Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...

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Hotel California "Hotel California" is the title track from the Eagles' album of the same name and was released as a single in February 1977. Writing credits for the song are shared by Don Felder (music), Don Henley, and Glenn Frey (lyrics). Joe Walsh came ...

'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and

Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...

' ''

Come Away with Me ''Come Away with Me'' is the debut studio album by American recording artist Norah Jones, released on February 26, 2002, by Blue Note Records. Recording sessions took place at Sorcerer Sound Studio in New York City and Allaire Studios in Shoka ...

''.

Biography

Ted Jensen was born to Carl and Margaret (Anning) Jensen, both of whom were musicians. Carl had studied at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. Margaret went to Oberlin College & Conservatory and

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a Private school, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,650 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Scien ...

and was also a pilot. Carl and Margaret met on a train while going to a choral workshop. Ted has one brother, Rick, and two daughters, Kristen and Kim. While attending High School, Jensen was building his own stereo and recording equipment and began recording local bands both in the studio and at live events. During this time, he recorded several performances for the

Yale Symphony Orchestra The Yale Symphony Orchestra is a symphony orchestra at Yale University which performs in Yale's Woolsey Hall and tours internationally and domestically. The present Music Director is William Boughton. History The Yale Symphony Orchestra was fou ...

Woolsey Hall Woolsey Hall is the primary auditorium at Yale University, located on the campus' Hewitt Quadrangle in New Haven, Connecticut. It was built as part of the Bicentennial Buildings complex that includes the Memorial Rotunda and the University Comm ...

in New Haven and also met Mark Levinson, who was starting an audio equipment company. Jensen joined up with Levinson and aided in the design and manufacture some of the early products of

Mark Levinson Audio Systems Mark Levinson is an American high-end audio equipment brand established in 1972 by eponymous founder Mark Levinson, and based in Stamford, Connecticut. It is owned by Harman International Industries, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics. Histo ...

. In 1975, Jensen left after six years with Levinson to begin his mastering career in New York City with Sterling Sound.

Professional career

There were three mastering engineers at Sterling Sound when Jensen was hired to work in the tape copy room,

George Marino George Marino (April 15, 1947 – June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He at ...

, Lee Hulko and

Greg Calbi Gregory Calbi (born April 3, 1949) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound, New Jersey. Biography Greg Calbi was born on April 3, 1949, in Yonkers, New York, and raised in Bayside, Queens, New York. He graduated in 1966 from Bishop ...

. One of Jensen's earliest mastering jobs was the first single by the

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talki ...

, "Love → Building on Fire" and later that year, Jensen mastered

The Eagles The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles and six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s ...

' ''

''. The following year, he mastered Billy Joel's '' The Stranger'', which began a working relationship with

Phil Ramone Philip Ramone (né Rabinowitz, January 5, 1934March 30, 2013) was a South African-born American recording engineer, record producer, violinist and composer, who in 1958 co-founded A & R Recording, Inc., a recording studio with business pa ...

. Jensen was promoted to Chief Mastering Engineer at Sterling in 1984, and since then has overseen several proprietary developments in mastering technology. This included working closely with Graham Boswell of

Neve Electronics Neve Electronics was a manufacturer of music recording and broadcast mixing consoles and hardware. It was founded in 1961 by Rupert Neve, the man credited with creating the modern mixing console.

in the mid-1980s in developing the first all-digital mastering console, the DTC-1, and as one of the consultants to Apple for Mastering for iTunes. Jensen also designed some of the studio monitors at Sterling, including the ones used by

Tom Coyne Tom Coyne may refer to: * Tom Coyne (writer), American writer and professor * Tom Coyne (broadcaster) (1930–2015), British television presenter * Tom Coyne (music engineer) (1954–2017), American mastering engineer * Thomas Coyne (cricketer) ( ...

. In 1998, Jensen, Greg Calbi and Tom Coyne, along with Murat Aktar (Absolute Audio co-founder) and UK based Metropolis, purchased Sterling Sound from previous owner, Lee Hulko.

Studio

Sterling Sound was previously located in New York City, occupying the top floor of the

Chelsea Market Chelsea Market is a food hall, shopping mall, office building and television production facility located in the Chelsea neighborhood of the borough of Manhattan, in New York City. The Chelsea Market complex occupies an entire city block with a ...

in the

Meatpacking District The Meatpacking District is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan that runs from West 14th Street south to Gansevoort Street, and from the Hudson River east to Hudson Street. The Meatpacking Business Improvement District along ...

