 was an advancement in stage monitoring. All of this was powered by Altec amplifiers totaling about 1,000 watts. During soundcheck, guitarist/vocalist David Crosby
David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash.
Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...
of the Byrds
The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...
exclaimed, "Oh groovy! A nice sound system at last," a moment which was caught on film and featured in the documentary ''Monterey Pop
''Monterey Pop'' is a 1968 American concert film by D. A. Pennebaker that documents the Monterey International Pop Festival of 1967. Among Pennebaker's several camera operators were fellow documentarians Richard Leacock and Albert Maysles. The pa ...
''. McCune veteran Mort Feld mixed most of the acts while Jacob worked the stage. Jacob mixed two performances: Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North Ind ...
's four hour set, and the Mamas and the Papas who closed the festival.
To get good sound for the film, recording engineer Wally Heider
Wally Heider (''né'' Wallace Beck Heider; 20 May 1922 Sheridan, Oregon – 22 March 1989) was an American recording engineer and recording studio owner who refined and advanced the art of studio and remote recording and was instrumental in recordi ...
worked closely with Jacob to ensure a high quality signal from the same microphones used for the live sound system; this professional connection was called upon again in 1968 when Heider asked Jacob to assist in recording Cream
Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...
at Winterland Ballroom
Winterland Ballroom (more commonly known as Winterland Arena or simply Winterland) was an ice skating rink and music venue in San Francisco, California. The arena was located at the corner of Post Street and Steiner Street. It was converted for ...
. Similarly, other contacts made by Jacob at Monterey Pop served to advance his career. Lighting designer Chip Monck
Edward Herbert Beresford "Chip" Monck (born March 5, 1939) is an American Tony Award nominated lighting designer, most famously serving as the master of ceremonies at the 1969 Woodstock Festival.
Personal history
Monck was born in Wellesley, Mass ...
first met Jacob in Monterey, and later formed CMI Consultants in partnership with Jacob. Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known Rock music, rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage ...
's road manager Albert Grossman
Albert Bernard Grossman (May 21, 1926 – January 25, 1986) was an American entrepreneur and manager in the American folk music and rock and roll scene. He was famous as the manager of many of the most popular and successful performers of folk and ...
was introduced to Jacob in Monterey, and he tapped Jacob in later years for touring support. A number of people involved with Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
were impressed with Jacob at Monterey, including managers Chas Chandler
Bryan James "Chas" Chandler (18 December 1938 – 17 July 1996) was an English musician, record producer and manager, best known as the original bassist in The Animals, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He ...
and Michael Jeffery
Major General Philip Michael Jeffery, (12 December 1937 – 18 December 2020) was a senior Australian Army officer and vice-regal representative. He was the 28th governor of Western Australia from 1993 to 2000, and the 24th governor-general of ...
, producer Jerry Goldstein and concert promoter Tom Hulett. Another connection Jacob made was with John Meyer, a young sound engineer who was supporting the Steve Miller Band
The Steve Miller Band is an American rock music, rock band formed in 1966 in San Francisco, California. The band is led by Steve Miller (musician), Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals. The group had a string of mid- to late-1970s hit singles t ...
. Meyer later said that Jacob and his McCune crew stood out because they were unusually dedicated to consistent audio quality.
The Monterey Pop experience transformed Jacob from a regional to a national figure in the field of concert sound.
Hendrix and more
After Monterey, Hendrix's road manager, Gerry Stickels, called McCune to request Jacob as sound designer and mixer on tour. Jacob specified a sound system much like the one at Monterey, and first deployed it for Hendrix at the Ambassador Theater in Washington, D.C., during August 9–12, 1967, where he mixed the Jimi Hendrix Experience
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
. After this, while Hendrix took a break to record '' Axis: Bold as Love'', Jacob mixed sound for Simon and Garfunkel for three dates in Oregon in October 1967. The next month, Monck flew Jacob to New York City to meet Peter, Paul and Mary
Peter, Paul and Mary was an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio consisted of tenor Peter Yarrow, baritone Paul Stookey, and contralto Mary Travers. The group's repertoir ...
, who did not need a new sound system, as they owned one already, but needed someone with good ears to mix their shows. Jacob accepted the assignment and mixed their concerts from 1968 to 1970. In Manhattan, Jacob was supplied his own office space on 55th Street by Albert Grossman, who had seen Jacob's work at Monterey.
