Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Al Schmitt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Al Schmitt is a fifteen-time Grammy Award winning recording engineer and record producer. Schmitt grew up in New York City. After serving in the U.S. Navy he began working at Apex Recording Studios at the age of 19. In the late 50's Schmitt moved to Los Angeles and became a staff engineer at Radio Recorders on Santa Monica Blvd in Hollywood. In the early 60's 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, Sam Cooke "Bring It on Home to Me" "Cupid" "Another Saturday Night" and Elvis Presley "G.I. Blues" in 1961 He also did a lot of motion-picture scoring work for Alex North and Elmer Bernstein. In 1966 Schmitt left RCA and became an independent producer. He produced albums forJefferson Airplane, Eddie Fisher, Glenn Yarborough, Jackson Browne and Neil Young. In the mid 70's he began spending more time engineering again, recording and mixing artists from Dr. John to Barbra Streisand.
Other career highlights include engineering both Frank Sinatra Duets albums, Ray Charles' Genius Loves Company and almost all of Diana Krall's albums. Much of his work in the last few years has been with legendary producer Tommy LiPuma.
During his career Al has recorded and mixed over 150 gold and platinum albums. In 1997 he was inducted into the TEC Hall of Fame. As a member of The Recording Academy's Los Angeles Chapter. Al served several terms on The Recording Academy's National Board of Trustees.
He won his first Grammy in 1962 for producing the Hatari! soundtrack by Henry Mancini. Later awards came for:
- Breezin, George Benson, 1976 (with Tommy LiPuma)
- Aja, Steely Dan, 1977
- FM (No Static At All), Steeley Dan, 1978
- Toto IV, Toto, 1982
- Unforgettable, Natalie Cole, 1991
- When I Look In Your Eyes, Diana Krall, 1999
- Amarte Es Un Placer, Luis Miguel, 2000 (two Latin Grammys)
- The Look of Love, Diana Krall, 2001
- Live in Paris, Diana Krall, 2002
- Genius Loves Company, Ray Charles, 2002