It is with a sadness, we report the death of music industry legend Al Schmitt, he was 91. Few within the music industry have overseen more culture-defining artistic moments. Winner of 21 Grammy Awards, 2 Latin Grammys, and a Trustees Grammy for Lifetime Achievement, Al has helped artists collect an astounding 160 gold and platinum albums, and shared his knowledge and experience with others.
Recognizing that talent, Al Schmitt was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2015 right in front of the iconic Capitol Records building where he recorded so many hits.
Al grew up in New York City and lived in Brooklyn until the late 1940s. From the age of 8, he would spend his weekends at his uncle's recording studio, Harry Smith Recording, riding the subway by himself from Brooklyn to Manhattan to get to the studio. Al said…
“He didn’t have any children of his own so I was like a son to him. I was in the studio from the time I was 7 years old. I’d help set up chairs, clean patch cords, all kinds of stuff.”
Harry Smith's studio was the first independent recording studio on the East Coast. Harry engineered sessions for Brunswick Records including with Bing Crosby, and the Andrews Sisters. Smith was his father's brother and also Al’s godfather.
Al began working at Apex Recording Studios at the age of 19 as an apprentice on a recommendation from his uncle Harry. Schmitt’s job was primarily assisting the engineer on Tom Dowd's recording sessions. After a few months, he was engineering small demo recordings (mono recordings at 78 rpm). Al recalled…
“Tommy Dowd, who was kind of the head guy there, was my mentor. I learned from Tommy.”
Tommy Doyd said of Al Schmitt…
“Al was an obvious music enthusiast. He liked a lot of records and a lot of artists-not just popular artists but the ‘bubbling under’ artists too - and was sensitive to music, whether it was jazz or gospel or blues or pop. He had quick hands and quick ears. They ran through the song once, maybe twice, and he had it down in his mind and in his hands and was able to fly with it right away. His endeavour, at the outset, was to capture what the artists and musicians were doing. He has an unlimited horizon.”
One Saturday afternoon, Al had a recording session with Duke Ellington and his Orchestra - not the small demo recording he was expecting to do. Apparently, Schmitt told Ellington many times, "Mr. Ellington, I’m not qualified to do this". Ellington responded by patting him on the leg, looking him in the eye and saying, "It’s okay sonny, we are going to get through this". They cut three songs in four hours.
In 1958, Schmitt moved to Los Angeles and became a staff engineer at Radio Recorders on Santa Monica Blvd in Hollywood. Al recalled…
“[Bock] said to me, ‘Why don’t you come to California? Then I won’t have to fly to New York to use you.’ I said, ‘Get me a job out there, and I’ll come.’ About three weeks later, he called and said, ‘I got you a job at Radio Recorders if you want to take it.'”
At Radio Recorders in Hollywood, Schmitt added more jazz heavyweights to a growing discography, continuing to record for Bock, as well as musician/producer/bandleader Dave Pell. Meanwhile, he was learning more recording techniques from - and teaching them to - West Coast-based engineers such as Bones Howe and Thorne Nogar, who recorded many of Elvis’ records. Al explained…
“Bones Howe did this session with Henry Mancini, the Peter Gunn record. Evidently, he and the producer just didn’t hit it off for whatever reason-hard to believe, because Bones was so easy to get along with. So I wound up doing the other half of the album.”
In 1963 he moved to RCA in Hollywood as a staff engineer. While at RCA he engineered albums for Henry Mancini, Cal Tjader, Al Hirt, Rosemary Clooney, Liverpool Five, The Astronauts, Sam Cooke ("Bring It On Home to Me," "Cupid," "Another Saturday Night").
In 1966 Schmitt left RCA and became an independent producer. He produced albums for Jefferson Airplane, Eddie Fisher, Glenn Yarborough, Jackson Browne and Neil Young. In the mid 1970s he began spending more time engineering again, recording and mixing artists from Willy DeVille to Dr. John.
But why the dual career path? Al explained…
“When you were a staff producer at RCA, you weren’t allowed to touch the board, so I didn’t do any engineering for several years.”
When producer and friend Tommy LiPuma asked if he would help on a project, Schmitt wasn’t sure he had the chops after such a long layoff.
The album, Dave Mason’s Alone Together, was another watershed moment. Al reflected…
“I realized, ‘Hey, this is what I grew up doing, this is what I loved about the business in the first place, capturing a sound.’ That’s when I got back to doing some engineering. Some records I’d produce, some I just engineered, and some I’d do both.”
Other career highlights include engineering both Frank Sinatra Duets albums, Ray Charles' Genius Loves Company and some of Diana Krall's albums. Much of his work in the last few years has been with producer Tommy LiPuma. He has also recorded Sammy Davis, Jr., Natalie Cole, Thelonious Monk, Elvis Presley, Tony Bennett, Madonna, Michael Jackson, and many others.
