Number 9 Audio Group is a recording studio located in the Cabbagetown area of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada at 222 Gerrard Street East. Number 9 produced the World Jazz For Haiti charity album in 2010, appeared on Much Music's DISBAND in 2008, and recorded Canadian acts

Barenaked Ladies Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian rock band formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario. The band developed a following in Canada, with their self-titled 1991 cassette becoming the first independent release to be certified gold in Canada. They reach ...

and Amanda Marshall in the 1990s, while they were still emerging artists.

History

Number 9 Audio Group was founded in 1981 by George Rondina, who continues to operate the studio to this day. The title of the studio is a nod towards the Beatles'

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 ...

. The recording studio is currently housed with a renovated Victorian building, featuring two live rooms, a single control room and small production lab. In 2010, Number 9 Audio Group was profiled by

Canadian Musician ''Canadian Musician'' is a Canadian magazine that is published bi-monthly by Norris-Whitney Communications Inc. History and profile ''Canadian Musician'' was launched by Jim Norris in Toronto in 1979. The premier issue was published in March/Apri ...

magazine due to its long history in the Canadian music industry.

Beginnings (Number 9 Sound Studios)

After touring extensively as a keyboardist during the 1970s, George Rondina decided to make a career change to producer/engineer. He took $500 of his savings and opened up the first incarnation of Number 9 Sound Studios in the back of a local record shop. The studio grew quickly and took on a variety of clients from the Toronto area. As business picked up George formed a partnership with Jim Zolis to further grow the studio. They switched locations to a basement studio on Jarvis street in Toronto, in order to better serve their increasingly metropolitan clients. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s Number 9 welcomed artists such as

Jane Siberry Jane Siberry ( ; ; born 12 October 1955) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, known for such hits as " Mimi on the Beach", "I Muse Aloud", "One More Colour" and "Calling All Angels". She performed the theme song to the television series ''Maniac Ma ...

, Amanda Marshall,

The Nylons The Nylons are an a cappella group founded in 1978 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, best known for their covers of pop songs such as The Turtles' " Happy Together", Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye", and The Tokens' "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" ...

The Waltons ''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book ''Spencer's Mountain'' and the 1963 film ...

and

Jeff Healey Norman Jeffrey Healey (March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008) was a Canadian blues, rock and jazz singer, guitarist, and songwriter who attained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. He reached No. 5 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart with " Ang ...

through their doors.

Number 9 Audio Group

Although the studio had gained great popularity by the mid 1990s - earning multiple

Juno Awards The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

and Gold Records - the two partners decided to go their separate ways in 1996. George went on to build the business that is now known as Number 9 Audio Group, while Jim founded his own company entitled Zolis Audio Productions. The business continued to flourish throughout the 1990s and 2000s, working with an eclectic mix of clients including

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...

and

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

. In 2006 the studio moved into a new location; a renovated Victorian home in the core of downtown Toronto, which it occupies to this day.

disBAND

On Monday August 25, 2009, Much Music came to Number 9 to film an episode of their popular show disBAND. The featured band for the episode was pop duo Karamel, who recorded with head engineer Bernie Cisternas with the assistance of

Treble Charger Treble Charger is a Canadian rock band formed in 1992 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, consisting of vocalist and guitarist Greig Nori, vocalist and guitarist Bill Priddle, bassist Rosie Martin and drummer Richard Mulligan. They began with a melodic ...

frontman

Greg Nori Greig Andrew Nori (born November 21, 1962) is a producer and musician from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and is well known as the frontman, co-lead vocalist and guitarist of the pop punk band Treble Charger. In the late 1990s, he began working as a ...

. Although the recording session was a success, Karamel received a "thumbs down" from the disBand jury at the episode's climax.

World Jazz For Haiti

Following the disastrous

2010 Haiti earthquake A disaster, catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (department), Ouest department, a ...

, George Rondina worked in tandem with producer/musician

George Koller George Koller (born December 9, 1958) is a Canadian bassist who has played free jazz, folk music, world music, and world fusion. Career Koller has worked with Bruce Cockburn, William Beauvais, Holly Cole, Peter Gabriel, Graeme Kirkland, Lore ...

to produce the World Jazz For Haiti charity album. Over the course of six months the duo recorded a variety of Canadian talent at Number 9 Audio Group, including John McDermott,

Holly Cole Holly Cole (born November 25, 1963) is a Canadian jazz singer and actress. For many years she performed with her group The Holly Cole Trio. Background Cole was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her father, Leon Cole, was a noted radio broadcaster ...

David Clayton-Thomas David Clayton-Thomas (born David Henry Thomsett, 13 September 1941) is a Grammy Award-winning Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the American band Blood, Sweat & Tears. Clayton-Thomas has been inducte ...

and many more. After months of hard work the album was released at a fundraiser event at Hugh's Room in Toronto. All profits from the album sales and release party went towards the Red Cross' disaster relief fund.

Present Day

Number 9 Audio Group continues to operate as a full-service recording studio to this day. Asides from the usual audio activities, the studio works towards promoting its charity projects and diversifying its client base.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Number 9 Audio Group

World Jazz For Haiti
Recording studios in Canada Music of Toronto Companies established in 1981