Jacob toured with the Jimi Hendrix Experience for most of 1968. The year started with a rush of travel through Sweden, Denmark and France in January, followed by a Hendrix concert in San Francisco at The Fillmore
The Fillmore is a historic music venue in San Francisco, California.
Built in 1912 and originally named the Majestic Hall, it became the Fillmore Auditorium in 1954. It is in Western Addition, on the edge of the Fillmore District and Upper Fil ...
on February 1, 1968. San Francisco had been Jacob's new hometown since early June 1967 when he moved into an old Victorian flat with housemates Doug Leighton (future co-founder of RTS Systems intercom products), Ben Fong-Torres
Benjamin Fong-Torres ( 方 振 豪; Cantonese: Fong Chan Ho; born January 7, 1945) is an American rock journalist best known for his association with ''Rolling Stone'' magazine (until 1981) and the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' (from around 1982). B ...
(editor at ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'') and his old friend Tom Gericke. Jacob's time in San Francisco was short as he soon left to mix sound for Hendrix in 49 cities across the U.S. The sound gear for this tour fit into a single 19-foot box truck along with some lighting gear, all the band's musical instruments, the band's concert posters, and assorted merchandise. To mix the show, Jacob used two Altec 1567A four-channel rotary knob mixers linked together, one for the four drum microphones (kick, snare, overhead left and overhead right), and one for the vocal microphones, which consisted of Hendrix on lead vocals, bassist Noel Redding
David Noel Redding (25 December 1945 – 11 May 2003) was an English rock musician, best known as the bass player for the Jimi Hendrix Experience and guitarist/singer for Fat Mattress.
Following his departure from the Experience in 1969 a ...
on backing vocals, and one channel for Jacob to announce the band at the start of the show. No microphones were needed for lead guitar or bass guitar, which had their own amplifiers. The stage monitor system
A stage monitor system is a set of performer-facing loudspeakers called monitor speakers, stage monitors, floor monitors, wedges, or foldbacks on stage during live music performances in which a sound reinforcement system is used to amplify a p ...
was simply two Altec 604E sidefills which took their signal from a custom McCune-designed combiner fed with inputs from the two Altec mixers' auxiliary outputs. This was not enough for drummer Mitch Mitchell
John Graham "Mitch" Mitchell (9 July 194612 November 2008)In his book about the Experience, Mitchell states he celebrated his 21st birthday while on tour on 9 July 1967, which makes his birth year 1946.Mitchell's obituaries in ''Billboard' ''T ...
to hear the vocals and his own drums, so in the second half of 1968, when Hendrix started another tour, Jacob augmented the sound system with four self-powered speakers behind the drummer: four Altec 1604B cabinets. This helped Mitchell hear himself over the loud guitar amplifiers.
During a break in which Hendrix stopped touring to record ''Electric Ladyland
''Electric Ladyland'' is the third and final studio album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience and the final studio album released before Hendrix's death in 1970. A double album, it was the only record from the Experience produced by Hendrix. The ban ...
'', Jacob mixed sound for some Peter, Paul and Mary dates, notably their March 15, 1968, performance at Carnegie Hall, and he worked for McCune on various assignments such as the Sky River Rock Festival
The Sky River Rock Festival and Lighter Than Air Fair was a historic rock festival first held on a raspberry farm on the Skykomish River outside Sultan, Washington. The 1968 rock festival was held between August 31 to September 2. It was the firs ...
in August–September in Washington state. He helped Heider record the Firesign Theatre
The Firesign Theatre (also known as the Firesigns) was an American surreal humour, surreal comedy troupe who first appeared on November 17, 1966, in a live performance on the Los Angeles radio program ''Radio Free Oz'' on station KPFK FM broad ...
comedy troupe, and in October he supported Cass Elliot in concert at Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks.
Caesars P ...
in Las Vegas.
Hendrix took Jacob to Europe in early 1969 to mix his concert dates there. Among other appearances that year by Hendrix was the Northern California Folk-Rock Festival in May 1969, where the sound system stopped working for a few minutes during his set. Carlos Santana
Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of Rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured ...
commented about the technical glitch that Hendrix's guitar by itself made him sound distant, "like he was inside a little nucleus", but when the full sound system was restored "we were like catapulted into the Milky Way." The rest of 1969 was busy for Jacob mixing more than 160 dates for Peter, Paul and Mary. Bandleader Peter Yarrow
Peter Yarrow (born May 31, 1938) is an American singer and songwriter who found fame for being in the 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary. Yarrow co-wrote (with Leonard Lipton) one of the group's best known hits, " Puff, the Magic Dragon". H ...
was a stern taskmaster with regard to sound quality, and Jacob credits Yarrow with helping him develop more of a critical ear, to listen for problem areas and to work diligently to correct them.
