The Van Gelder Studio is a recording studio at 445 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, United States.- Following the use of his parents' home at 25 Prospect Avenue, 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, Prestige, Impulse!, Verve, and CTI. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places 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, a collection of singles recorded by the saxophonist in July 1959.
Important recordings made at Hackensack include Thelonious Monk'''s Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington (1955), Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Colossus (1956) and Tenor Madness(1956) ; Miles Davis' Workin' and Steamin' (1956); Jazz Messengers recordings like Moanin' (1958); 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, resembles a chapel. The critic Ira Gitler describes the studio in liner notes for the saxophonist Booker Ervin's The Space Book (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."Ira Gitler, "Vangelder's Studio" , JazzTimes, April 1, 2001.
Among many significant recordings made at Englewood Cliffs are John Coltrane's A Love Supreme (1964), Booker Ervin's The Space Book, 1964 Sonny Rollins' Sonny Rollins on Impulse! (1965), Stanley Turrentine's Cherry (1972) and Don't Mess with Mister T (1973), Andrew Hill's Point of Departure (1964), Freddie Hubbard's Red Clay (1970) and Hank Mobley's Soul Station'' (1960).Zan, Stewart. "The state of jazz: Meet 40 more Jersey greats" , The Star-Ledger, September 28, 2003. Retrieved January 14, 2009.
In 2016, when Van Gelder died, the studio was entrusted to Maureen Sickler, who now operates and co-owns Van Gelder Studio with her husband, Don Sickler.
For its significance in the history of jazz music, the Van Gelder Studio was entered in to the National Register of Historic Places on April 25, 2022.
List of recording sessions The following table lists recording sessions for albums held at the studio.- - - - - -
1950s
1960s
1970s Recording DateAlbumArtistLabel Portrait of Jenny Perception Drives Blue Note Everything I Play Is Funky Blue Note DatelinePucho & the Latin Soul BrothersPrestige & January 23, 1970 Mosaic Select 16: Andrew Hill Blue Note Greasy Kid Stuff! Prestige & January 28 and 29, 1970 Red Clay CTI Green Is Beautiful Blue Note Night Lights Prestige Extensions Blue Note & April 10, 1970 It Could Only Happen with You Blue Note Right On Brother Prestige Truth! Prestige & March 13, 1970 Lift Every Voice Blue Note, April 23, 24 and 29, 1970 & May 8, 20 and 22, 1970 Stone Flower CTI, April 23, 24 and 29, 1970 & May 8, 20 and 22, 1970 Tide A&M Black Magic! Prestige, March 26, 1970 & May 12, 1970Gula Matari A&M Afro-Disiac Prestige & June 18, 1970 That Healin' Feelin' Blue Note & June 29, 1970 Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow Prestige Electric Byrd Blue Note Black Drops Prestige Soul Liberation Prestige & July 2, 1970 Joe Farrell Quartet CTI & July 22, 1970 Black Out CTI Coalition Blue Note Cosmos Blue Note Black on Black! Prestige Thinking of Home Blue Note Asante Blue Note Sparks! Prestige & September 25, 1970 A Groovy Situation Blue Note Here It 'Tis Prestige Person to Person! Prestige Sugar CTI Black Rhythm Revolution! Prestige The Black Cat! Prestige & January 29, 1971 Total Response Blue Note Straight Life CTI No Way! Prestige & December 11, 1970 Afro-Classic CTI Sneak Preview! Prestige Wa-Tu-Wa-Zui (Beautiful People) Prestige Night Life Prestige He's Coming UbiquityPolydor Funk, Inc. Funk, Inc.Prestige Turn It On! Prestige Purdie Good! Prestige, February 1 and 4, March 19 & April 6, 1971 Gilberto with Turrentine and Stanley TurrentineCTI, March 9, 1971 & April 23, 1971 The Sugar Man CTI & February 3, 1971 Beyond the Blue Horizon CTI You Talk That Talk! and Sonny StittPrestige Genesis Blue Note & December 16, 1971 Merry-Go-Round Blue Note Fire Eater Prestige & March 8, 1971 Spark Plug Prestige and May 3, 1971 Soul Story Prestige & April 9, 1971 Houston Express Prestige What's Going On Prestige & July 7 and 13, 1971 Salt Song CTI & May 11 and 25, 1971 God Bless the Child CTI Things Have Got to Change Impulse! Visions Blue Note & June 4, 1971 Breakout Kudu & June 10 and 25, 1971 The Rite of Spring CTI Louisiana Slim Prestige Black Vibrations Prestige & July 15, 1971 Mama Wailer CTI Cosmos Blue Note Set Us Free Blue Note My Way Prestige Gatorade Prestige What It Is Prestige Inner City Blues Kudu & September 20, 1971 Peace and Rhythm Prestige, September 15, 1971 & September 16, 1971 First Light CTI & September 18, 1971 Lee Morgan: The Last Session Blue Note & October 1, 1971 Flute-In Blue Note Wild Fire Prestige Shaft Prestige & November, 1971 Wild Horses Rock Steady Kudu White Rabbit CTI Outback CTI From a Whisper to a Scream Kudu Village of the Pharoahs Impulse! & December 17, 1971 Shades of Green (horn overdubs) Blue