Apex Studios was a recording studio in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It had a high reputation for recording jazz. It was located in the Beaux Arts Steinway building. The owner was Bob Scheuing. When Al Schmitt started in 1950, the two engineers were Fred Herbert Otto and

Tom Dowd Thomas John Dowd (October 20, 1925 – October 27, 2002) was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multitrack recording method. Dowd worked on a veritable "who's who" of recordings ...

. Apex did almost all of the work for

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Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, and Prestige record labels.

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

's album ''

Miles Davis and Horns ''Miles Davis and Horns'' (PRLP 7025) is a compilation album by jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, released by Prestige Records in 1956. It compiles material from different albums previously released by Prestige in the discontinued 10 inch LP format ...

'' was partly recorded here in 1951. Duke Ellington did a session with his son, Mercer. It was one of the first major sessions engineered by Al Schmitt. The studio also recorded radio shows for

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in many languages. Artists that recorded at the studio included

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

The Clovers The Clovers are an American rhythm and blues/doo-wop vocal group who became one of the biggest selling acts of the 1950s.The Guinness Who's Who of Fifties Music. General Editor: Colin Larkin. First published 1993 (UK). . The Clovers p77. They had ...

Clyde McPhatter Clyde Lensley McPhatter (November 15, 1932 – June 13, 1972) was an American rhythm and blues, soul, and rock and roll singer. He was one of the most widely imitated R&B singers of the 1950s and early 1960sPalmer, Robert (1981)"Roy Brown, a Pi ...

, the

Modern Jazz Quartet The Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) was a jazz combo established in 1952 that played music influenced by classical music, classical, cool jazz, blues and bebop. For most of its history the Quartet consisted of John Lewis (pianist), John Lewis (piano), ...

Peppermint Harris Harrison Demotra Nelson, Jr. (July 17, 1925 – March 19, 1999), known as Peppermint Harris, was an American rhythm and blues and jump blues singer and guitarist. Originally from Texarkana, Texas, he first recorded in Houston, as Peppermint Ne ...

, Lightnin' Hopkins. The studio went bankrupt and closed in the early 1950s.

Notable Recordings

* The Clovers, "

Don't You Know I Love You "Don't You Know I Love You" is the 1951, debut single by The Clovers. The single was the first of three singles to make the top spot on the R&B charts. Al Schmitt helped engineer the recording. References

{{authority control 1951 singles ...

References

Recording studios in Manhattan {{recording-studio-stub