Also in 1969, Jacob and Gericke tried to produce a psychedelic music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
, with three bands participating including Blue Cheer
Blue Cheer was an American rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009. Based in San Francisco, Blue Cheer played in a psychedelic blues rock or acid rock style, and ...
and the Steve Miller Band, but the results were low quality and the project never took off.
Back at McCune, John Meyer had been hired at the request of Harry Jr to create a 3-way loudspeaker for concerts. By early 1972 the revolutionary JM3 system was ready, named for Meyer but with electronic processing by both Meyer and Cavin. Jacob auditioned the JM3 at the shop, with Meyer playing a Nagra
Nagra is a brand of portable audio recorders produced from 1951 in Switzerland. Beginning in 1997 a range of high-end equipment aimed at the audiophile community was introduced, and Nagra expanded the company’s product lines into new markets.
...
tape of the Ringo Starr
Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...
drum solo on the song "The End
The End may refer to:
Films
* ''The End'' (1953 film), a film by Christopher Maclaine
* ''The End'' (1978 film), a comedy by Burt Reynolds
* ''The End'' (1997 film), a Canadian film of 1997
* ''The End'' (1998 film), a skateboarding document ...
" to help Jacob determine that the new loudspeaker was clean and powerful, reproducing crisp transients
Transience or transient may refer to:
Music
* ''Transient'' (album), a 2004 album by Gaelle
* ''Transience'' (Steven Wilson album), 2015
* Transience (Wreckless Eric album)
Science and engineering
* Transient state, when a process variable or ...
. Jacob immediately agreed to use the system. Meyer said about Jacob, "There wasn't a lot of discussion... you didn't have to talk him into it." Jacob used JM3s at Four for McGovern
Four for McGovern, also known as McGovern, was a benefit concert held on April 15, 1972, produced by actor Warren Beatty to assist the 1972 presidential campaign of George McGovern, running as the anti-war candidate. The concert, held at The F ...
, a benefit concert for presidential candidate George McGovern
George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American historian and South Dakota politician who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 pres ...
, on April 15, 1972, inside The Forum (Inglewood, California)
Kia Forum (formerly The Forum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Inglewood, California, United States, adjacent to Los Angeles. Located between West Manchester Boulevard, across Pincay Drive and Kareem Court, it is north of SoFi Stadium and ...
. Barbra Streisand
Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...
's album ''Live Concert at the Forum
''Live Concert at the Forum'' (retitled ''Barbra Streisand Live'' in Canada) is the second live album by American singer Barbra Streisand, released physically on October 1, 1972 by Columbia Records. Produced by long-time collaborator Richard Perr ...
'' documents her performance that day.
Jacob began in 1970 to wean himself from Hendrix tours, as he had more concert dates with Peter, Paul and Mary. McCune soundman Mike Neal took over sound for Hendrix, mixing a sold-out show at the Berkeley Community Theatre
Berkeley Community Theater is a theater located in Berkeley, California, United States, on the campus of Berkeley High School. The theater is administered by the Berkeley Unified School District.
Description
The theater building, a City of Berke ...
in May while Jacob recorded the event from inside the Wally Heider mobile recording truck
Remote recording, also known as location recording, is the act of making a high-quality complex audio recording of a live concert performance, or any other location recording that uses multitrack recording techniques outside of a recording studi ...
. To satisfy the large, angry crowd turned away at the doors, Jacob pointed the truck's loudspeakers at them to appease them, perhaps preventing a riot. Neal yielded to Jacob on the more important dates such as the Isle of Wight Festival
The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970.
The 1970 event was by far the largest of these early ...
in August 1970, and a series of shows in Sweden, Denmark and Germany. Jacob was working another show on September 18 when he learned that Hendrix had died. Jacob traveled to Seattle to attend Hendrix's private funeral on October 1, with only family and musical associates invited. Shortly thereafter, Peter, Paul and Mary announced their breakup, and Jacob was suddenly without two of his most important clients. He remarked later about this turning point that he felt exhausted from too much touring, and not just rock and pop music, but also corporate events for Holiday Magic
Holiday Magic was a multi-level marketing organization, founded in 1964, by William Penn Patrick (1930–1973) in the United States. Originally the organization distributed goods such as home-care products and cosmetics. Company distribut ...
