Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Englewood Cliffs is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, whose population at the 2010 United States census was 5,281.Hackensack, New Jersey, for the original studio, Rudy Van Gelder (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
In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...
,
Prestige
Prestige refers to a good reputation or high esteem; in earlier usage, ''prestige'' meant "showiness". (19th c.)
Prestige may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Films
* ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnet ...
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 ...
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
Gil or GIL may refer to:
Places
* Gil Island (disambiguation), one of several islands by that name
* Gil, Iran, a village in Hormozgan Province, Iran
* Hil, Azerbaijan, also spelled ''Gil, a village in Azerbaijan
* Hiloba, also spelled ''Gil, ...
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
Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC) is a 781-bed non-profit, research and teaching hospital providing tertiary and healthcare needs located seven miles (11 km) west of New York City, in Hackensack, Bergen County, New Jersey. As ...
). 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
Ike Abrams Quebec (August 17, 1918 – January 16, 1963) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He began his career in the big band era of the 1940s, then fell from prominence for a time until launching a comeback in the years before his dea ...
and are contained in '' From Hackensack to Englewood Cliffs'', 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 musi ...
' '' Workin''' and '' Steamin''' (1956); solo debuts by Hank Mobley ('' Hank Mobley Quartet'', 1955) and Johnny Griffin ('' Introducing Johnny Griffin'', 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'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
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music.
Born and raise ...
's ''
A Love Supreme
''A Love Supreme'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. He recorded it in one session on December 9, 1964, at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, leading a quartet featuring pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy ...
Stanley Turrentine
Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note label from 1960, touched on jazz fusion ...
Red Clay
Ultisols, commonly known as red clay soils, are one of twelve soil orders in the United States Department of Agriculture soil taxonomy. The word "Ultisol" is derived from "ultimate", because Ultisols were seen as the ultimate product of continu ...
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. - - - - - -
National Register of Historic Places listings in Bergen County, New Jersey
__NOTOC__
The table below includes sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Bergen County, New Jersey except those in Closter, Franklin Lakes, Ridgewood, Saddle River and Wyckoff, which are listed separately (links to th ...