Thomas Vicari (born August 24, 1948) is an American recording engineer, mixing engineer, record producer and scoring mixer known for his work with Quincy Jones, Gino Vannelli, Nicholas Britell, Thomas Newman, Prince, George Duke and Barbra Streisand. He was the sound mixer for TV shows and films including Six Feet Under, The Newsroom, Behind the Candelabra, Phantom of the Paradise, Finding Nemo, Finding Dory, Wall-E and Road to Perdition.
He has been the sound mixer for the Oscars telecast since 1996, commissioned by that year's executive producer, Quincy Jones. Vicari has won two Grammy Awards, eight Emmy Awards and two Cinema Audio Society Awards.
Early life Vicari grew up in Southern California. His mother was a singer and his uncles were musicians, exposing him to artists like Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole from an early age. During his teenage years, he was drawn by artists of the British Invasion, especially The Beatles.
Career Vicari started his career at Capitol Records in the early 1970s. After completing a three-month engineering apprenticeship program at A&M Studios, he became assistant engineer and later recording engineer. During his time at A&M, Vicari recorded artists including Barbra Streisand, Cat Stevens and Joni Mitchell.
After four years at A&M, Vicari became staff engineer at Sound Labs. In 1976, he became an independent engineer, recording at different locations including Conway Recording Studios, Record Plant and Lion Share Recording Studios. Vicari was executive producer and recording engineer on Prince's 1978 debut album For You, recorded at Record Plant in Sausalito, California.
Vicari worked on film since the early stages of his career. In 1971, he was credited as part of the sound department on Joe Cocker's concert film Mad Dogs & Englishmen. He was scoring mixer on the 1974 film Phantom of the Paradise directed by Brian De Palma and the 1976 film A Star Is Born directed by Frank Pierson.
In 1996, he was commissioned by Quincy Jones, executive producer of the 68th Academy Awards, to mix the sound for the telecast. Vicari continues to mix the live orchestra at the Academy Awards ceremony to this day.
After mixing the 68th Academy Awards, Vicari mixed a track composed by Thomas Newman for the 1998 film Meet Joe Black, directed by Martin Brest. The track was ultimately not used in the film. In 2001, Vicari mixed the main theme for the TV series Six Feet Under, also composed by Newman. Vicari continued working with Newman on films including Cinderella Man, Jarhead, Wall-E and Bridge of Spies.
In March 2005, Vicari founded his own production company, Vicari Sound Organization (VSO). The 2019 album Almost Midnight by Italian artist Filippo Perbellini was produced by Vicari for VSO and features Abraham Laboriel on bass, Steve Ferrone on drums, Luis Conte on percussion.
A significant part of Vicari's career has been dedicated to working with Italian artists including Laura Pausini, Eros Ramazzotti, Pino Daniele, Umberto Tozzi, Raf and Giorgia. He is credited on the albums Dove c'è musica by Eros Ramazzotti and La mia risposta by Laura Pausini, both of which reached number 1 on the Italian Albums Chart and on "Tutto Tozzi" by Umberto Tozzi which was gold certified by the Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana.
Awards
Grammy Awards YearTitleArtistCategoryRoleResult1975Powerful PeopleGino VannelliBest Engineered Recording, Non-ClassicalEngineer1976Storm At SunupGino VannelliBest Engineered Recording, Non-ClassicalEngineer1984Bossa Nova HotelMichael SembelloBest Engineered Recording, Non-ClassicalEngineer1997Q's Jook JointQuincy JonesBest Engineered Recording, Non-ClassicalEngineer2007That Phat PackGordon Goodwin's Big Phat BandBest Engineered Recording, Non-ClassicalEngineer2015Life In The BubbleGordon Goodwin's Big Phat BandBest Large Jazz Ensemble AlbumEngineer
Emmy Awards YearNominated workCategoryNetworkResult199668th Academy AwardsOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety or Music Series or SpecialABC199769th Academy AwardsOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety or Music Series or SpecialABC199870th Academy AwardsOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety or Music Series or SpecialABC199971st Academy AwardsOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety or Music Series or SpecialABC200072nd Academy AwardsOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety or Music Series or SpecialABC200173rd Academy AwardsOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety or Music Series or SpecialABC200375th Academy AwardsOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety or Music Series or SpecialABC200476th Academy AwardsOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety or Music Series or SpecialABC200577th Academy AwardsOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety or Music Series or Special or AnimationABC200678th Academy AwardsOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety or Music Series or Special or AnimationABC200779th Academy AwardsOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety or Music Series or SpecialABC200880th Academy AwardsOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety or Music Series or SpecialABC201183rd Academy AwardsOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety or Music Series or SpecialABC201284th Academy AwardsOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or SpecialABC201385th Academy AwardsOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or SpecialABCBehind the CandelabraOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a MovieHBO201486th Academy AwardsOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or SpecialABC201587th Academy AwardsOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or SpecialABC201688th Academy AwardsOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or SpecialABC201789th Academy AwardsOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or SpecialABC201890th Academy AwardsOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or SpecialABC201991st Academy AwardsOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or SpecialABC202092nd Academy AwardsOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or SpecialABC2023Succession: Connor's WeddingOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One-Hour)HBO202496th Academy AwardsOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or SpecialABC
Cinema Audio Society Awards YearNominated workCategoryRoleResult2014Behind the CandelabraOutstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Motion Picture - Live ActionScoring mixer2016Bridge of SpiesOutstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Motion Picture - Live ActionScoring mixer2017Finding DoryOutstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Motion Picture - AnimatedScoring mixer
Online Film & Television Association Awards YearNominated workCategoryNetworkResult2014Behind the CandelabraBest Sound in a Non-SeriesHBO2014The 85th Annual Academy AwardsBest Sound in a Non-SeriesABC
References