Gene Paul
Gene Paul | |
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Background information | |
Born | Hollywood, California, U.S. | August 20, 1944
Occupation(s) | Audio recording / mixing / mastering engineer, producer and musician |
Instruments | Drums |
Years active | 1959–present |
Website | www |
Gene William Paul (born August 20, 1944) is an American audio recording / mixing / mastering engineer, producer and musician. He was an engineer at Atlantic Recording Studios during their famed 1960s–80s period and is currently the chief mastering engineer at G&J Audio, a mixing and mastering studio for major and independent labels focused on reissues and new recordings. He has worked on thousands of projects, and has engineered 9 Grammy Award-winning albums with 29 total nominations in 15 different categories. He has engineered many hit recordings, including 7 #1's on the Billboard Pop & Jazz charts, 6 more in the Pop Top 10, 10 more in the Jazz Top 10, and 5 in the R&B Top 20.
Early years[]
Gene Paul is the son of the guitarist and inventor Les Paul, the inventor of the solid-body electric guitar and early innovator of multitrack recording.[1] Gene spent his youth developing his engineering skills in the family recording studio[1] and spent a decade as the drummer in his father's touring band from 1959 to 1969, with singer Mary Ford (his stepmother) for the first half.[2] "Without even knowing it, I was being taught about presenting music, which was a great experience. I worked on putting the shows together with dad. I watched him record his own music as well as groups. If he said, 'Do you want to know about this?' I'd say, 'Yes.' And I'd go set up a mike. By the time I grew up, I knew how to record."[1]
Atlantic Records[]
His career took off after joining Atlantic Records in 1969 where he quickly became a world-renowned engineer and producer. "The people there, like Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin, Joel Dorn, Ahmet Ertegun, they were all gentle people. You would think that they were all superstars, but they never acted that way. Being at Atlantic was like being welcomed into someone's house. It was a house of music. You never knew who was going to come in, one day Aretha [Franklin], the next The Modern Jazz Quartet, King Curtis, Gladys Knight. ... It was truthfully hard to go home at night."[3]
Mastering[]
In the 1980s, Paul began working with Atlantic Records producer Joel Dorn and Atlantic Records engineer Joel Kerr to restore and remaster the recordings of rare live performances by famous artists.[1] This led Paul & Kerr to form DB Plus Digital Services, an independent mastering studio which operated in New York City from 1987 to 2009.[3] In 2010, he became Chief Mastering Engineer at G&J Audio, a mixing and mastering studio for major and independent labels focused on reissues and new recordings, alongside Kerr and engineer Jamie Polaski.[3]
Grammy Awards[]
Gene Paul has engineered 9 Grammy Award-winning albums with 29 total nominations in 15 different categories. (Years listed are album release dates.)
Recordings[]
In addition to the Grammy Awards listed above, Gene Paul has engineered many hit recordings, including 7 #1's on the Billboard Pop & Jazz charts, 6 more in the Pop Top 10, 10 more in the Jazz Top 10, and 5 in the R&B Top 20.
Year | Artist | Album | Chart Position[4] | Role[4] |
---|---|---|---|---|
1961 | Eddie Harris | "Exodus" (single) | #16 R&B, #36 US | Remastering Engineer |
1968 | Eddie Harris | "It's Crazy" (single) | #88 US | Remastering Engineer |
1969 | Eddie Harris & Les McCann | Swiss Movement | #1 Jazz, #2 R&B, #29 US | Remixing & Remastering Engineer |
1969 | R.B. Greaves | R.B. Greaves | #24 R&B, #85 US | Mixing Engineer |
1971 | Eddie Harris & Les McCann | Second Movement | #1 Jazz, # 41 US | Recording and Remastering Engineer |
1971 | Les McCann | Invitation to Openness | #8 Jazz | Remastering Engineer |
1971 | Donny Hathaway | Donny Hathaway | #6 R&B, #89 US | Recording Engineer |
1972 | Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway | Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway | #3 US, #2 R&B, #10 Jazz | Recording Engineer |
1972 | Cream | Live Cream Volume II | #27 US | Remixing Engineer |
1972 | Herbie Mann | Hold On, I'm Coming | #7 Jazz | Mixing Engineer |
1973 | Bette Midler | Bette Midler | #6 US | Recording Engineer |
1973 | Hall & Oates | Abandoned Luncheonette | #33 US | Recording Engineer |
1973 | Willie Nelson | Shotgun Willie | #41 US | Recording Engineer |
1973 | Les McCann | Layers | #5 Jazz | Remastering Engineer |
1973 | Modern Jazz Quartet | Blues on Bach | #34 Jazz | Recording and Mixing Engineer |
1973 | Donny Hathaway | Extension of a Man | #18 R&B, #69 US | Recording Engineer |
1973 | Bee Gees | Mr. Natural | #178 US | Recording Engineer |
1974 | Modern Jazz Quartet | The Complete Last Concert | #34 Jazz | Mixing Engineer |
1976 | The Rolling Stones | Black and Blue | #1 US | Recording Engineer[1][26] |
1976 | Willie Nelson | The Troublemaker | #1 Country, #60 US | Recording Engineer |
1977 | Ben E. King | Benny & Us | #14 R&B, #33 US | Recording Engineer |
1979 | Bette Midler | Thighs and Whispers | #65 US | Recording Engineer |