Al remixed several albums in 5.1 for release on the Super Audio CD format, such as Natalie Cole’s ‘Unforgettable’ and Diana Krall’s ‘When I Look in Your Eyes’ and ‘The Look of Love’. Recalling this time Al confided…
“You have so much more space, you can do more things. I’m having a real good time. Now that Verve signed Natalie again, we just finished a record with her that Tommy LiPuma produced. It’s back to the old stuff, like Unforgettable, the great records she was making back then. And to be in the studio with Diana is one of the joys in life; she’s just sensational. What can I tell you? My life is pretty good.”
Al Schmitt, a member of our family passed away yesterday evening.
— Capitol Studios (@capitolstudios) April 27, 2021
A legend. An icon. A friend.
Al was not only the most celebrated and decorated engineer, but also the most beloved.
We’re thinking about you Al… always.
With Love,
Your Capitol Studios Family
Since moving to Hollywood, Schmitt pretty well exclusively worked at Capitol Studios, with occasional sessions at United Recording Studios and EastWest Studios.
More recently, Al Schmitt has been busy sharing his knowledge and experience with others. This included The Art of Recording a Big Band, which was filmed at the famed Capitol Studios in Hollywood, CA, over the course of a two-day master class by industry legend Al Schmitt and partner, Steve Genewick recording Chris Walden's GRAMMY® Award-nominated 18-piece jazz big band.
The idea was a simple one. Record a live big band, film it and have some guests in the studio control room, who included the likes of Andrew Scheps and Dave Pensado, to ask questions and for Al to share some of the tips and tricks that have made him a 23 time Grammy Award winner.
More recently Al Schmitt put his name to a Leapwing Audio plugin, which is designed to capture the signature sound of the iconic music producer-engineer.
Pro Tools Expert Podcast Extra Interview With Al Schmitt And Steve Genewick
In memory of the legend that is Al Schmitt, here is our Production Expert Podcast Extra Interview, in which James Ivey talked with Al Schmitt and his assistant of 14 years Steve Genewick back in 2016.
They talked about their DVD Tutorial The Art Of Recording A Big Band, the initial idea of the project and how it was transformed into a feature-length fly on the wall documentary/tutorial video in which Al and Steve show their working practices when it comes to micing brass and rhythm section instruments and their approach to tracking and mixing.
Steve and Al then answered some questions from our community on subjects ranging from microphone technique and selection, mastering and mixing for surround.
00:00 Intro
00:45 How did you come up with the idea of making the film Art Of Recording The Big Band?
06:50 Do you have a score for the material that is being recorded?
08:40 Are you committing your mic levels to "tape"?
09:25 Are you committing any EQ or Compression to "tape"?
10:07 Al, do you remember the first time you set foot in a studio and decided that was what you wanted your life to be?
11:30 Day 1 of The Art Of Recording A Big Band. Tell us about the session and the band?
12:40 When you do a punch in are you punching into the actual take or just creating a new playlist in Pro Tools?
13:32 Which came first the band or the project?
15:40 Is there a time when you reach for a tape measure to make sure drums are in phase?
19:01 Are you always printing a mix back to Pro Tools?
Community Questions For Al & Steve
19:33 Vivian Thompson - I understand that all genres and projects can require different tools and methods, however, I would be interested in your thoughts on attaining dynamic mixes in relation to the way you treat your dynamic processing on your busses?
22:05 Jared Kirk - How do you experiment with different miking techniques without wasting an orchestra's or a big band's time? Do you have someone come who plays on or more of the instruments and take your time in finding what different miking techniques sound like or do you have an idea in your head and try it out when everyone in the band is there or perhaps something completely different?
30.56 Djani Pervan - I've bought the "The Art Of Recording a Big Band" DVD soon it went out and it helped me broaden my understand of the recording process for not only big bands but for many other applications as well. I want to ask Al about mixing of such a recording:
Is there any sort of a method to start the mix in order to establish the stereo picture and balances like for example - listening to the room microphones first and then blending in the individual microphones to create a more detailed picture? Also about his panning techniques, does he pan the record according to the musician’s position in the room or on stage?
36:09 Paul Hinton - You are the best at blending reverbs and chambers to create life-like performances for the listener sitting at home or in his or her car. Are there any tips you can give us on how you place your reverbs in the stereo field to create that Al Schmitt type of stereo canvas or virtual stage?
40:03 Ahmet Gokhan Coskun My question to Al is, what are your main expectations from a mastering engineer in terms of tonal balance and dynamics?
46:01 Mike Collen - Al, in your opinion are 5.1 mixes dead as an audio-only format?
47:20 Mateo Barragan - Al, what can I do in order to attend one of your sessions at Capitol Studios?
49:05 Thank you and goodbye
Al Schmitt - Rest In Peace.
On behalf of our community, our sincere condolences go out to Al’s wife, Lisa and the family. Rest assured you are all in our thoughts and prayers.