, a multi-level marketing firm that organized meetings across North and South America, supported by sound systems from McCune. Jacob said all of that touring "was enough to drive you crazy."
Broadway
''Hair''
During his time touring with Peter, Paul and Mary, Jacob was introduced by Yarrow to producer Michael Butler. Butler requested Jacob help with poor sound in the Boston staging of ''Hair
Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals.
The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...
'', so Jacob flew to Boston in February 1970 to see what he could do. Jacob brought a rock music
Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...
esthetic to the theatre for the first time, adding more loudspeakers for more volume, and he used more microphones in fixed locations, more band and singing microphones, and one of the early VHF wireless microphones by Edcor used on a few songs. Lighting designer Jules Fisher
Jules Fisher (born November 12, 1937) is an American lighting designer and producer. He is credited with lighting designs for more than 300 productions over the course of his 50-year career in Broadway and off-Broadway shows, as well extensive ...
said the improvement to the sound quality was immediately apparent. With this success in Boston, Fisher and Jacob were sent to other cities to assist in the mounting of new productions of ''Hair'', including overseas travel to Europe where they helped local lighting and sound crews attain similar results, modernizing musical theatre in the process. Fisher said that insular theatre crews in England and France in 1970 were locked into their traditional methods, and that Jacob's sound and Fisher's lighting designs were much more dynamic and unusual, difficult to convey to the locals, and difficult to implement: "we were teaching everybody; plus we had the language barrier." In January 1971, Jacob redesigned the original ''Hair'' production on Broadway. Butler said "Abe made a big difference" in the sound of ''Hair''. Theatre sound historian David Collison noticed that Jacob called himself a sound designer, which was not common at the time.
''Jesus Christ Superstar''
In 1970, the concept album ''Jesus Christ Superstar
''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...
'' was released, peaking in the U.S. ''Billboard'' Top 200 in February and May 1971. A corresponding musical theatre version was planned for the Mark Hellinger Theatre
The Mark Hellinger Theatre (formerly the 51st Street Theatre and the Hollywood Theatre) is a church building at 237 West 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, which formerly served as a cinema and a Broadway thea ...
on Broadway, to open in October 1971. The musical's director was Tom O'Horgan
Tom O'Horgan (May 3, 1924 – January 11, 2009) was an American theatre and film director, composer, actor and musician. He is best known for his Broadway work as director of the hit musicals ''Hair'' and ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. During his ca ...
, the lighting design was by Jules Fisher, and the scenic design was by Robin Wagner, all three having worked with Jacob on ''Hair'', but Jonathan Taplin
Jonathan Trumbull Taplin (born July 18, 1947) is an American writer, film producer and scholar. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and has lived in Los Angeles since 1973. Taplin graduated from Princeton University in 1969 and is the Director Emeri ...
was asked to design sound. Jacob was covering assignments for McCune, working for Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, with founding members consisting of vocalists Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup ...
. Presented with a week off between concerts, he traveled to New York to see his colleagues and their new show which was in preview
Preview may refer to:
Theatre, film, television
* Preview (subscription service), an early subscription television service in the United States
* Preview (theatre), a public performance of a theatrical show before the official opening
* Previe ...
mode. On September 28, he found that the expected preview performance of ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' was cancelled, but he went to the Hellinger anyway to talk to his friends. Upon arrival, O'Horgan told Jacob that the show was having serious sound problems, and implored Jacob to fix them. Producer Robert Stigwood
Robert Colin Stigwood (16 April 1934 – 4 January 2016) was an Australian-born British-resident music entrepreneur, film producer and impresario, best known for managing Cream, Andy Gibb and the Bee Gees, theatrical productions like ''Hair'' ...
arranged for Jacob to take over the next day as sound designer. At rehearsal, Jacob found a critical issue: the show relied on multiple wireless microphones from England which were not working well together, taking hits from radio frequency interference
Electromagnetic interference (EMI), also called radio-frequency interference (RFI) when in the radio frequency spectrum, is a disturbance generated by an external source that affects an electrical circuit by electromagnetic induction, electrost ...
caused by intermodulation
Intermodulation (IM) or intermodulation distortion (IMD) is the amplitude modulation of signals containing two or more different frequencies, caused by nonlinearities or time variance in a system. The intermodulation between frequency compo ...
