Among the albums to come out of Van Gelder's Hackensack and Englewood Cliffs studios were 'A Love Supreme,' 'Monk,' 'Moanin' and 'Working'
Rudy Van Gelder, a renowned recording engineer who captured jazz greats Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane and many others in his parents' Hackensack living room and later in his eponymous Englewood Cliffs studio, died Thursday at the age of 91, according to jazz writer Nate Chinen.
The location and cause of death were not announced.
Van Gelder, a lifelong New Jerseyan, recorded quintessential albums of the genre: John Coltrane's "Blue Train" and "A Love Supreme," Miles Davis' "Workin'" and "Steamin'," Thelonious Monk's "Monk," Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers' "Moanin'," and Lee Morgan's "The Sidewinder."
"I would say they learned how to record jazz together," says T.S. Monk, the son of the jazz legend and an esteemed jazz drummer in his own right. "He really, really got it right. You can list to a Rudy Van Gelder from the 1950s that sounds like it was recorded today."
In an interview Thursday with NJ.com, Monk recalls sitting in on his father's sessions at Van Gelder's Hackensack studio, and the awe he felt years later, stepping in to the Englewood Cliffs studio to record his own music. "I felt like I was working with a giant."
An established optometrist with an office in Teaneck, Van Gelder had a sideline recording friends and local musicians in his parents' house. (His parents eventually added a separate entrance to their bedroom to avoid walking in on the recording sessions, he told the Wall Street Journal in 2012. "My parents and the neighbors never complained. Only once my mother left me a note asking me to do a better job tidying up.")
Word of his talent eventually reached Alfred Lion, the co-founder of Blue Note Records, and -- in his late twenties -- Van Gelder's jazz recording career began to flourish.
Van Gelder made his Blue Note debut with Gil Melle in 1953. According to a 2001 Jazz Times profile, he may have made his Prestige debut with Thelonious Monk's "Hackensack" in 1954. Five years later, he opened the Englewood Cliffs studio and became a full-time engineer.
In a 2014 interview with Inside Jersey about the 1964 recording of "A Love Supreme," Van Gelder spoke about the special synergy in the Englewood Cliffs studio. "While I was building the new studio, the neighborhood had no idea what kind of structure it was. As it came together, everyone assumed it was going to be a church with a peak in the center of the room. The look and feel was very church-like," he adds.
"As I look back and realize where his music was going, I can see his music had a spiritual quality, which matched perfectly with the atmosphere of the new studio."
Ashley Kahn, the author of the 2002 book "A Love Supreme: The Story of John Coltrane's Signature Album," told Inside Jersey, "It was his near geek-like dedication to his craft, always upgrading his equipment, trying out new ideas, approaches to get the best sound possible, and taking it to the very end as far as mastering his own session recordings."
In later years, Van Gelder remastered much of his original work for the Rudy Van Gelder Series for Blue Note, as well other jazz classics, including "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy!" by Cannonball Adderly and the original Miles Davis sessions for "The Birth of Cool," according to Jazz Times.
"The idea of listening to old tapes that I made, another chance to transfer them ... this is my opportunity to present my version of how things should sound," Van Gelder said in a 2011 interview with Blue Note. "What a great job this is."
Van Gelder was predeceased by his wife Elva.
Vicki Hyman may be reached at vhyman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @vickihy or like her on Facebook. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook, and check out TV Hangover, the podcast from Vicki Hyman and co-host Erin Medley on iTunes, Stitcher or listen here.