Note Help Me Make It Through the Night Kudu & February 14, 1972 All Blue Note & January 21, 1972 Two Headed Freap Blue Note & February 21, 1972 Akilah! Prestige Goin' Down Slow Prestige & February 17, 1972 Intensity Prestige, February 17, 1972 & February 14, 1973 Charles III Prestige Hollow Out and Masabumi KikuchiPhilips Bad Walking Woman Prestige & January 26, 1973 Where I'm Coming From Prestige & April, 1972 Blue Moses CTI & March 3, 1972 Natural Illusions Blue Note Chicken Lickin'Funk, Inc.Prestige & April 12, 13 and 20, 1972 Free CTI Polar AC CTI Hello SunshineB. C. & M. ChoirSalvation & June 1972All the King's Horses Kudu Broken Windows, Empty Hallways Prestige, & May 18 and 24, 1972 Cherry and Milt JacksonCTI & July 28, 1972 Child's Dance and The Jazz MessengersPrestige & June 7, 8 and 20 1972 Time & Love Jackie & RoyCTICa'Purange Prestige & June 28, 1972Tangerine Prestige, September, 1972 & October, 1972 Alone Again, Naturally Kudu & July 13, 1972 Mr. Jones Blue Note Friday Night Funk for Saturday Night Brothers Prestige Generation Prestige & November, 1972 Morning Star CTI & November 7, 1972 Sweet Buns & Barbeque Prestige & September 13 and 14, 1972 Prelude CTI, September 28, 1972 & October 10, 1972We Got a Good Thing Going Kudu & October 5, 1972 Sky Dive CTI & November 10, 1972 In Pursuit of the 27th Man Blue Note, October 30 & November 1, 1972 Got My Own Prestige, October 30 & November 1, 1972 Big Bad Jug Prestige & February 2, 1973 Midnight Rider Prestige Moon Germs CTI Snake Rhythm Rock Prestige & November 30, 1972 The Prophet Kudu Mizrab CTI Hangin' OutFunk, Inc.Prestige & December 13, 1972 Sunflower CTI Forecast Kudu Blues Farm CTI Last Bolero in Berkeley Fantasy & February 9, 1973 Primo Fantasy Soul Box Kudu For the Good Times Prestige, March 15, 1973 & June 7 and 8, 1973 Don't Mess with Mister T. CTI & May 1973 Giant Box CTI & April 17 and 18, 1973 Fingers CTI & May 16, 1973 Deodato 2 CTI & June 29, 1973 Wildflower Kudu Black-Eyed Blues Kudu & July 18, 1973 Body Talk CTI Rambler CTI Penny Arcade CTI & October 23, 1973 Keep Your Soul Together CTI All Blues CTI & November 1, 1973 Higher Ground Kudu, November 28, 1973 & December 4, 1973 Skylark CTI & December 12, 1972 Goodbye and Herbert LawsCTI A Wilder Alias and Roy Kral CTI & January 10, 1974 Olinga CTI-April, 1974 One CTI & February 7, 8 and 11, 1975 In the Beginning CTI Power of Soul Kudu Upon This Rock CTI, May 29 and 30, 1974 & June 20, 1974 Bad Benson CTI Performance Kudu Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing Kudu, October 31, 1974 & November 1, 1974She Was Too Good to Me CTI, & January–March 1975 Upchurch/Tennyson and Tennyson StephensKudu & September 25 and 26, 1974 Pure Desmond CTI Mister Magic Kudu & December, 1974 Canned Funk CTI Spanish Blue CTI & January, 1975 Two CTI–April, 1975 The Chicago Theme CTI, & March 11 and 17 1975 Beck Kudu & May 1975 The Rape of El Morro CTI & April 23, 1975 Concierto CTI, & April 24 and 28, 1975 What a Diff'rence a Day Makes and Joe BeckKudu & July, 1975 Feels So Good Kudu & July, 1975 Anything Goes Kudu & July, 1975 I Hear a Symphony Kudu, June 19 and 27, September 23 & October 8, 1975 House of the Rising Sun Kudu, July 8, October 9 & December 4 and 5, 1975Good King Bad CTI & October, 1975Pacific Fire CTI, November 14, 1975 & December 8, 1975For All We Know and Joe BeckKudu & January, 1976Three CTI, January 21, 1976 & March 12, 1976Benson & Farrell and Joe FarrellCTI The Main Attraction Kudu–June, 1976End of a Rainbow CTI, & May 18 and 20, 1976 Yellow & Green CTI, May 25 and 26 & June 18, 1976Velvet Darkness CTI, October, 1976 and November 1976The Fox CTIA Secret Place Kudu, October 20, 1976 & December 21, 1976Towering Toccata CTI–December, 1976Capricorn Princess Kudu & December, 1976BJ4 CTISmokin' MuseMama Roots Muse Crawl Space CTIShippin' Out MuseMy Mother's Eyes MuseBrief Encounter Muse Wild Flower Muse & September 21, 1977 Roadsong MuseEverything Must Change Muse The Nearness of You Muse I Concentrate on You Muse, November 18, 21 & 22, 1977Peg Leg Milestone, & November 17, 25 and 30, 1977Silver 'n Percussion Blue Note Bar Wars Muse Infant Eyes Muse & January 5, 1978 Now Muse Home Muse Groovin' High Muse Why Not... Muse Single Action with Pat MartinoMuse A Song for You Milestone If You Could See Me Now Muse Mister Mysterious Muse Manhattan Plaza Muse Sunstroke Muse L-R-G / The Maze / S II Examples Nessa Keeper of the Flame Muse Thundering Muse, November 10, 1978, October 26, 1979 & November 2, 1979Silver 'n Strings Play the Music of the Spheres Blue Note Pick 'Em Milestone Parade Milestone & March 16, 1979 Conception: The Gift of Love Columbia & April 25, 1979Horizon Milestone In a Temple Garden CTI & June 27, 1979 The Plot Thickens Gatemouth Spirit Catcher Nessa Good Cookin' Muse & June 14 and 20, 1979 Very R.A.R.E. Trio La Cuna CTI New York Slick Milestone
1980s