, a kind of spurious radio signal formed in the presence of two or more transmission frequencies acting upon each other. From his experience at ''Hair'', Jacob recognized that the technology for wireless microphones was not yet advanced enough for multiple units working at the same time. Because of this, Jacob instituted a radical change, putting aside the multiple wireless system and instead specifying a variety of wired microphones in the style of ''Hair''. The ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' troupe was forced to reorganize their choreography to adjust to the new microphone positions, and Wagner had to rework some scenic elements to hide the microphones, but this was quickly accomplished. Three nights of preview performances had been cancelled, losing $36,000 in ticket sales, but two days' worth of Jacob's fixes allowed the show to open on the fourth preview night. Jacob stayed with the production, arguing for further improvements to the sound such as uncovering the orchestra pit
An orchestra pit is the area in a theater (usually located in a lowered area in front of the stage) in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music (such as opera and ballet) or in cases when incide ...
which had been sealed by Taplin for isolation reasons but had been stifling the musicians with heat, and was giving a muffled sound to the instruments. He also replaced the insufficient JBL Paragon
The JBL D44000 Paragon is a one-piece stereo loudspeaker created by JBL that was introduced in 1957 and discontinued in 1983; its production run was the longest of any JBL speaker. At its launch, the Paragon was the most expensive domestic loud ...
home hifi loudspeakers with the McCune JM3, rigging two over the proscenium, and flanking the stage with two more to bring the spatial imaging down to the level of the performers. During this time, Jacob developed a lasting relationship with Masque Sound's John "Jack" Shearing, a New York sound company owner who was friendly with the Broadway union stagehands of IATSE Local 1. Shearing helped smooth the way for Jacob's concepts to be introduced to the stagehands who were habitually suspicious of new ideas, and who had contributed to previous failures. Jacob trained union sound operator Michael "Mike" O'Keefe to run the mixer for ''Jesus Christ Superstar''; O'Keefe and Jacob continued to work together off and on for decades. Union sound operators in New York were called assistant electricians at the time – there was no separate sound department. Having started his career as an electrician, O'Keefe later said of ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', "It was my first experience with a sound console; it had sixteen faders. I couldn't believe they miked the whole orchestra and could accentuate each instrument. It was amazing."
For his work on ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', Jacob was credited as sound designer in ''Playbill
''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the show's pr ...
'', the leading Broadway theatre industry magazine. Jacob's was the second such credit, following Jack Mann's sound designer credit for the 1961 staging of ''Show Girl'', a short-lived musical revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...
starring Carol Channing
Carol Elaine Channing (January 31, 1921 – January 15, 2019) was an American actress, singer, dancer and comedian who starred in Broadway and film musicals. Her characters usually had a fervent expressiveness and an easily identifiable voice, ...
. ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' was nominated for five Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
s, including Best Lighting and Best Scenic Design, but there was no Tony Award at the time for sound design.
Bicoastal
As Jacob was working on ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', Hendrix's former manager Michael Jeffery asked him to serve as president of Electric Lady Studios
Electric Lady Studios is a recording studio in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was commissioned by rock musician Jimi Hendrix in 1968 and designed by architect John Storyk and audio engineer Eddie Kramer by 1970. Hendrix spent only ten ...
. While keeping his San Francisco address, Jacob rented an apartment in the Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
neighborhood of Manhattan starting in June 1972, and in July he took over as president, to organize the Hendrix tapes and to keep the studio in operation. But when Jeffery died in March 1973, a legal battle arose between the estates of Jeffery and Hendrix. Declining to take sides, Jacob ended his contract with the studio, and shifted instead to a new venture with Chip Monck: CMI Consultants, a company for producing conventions and large events. Jacob also continued his freelance musical sound design work, covering several short-lived musicals during 1972–1974. One notable effort in 1973 was the National Lampoon comedy ''Lemmings
A lemming is a small rodent, usually found in or near the Arctic in tundra biomes. Lemmings form the subfamily Arvicolinae (also known as Microtinae) together with voles and muskrats, which form part of the superfamily Muroidea, which also include ...
'', which ran for a year, and launched the careers of John Belushi
John Adam Belushi (January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known for being one of the seven original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). Throughout his ca ...
, Christopher Guest
Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest (born February 5, 1948) is an American-British screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor, and comedian. Guest is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed, and starred in ...
, and Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...
. Jacob said of their rock festival parody that it was both funny and personally meaningful. Jacob also designed the sound for the touring rock opera ''The Who's Tommy
''The Who's Tommy'' is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Pete Townshend and a book by Townshend and Des McAnuff. It is based on the 1969 rock opera ''Tommy'' by The Who.
Productions
The musical opened at La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, ...
'' which was successful on the road.