. Jensen's studio was one of the three

surround sound Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener (surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters. Prior to s ...

studios at ''Sterling Sound''. It was designed by Fran Manzella, FM Design. Ted Jensen's studio at Sterling Sound Nashville, TN

In April 2018, Sterling Sound's 20-year lease for the facility in the Chelsea Market ended. Jensen, along with Senior Engineer Ryan Smith, moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, to open Sterling Sound Nashville, which was designed by Thomas Jouanjean of Northward Acoustics.

Awards and recognition

Since 1976, Jensen has mastered 16

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

winners in the categories of

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

, Album of the Year and

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical The Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical has been awarded since 1959. The award had several minor name changes: * In 1959, the award was known as Best Engineered Record – Non-Classical * In 1960, it was awarded as Best Engineeri ...

. In 2002, Mastering Engineers became eligible to win Grammys in those categories. Grammy Nominations * 2003 - Album of the Year -

' ''

'' * 2004 - Album of the Year -

Evanescence Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer and musician Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording independent EPs as a duo in the late 90's, and a demo CD, Evanescence released their debut ...

's ''

Fallen Fallen may refer to: People * Carl Fredrik Fallén (1764–1830), Swedish botanist and entomologist * Gabriel Toledo (born 1991), known as FalleN, Brazilian ''Counter-Strike'' player Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Fallen ...

'' * 2005 - Album of the Year - Green Day's '' American Idiot'' * 2014 - Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical -

Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AIC) is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1987 by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, who later recruited bassist Mike Starr and lead vocalist Layne ...

' ''

The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here ''The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here'' is the fifth studio album by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released on May 28, 2013 through Capitol Records (and the band's final album released by the label). It is the band's second reunion album. Fol ...

'' * 2016 - Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical -

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

's '' Before This World'' Grammy Awards *2003 - Jensen received a Grammy Award -

, for ''

'', which won Album of the Year for 2002. Latin Grammy Nominations *2007 Album of the Year -

Ricky Martin Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography spanning ...

- ''

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...

'' *2010 Album of the Year - Alejandro Sanz for '' Paraíso Express'' *2016 Album of the Year -

Andrés Cepeda Andrés Cepeda Cediel (born July 7, 1973) is a popular Colombian singer-songwriter. He was born in Bogotá, the youngest of five children. He displayed an inclination towards music from an early age, studying piano since the age of 5. He compose ...

for ''Thousand Cities'' *2017 Album of the Year -

Residente René Pérez Joglar (born February 23, 1978), known professionally as Residente (often stylized as Resīdɛntə), is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as one of the founders of the alternative rap band Calle 13. ...

- ''

'' *2020 Album of the Year -

- ''René'' Jensen has garnered 23

Mix Foundation The TEC Awards is an annual program recognizing the achievements of audio professionals. The awards are given to honor technically innovative products as well as companies and individuals who have excelled in sound for television, film, recordings, ...

TEC award nominations, winning 6 of them. *1999 - Outstanding Creative Achievement *2005 - Outstanding Creative Achievement for Record Production/Single or Track for Green Day - “ American Idiot,” American Idiot *2008 - Outstanding Creative Achievement for Surround Sound Recording for

One Man Band A one-man band is a musician who plays a number of instruments simultaneously using their hands, feet, limbs, and various mechanical or electronic contraptions. One-man bands also often sing while they perform. The simplest type of "one-man ban ...

*2010 - Outstanding Creative Achievement for Record Production/Single or Track for Green Day - “21 Guns” '' 21st Century Breakdown'' *2010 - Outstanding Creative Achievement for Record Production/Album for Green Day - '' 21st Century Breakdown'' *2016 - Outstanding Creative Achievement for Record Production/Album for

- '' Before This World''

Selected works

Ted Jensen has mastered thousands of albums for more than 1,100 pop and rock artists. In November 2018,

Bring Me the Horizon Bring Me the Horizon (often abbreviated as BMTH) are a British Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 2004. The group consists of lead vocalist Oliver Sykes, guitarist Lee Malia, bassist Matt Kean, drummer Matt Nicholls and keyboardis ...

's album, '' That's the Spirit'', mastered by Jensen, scored 1 Billion streams. Additionally, Jensen has been involved in the soundtrack or music departments on several major motion pictures including Daredevil and The Circle.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen, Ted Record producers from Connecticut Living people Grammy Award winners Mastering engineers 1954 births