1983 | Paul Simon | Hearts and Bones | #35 US | Recording Engineer |
1993 | David "Fathead" Newman | Bigger & Better | #10 Jazz, #42 R&B | Remastering Engineer |
1998 | Various Artists | Jazz for the Open Road | #1 Jazz | Mastering Engineer |
1998 | Various Artists | Jazz for the Quiet Times | #1 Jazz | Mastering Engineer[6] |
1999 | Various Artists | Jazz for When You're Alone | #1 Jazz | Mastering Engineer[6] |
1999 | Various Artists | Jazz for a Lazy Day | #4 Jazz | Mastering Engineer[6] |
2000 | Various Artists | Jazz for a Rainy Afternoon | #1 Jazz | Mastering Engineer[6] |
2000 | Jane Monheit | Never Never Land | #2 Jazz | Mixing & Mastering Engineer |
2000 | Various Artists | Jazz for When You're in Love | #9 Jazz | Mastering Engineer[6] |
2001 | Jane Monheit | Come Dream with Me | #1 Jazz | Mixing & Mastering Engineer |
2002 | Jane Monheit | In the Sun | #2 Jazz | Recording, Mixing & Mastering Engineer |
2003 | Various Artists | Jazz for Those Peaceful Moments | #4 Jazz | Mastering Engineer[6] |
2007 | Mocean Worker | Cinco de Mowo! | #16 Electronic | Mastering Engineer |
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Williamson, Don, "Gene Paul... A Stickler for Imperfection” Archived December 29, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, '’Jazz Review'’, January 29, 2006. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
- ^ Kruth,John, "Shut Up & Learn – The Auspicious Apprenticeship of Gene Paul”, '’Wax Poetics'’, March/April 2010. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d Littwin, Danny (September 2010). "It's about the music, not the technology". Producao Audio (in Portuguese). pp. 26–36. Retrieved August 5, 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Gene Paul". Allmusic.com. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h "Past Winners Search”, '’Grammy.com'’. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i "Staff". G&J Audio. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
- ^ "Aretha Franklin – Aretha’s Greatest Hits”, Discogs. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "AWB History” Archived October 24, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Average White Band.com. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
- ^ Porter, Lewis, [1], '’John Coltrane: His Life and Music’’, University of Michigan Press, January 27, 2000. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Carlozo, Lou, "Chicago Artists are Well-represented In Grammy Nominations”, Chicago Tribune, January 7, 1998. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
- ^ "Full Biography” Archived September 1, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Dave Liebman.com. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
- ^ "Arkadia Jazz All-Stars: Thank You John”, VIEW Video & Arkadia Label Group. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
- ^ "About Ted Rosenthal”, All About Jazz. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
- ^ "Benny Golson”, Jazz at Lincoln Center. 2012-08-25.
- ^ "JoAnne Brackeen, Professor”, Berklee College of Music. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Faculty Experts”, The New School. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
- ^ "Tribute to Mesterhazy featured in second week of Cape May Music Festival” Archived August 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, '’Shore News Today'’, September 2010. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
- ^ "Kurt Elling”, All About Jazz. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
- ^ "Album Details” Archived October 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Maria Schneider.com. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
- ^ Gerstein, Ted & Berman, John, "Rick Moranis on His Transformation Into a Grammy-Nominated Country Western Singer”, ABC's '’Nightline'’, February 5, 2006. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
- ^ "The 48th Annual GRAMMY Awards Roundup: Jazz Field”, Grammy.org. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Album Details: Sky Blue” Archived December 22, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Maria Schneider.com. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
- ^ "2010 Grammy Award Nominations Announced”, '’Mix'’, December 3, 2009. Retrieved 2012-08-024.
- ^ “Exploring the GRAMMYs’ Jazz Field Nominees” Grammy.com. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
- ^ “Exploring the Children’s Field Nominees” Grammy.com. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
- ^ "Black and Blue", Wikipedia.org. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
External links[]
- G&J Audio
- Gene Paul on AllMusic
- Gene Paul on Artistdirect
- Gene Paul[permanent dead link] on Album Credits
- Gene Paul interview by Don Williamson in Jazz Review, Jan. 2006
- Gene Paul interview[permanent dead link] by John Kruth in Wax Poetics, Mar./Apr. 2010
- Gene Paul interview[permanent dead link] by Danny Littwin in Producao Audio, Sept. 2010
- 1944 births
- Living people
- Mastering engineers
- Atlantic Records
- Record producers from California
- American audio engineers
- 20th-century American drummers
- American male drummers
- 20th-century American male musicians