In 1974, Lou Adler asked Jacob to lead the sound design for a new production of ''The Rocky Horror Show
''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the musical tells the story of a newly engaged couple ...
'' at the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood. Jacob's rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
style of presentation was well received. Author and composer Richard O'Brien
Richard Timothy Smith. known professionally as Richard O'Brien, is a British-New Zealand actor, writer, musician, composer, and television presenter. He wrote the musical stage show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' in 1973, which has remained in conti ...
, who had performed in ''Hair'' and ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', said that Jacob's sound was "delicious", and that Jacob "was one of the greatest sound people in the world." In 1975, Adler tapped Jacob to design the New York staging of the musical.
''Pippin''
Choreographer Bob Fosse
Robert Louis Fosse (; June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was an American actor, choreographer, dancer, and film and stage director. He directed and choreographed musical works on stage and screen, including the stage musicals ''The Pajam ...
was impressed with Jacob's work on ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', and asked producer Stuart Ostrow
Stuart Ostrow (born February 8, 1932) is an American theatrical producer and theatre director, director, professor, and author.
Early life
Stuart Ostrow was born in 1932 in New York City to Abe and Anna Ostrow. He attended The High School of Music ...
to hire him for ''Pippin
Pippin or Pepin may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Pippin'' (comics), a children's comic produced from 1966 to 1986
* ''Pippin'' (musical), a Broadway musical by Stephen Schwartz loosely based on the life of Pepin the Hunchback
* Pippin T ...
''. Jacob participated in the earliest discussions about staging and choreography; the first time sound design was integrated from the beginning. For ''Pippin'', Jacob used shotgun microphone
A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and public ...
s as foot mics, overhead area mics and scenery spot mics. In many cases Fosse directed the performers in front of particular shotguns to bring their voices to the fore. Sound designer Otts Munderloh was working nearby on ''Sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
'' but he would sneak into ''Pippin'' to hear the difference. Munderloh found that ''Pippin'' sound "was much better" than ''Sugar''s, "much crisper, cleaner and louder, because of the shotguns..." As well, orchestrator Ralph Burns
Ralph Joseph P. Burns (June 29, 1922 – November 21, 2001) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger.
Early life
Burns was born in Newton, Massachusetts, United States, where he began playing the piano as a child. In 1938, he attend ...
spent time with Jacob and sound console operator Larry Spurgeon to point out important instrumental cues. ''Pippin'' ran from 1972 to 1977 to become one of the longest-running Broadway musicals.
Beatles music
Jacob was called by O'Horgan, Stigwood and Wagner to design sound in late 1974 for ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on the Road
''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on the Road'' was a 1974 off-Broadway production directed by Tom O'Horgan. It opened at the Beacon Theatre in New York on November 17, 1974 and ran for a total of 66 performances.Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...
tribute mounted off Broadway because of a rising backlash against rock musicals. Scenery was by Wagner and lighting was by Fisher. Jacob assembled a quadraphonic sound
Quadraphonic (or quadrophonic and sometimes quadrasonic) sound – equivalent to what is now called 4.0 surround sound – uses four audio channels in which speakers are positioned at the four corners of a listening space. The system allows for th ...
system based on a four-bus mixer from England of the sort used by Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
in 1973 for their touring production of ''Dark Side of the Moon''. The console contained a quad panning system controlled by joysticks, to send selected sounds around the venue. In 1976, Jacob designed a complex and inventive sound system for '' Rockabye Hamlet'', but the show lasted only a week.
''Beatlemania
Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles in the 1960s. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom throughout 1963, propelled by the singles "Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and "She Loves You". By ...
'', another Beatles musical, was conceived in 1976 by Fisher, by now a frequent collaborator and friend of Jacob. It was to be an evolving concert experience with very little dialogue. All of the songs would be presented as faithfully as possible to the Beatles' original versions, which posed a challenge. Jacob designed the sound to include unseen, offstage performers for some parts, and he specified a Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...
keyboard sampler fitted with tape loops of pre-recorded arrangements such as cello and brass parts, the backwards tape sounds emulating "I Am the Walrus
"I Am the Walrus" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 television film ''Magical Mystery Tour''. Written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was released as the B-side to the single "Hello, Goodbye" a ...
", and ''musique concrète
Musique concrète (; ): " problem for any translator of an academic work in French is that the language is relatively abstract and theoretical compared to English; one might even say that the mode of thinking itself tends to be more schematic, ...
