The Van Gelder Studio is a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

at 445 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, United States. Following the use of his parents' home at 25 Prospect Avenue,

Hackensack, New Jersey Hackensack is a city in and the county seat of Bergen County, New Jersey, United States.New Jers ...

, for the original studio,

Rudy Van Gelder Rudolph Van Gelder (November 2, 1924 – August 25, 2016) was an American recording engineer who specialized in jazz. Over more than half a century, he recorded several thousand sessions, with musicians including John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Theloni ...

(1924–2016) moved to the new location for his recording studio in July 1959. It has been used to record many albums released by jazz labels such as Blue Note, Prestige,

Impulse! Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

and CTI. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on April 25, 2022, for its significance in performing arts and engineering. With accompanying 24 photos.

Background

From around 1952, beginning with a session led by Gil Melle that was sold to Blue Note, recordings were made by Van Gelder for commercial release in the living room of his parents' house at 25 Prospect Avenue in Hackensack, a house that had been built with the intention of doubling as a recording studio (the area was later subsumed by the Hackensack University Medical Center). In July 1959, Van Gelder moved to a new facility in Englewood Cliffs. The last recording session at Hackensack and the first at Englewood Cliffs were both led by Ike Quebec and are contained in ''

From Hackensack to Englewood Cliffs ''From Hackensack to Englewood Cliffs'' is a compilation album by American saxophonist Ike Quebec, released in 2000 on Blue Note. The album compiles eight jukebox-oriented pieces recorded by Quebec for the label, which, coincidentally, was the ...

'', a collection of singles recorded by the saxophonist in July 1959. Important recordings made at Hackensack include

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 ...

' '' Workin''' and '' Steamin''' (1956); solo debuts by

Hank Mobley Henry "Hank" Mobley (July 7, 1930 – May 30, 1986) was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to descr ...

(''

Hank Mobley Quartet ''Hank Mobley Quartet'' is the debut album by jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley released on the Blue Note label in 1955 as BLP 5066, a 10" LP. It was recorded on March 27, 1955, and features Mobley, Horace Silver, Doug Watkins and Art Blakey. The alb ...

'', 1955) and

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

(''

Introducing Johnny Griffin ''Introducing Johnny Griffin'' is the debut album by jazz tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin, released by Blue Note Records, Blue Note in February 1957. It was recorded at the Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack on April 17, 1956. Track listing # "M ...

'', 1956). Van Gelder's recording techniques were closely guarded, to the extent that microphones were moved when photography of bands was taking place in order to disguise his means of recording. The new structure with a 39-foot ceiling and fine acoustics, designed by the architect David Henken and inspired by the work of

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

, resembles a chapel. The critic

Ira Gitler Ira Gitler (December 18, 1928 – February 23, 2019) was an American jazz historian and journalist. The co-author of ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'' with Leonard Feather—the most recent edition appeared in 1999—he wrote hundreds of ...

describes the studio in liner notes for the saxophonist

Booker Ervin Booker Telleferro Ervin II (October 31, 1930 – August 31, 1970) was an American tenor saxophone player. His tenor playing was characterised by a strong, tough sound and blues/gospel phrasing. He is remembered for his association with bassi ...

's ''

The Space Book ''The Space Book'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Booker Ervin featuring performances recorded in 1964 for the Prestige label,

'' (1964): "In the high-domed, wooden-beamed, brick-tiled, spare modernity of Rudy Van Gelder's studio, one can get a feeling akin to religion." "When I started making records, there was no quality recording equipment available to me," Van Gelder recalled in 2005. "I had to build my own mixer. The only people who had quality equipment were the big companies. They were building their own electronics." Among many significant recordings made at Englewood Cliffs are John Coltrane's '' A Love Supreme'' (1964),

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, he has recorded over sixty albums as a ...

' ''

Sonny Rollins on Impulse! ''Sonny Rollins on Impulse!'' is an album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins, his first to be released on the Impulse! label, featuring performances by Rollins with Ray Bryant, Walter Booker and Mickey Roker.

'' (1965), Stanley Turrentine's ''

Cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...

'' (1972) and ''

Don't Mess with Mister T ''Don't Mess With Mister T.'' is a Stanley Turrentine album produced by Creed Taylor on his label, CTI. It was arranged by Bob James and recorded at Van Gelder Studio in June 1973. Reception The Allmusic review by Ron Wynn awarded the album 4� ...

'' (1973), Andrew Hill's '' Point of Departure'' (1964),

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

's '' Red Clay'' (1970) and

's ''

Soul Station ''Soul Station'' is an album by jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley that was released in 1960 by Blue Note Records. It is considered by many critics to be his finest album. Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio and rooted in the hard bop style, Mobley's ...

'' (1960).

List of recording sessions

The following table lists recording sessions for albums held at the studio.
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1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

References

{{Reflist Companies based in Bergen County, New Jersey Recording studios in the United States Mass media in New Jersey 1959 establishments in New Jersey Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Bergen County, New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places