'' elements to mimic the Beatles' sound collage "Revolution 9
"Revolution 9" is a sound collage from the Beatles' 1968 self-titled double album (also known as the "White Album"). The composition, credited to Lennon–McCartney, was created primarily by John Lennon with assistance from Yoko Ono and George ...
". Jacob specified that the piccolo trumpet
The piccolo trumpet is the smallest member of the trumpet family, pitched one octave higher than the standard B trumpet. Most piccolo trumpets are built to play in either B or A, using a separate leadpipe for each key. The tubing in the B piccol ...
part in "Penny Lane
"Penny Lane" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released in February 1967 as a double A-side single with "Strawberry Fields Forever". It was written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney songw ...
" would be panned around the room to four speaker locations, an enhancement to the Beatles' stereo recording. To produce the uniquely repetitive "Shuk-k-ka" sound at the beginning of "Come Together
"Come Together" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song is the opening track on their 1969 album ''Abbey Road'' and was also released as a single coupled with "Somethin ...
", Jacob and New York sound mixer Larry Spurgeon used an Eventide Harmonizer set to delay mode to work out a method which must be repeated by hand at every performance. Another sound board operator was required to mix monitors for the band, and to operate various tape machines including a recording of Jacob himself asking the audience to "refrain from smoking... anthing!" Jacob consulted with ex-McCune loudspeaker designer John Meyer to arrive at an appropriate loudspeaker arrangement of four JM3 mains per side plus additional McCune SM3 surround speakers, and he pushed hard to get the mixing console placed in the center of the main audience seating area, just like a modern rock concert. Producers were loath to lose these premium seats which would otherwise hold paying customers, but it gave the sound board operator much finer control over the sound balance, and Fisher backed Jacob in this successful demand. Jacob had previously argued for better mix positions, but with smaller victories such as moving the sound operator from the stage wings to the rear of the balcony seating. ''Beatlemania'' was an enormous hit, running for more than a thousand performances on Broadway, and expanding simultaneously into multiple cities. Sound designer Steve Canyon Kennedy said "''Beatlemania'' was the best sounding show I ever heard in my life – to this day! There was nothing like it..."
Jacob designed sound for his third and final Beatles tribute production in 2010, which was also his last Broadway credit in ''Playbill''. The show was '' Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles'', brought to the Neil Simon Theatre
The Neil Simon Theatre, originally the Alvin Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 250 West 52nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1927, the theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was built for A ...
after years of touring. For the audience mix, Jacob specified a DiGiCo
DiGiCo is a British company based in Chessington, England that designs, markets, and manufactures digital mixing consoles and other audio technologies for the live sound, musical theatre, broadcast, and installed sound markets. Originally foun ...
SD8 digital mixing console
In professional audio, a digital mixing console (DMC) is a type of mixing console used to combine, route, and change the dynamics, equalization and other properties of multiple audio input signals, using digital signal processing rather than an ...
, and he spread the sound field wider with surround effects. The sound system was a combination of vertical line array, horizontal arrays, and individual loudspeakers, all from Meyer Sound. The digital monitor mixer was a Yamaha Yamaha may refer to:
* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below).
** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
PM5D sending the performers their own mixes via wireless in-ear monitor
In-ear monitors (IEMs) are devices used by musicians, audio engineers and audiophiles to listen to music or to hear a personal mix of vocals and stage instrumentation for live performance or recording studio mixing. They are also used by telev ...
s.
''A Chorus Line''
Jacob found himself working for two famous choreographers in 1975, starting with Fosse calling him to fix some audio problems ''Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
'' was having during tryouts in Philadelphia, then with Michael Bennett who needed advice about how the offstage band would work in ''A Chorus Line
''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante.
Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dancers ...
''. Jacob bounced between Philadelphia and New York for six weeks. To help ''Chicago'' he placed a wireless lavalier microphone
A lavalier microphone or lavalier (also known as a lav, lapel mic, clip mic, body mic, collar mic, neck mic or personal mic) is a small microphone used for television, theater, and public speaking applications to allow hands-free operation. They a ...
in the wig of Gwen Verdon
Gwyneth Evelyn "Gwen" Verdon (January 13, 1925October 18, 2000) was an American actress and dancer. She won four Tony Awards for her musical comedy performances, and served as an uncredited choreographer's assistant and specialty dance coach for t ...
, as she was dancing in a tight-fitting bustier
A bustier (, alternatively bustiere) is a form-fitting garment for women traditionally worn as lingerie. Its primary purpose is to push up the bust by tightening against the upper midriff and forcing the breasts up while gently shaping the waist ...
, and the wireless bodypack was too visible anywhere else. This was the first time that a wireless microphone was hidden at the hairline – a now-common technique popularized in 1985 when Andrew Bruce pioneered a large-scale implementation for all of the principal performers in the original London cast of ''Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...
''.
Jacob was asked to bring a more subdued, naturalistic tone to ''A Chorus Line'' which was supposed to look like an audition-in-progress for most of the show. Jacob put a row of shotgun mics at the front edge of the stage, and Bennett devised a choreography to fit the very visible microphone positions. The show opened at The Public Theater
The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American Li ...
off Broadway, where there was no orchestra pit, and the offstage band was squeezed into the loading dock to which Jacob had applied soundproofing. With success off Broadway, the show was moved to the Shubert Theatre to open in July 1975. Jacob augmented the setup with more shotgun microphones to pick up sounds from mid-stage and upstage (the rear of the stage). An offstage vocal booth was added for two singers whose voices were subtly mixed into chorus numbers. As well, Jacob used a large EMT plate reverb
A reverb effect, or reverb, is an audio effect applied to a sound signal to simulate reverberation. It may be created through physical means, such as echo chambers, or electronically through audio signal processing.
Echo chambers
The first re ...
unit to fill out the singing voices. The Shubert's orchestra pit was covered in acoustically transparent black gauze to help the audience forget the presence of the band. Jacob wanted to use four McCune JM3 loudspeakers but the rental cost was nixed by the producer, and Altec 9846 self-powered cabinets were used instead, powered in this case by distant amplifiers so that the sound crew could more easily correct a potential amplifier problem. Two 16-channel stereo mixers were specified by Jacob, custom made by Louis Stevenson of Houston. The orchestra was mixed on one of them, with the results patched into the second Stevenson as a stereo stem
Stem or STEM may refer to:
Plant structures
* Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang
* Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure
* Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...
, for blending with the vocal and area mics. Main loudspeakers were positioned at two levels, mezzanine and orchestra, augmented by stereo pairs of under-balcony and upper balcony speakers. Unusually, the mix position out in the audience was joined by a cast member: Zach (Robert LuPone
Robert Francis LuPone (July 29, 1946 – August 27, 2022) was an American actor and artistic director. He worked on stage, in film, and in television. He was the brother of actress Patti LuPone.
Early life and training
LuPone was born in Brookl ...
), the show's authoritarian director, ostensibly conducted the auditions from a desk next to Otts Munderloh, the sound operator. During the performance, Jacob's sound design required a building engineer in the basement to switch off the air conditioning system for a few minutes while the dancer named Paul (Sammy Williams
Samuel Joseph Williams (November 13, 1948 – March 17, 2018) was an American actor of stage and film. He was best known for his role as Paul in the musical ''A Chorus Line'', for which he won Broadway's 1976 Tony Award for Best Performance by a ...
) gave a personally revealing speech. This temporary lowering of the venue's noise floor
In signal theory, the noise floor is the measure of the signal created from the sum of all the noise sources and unwanted signals within a measurement system, where noise is defined as any signal other than the one being monitored.
In radio com ...
provided extra psychological tension.
''A Chorus Line'' was such a success that two more companies were assembled, one traveling to San Francisco and then settling in Los Angeles, the other traveling to Toronto and then settling in London. Jacob supervised sound design for both, and accompanied the California troupe. Munderloh headed the sound department of the Toronto staging, then Jacob flew to London where he visited the play ''City Sugar
''City Sugar'' is a stage play by Stephen Poliakoff. It was originally staged at the Bush Theatre in 1975 and directed by Hugh Thomas. ''City Sugar''’s cast was led by John Shrapnel as Leonard Brazil and supported by Leon Vitali and Lynne Mi ...
'' and heard excellent sound by freelance sound mixer Jonathan Deans working for Autograph Sound. Jacob specified Autograph and Deans to install and operate sound for ''A Chorus Line'' at the Drury Lane
Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster.
Notable landmarks ...
in London – the start of a long relationship between Jacob and Autograph. Deans said that "''A Chorus Line'' was a huge change for the audio industry..."
Concerts
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacob, Abe
1944 births
American audio engineers
American sound designers
Broadway sound designers
Living people
People from Tucson, Arizona
People from Oakland, California
People from San Francisco
People from Los Angeles
People from New York City
American people of Lebanese descent
Loyola Marymount University alumni
Engineers from Arizona
Engineers from California
Engineers from New York City