Al Schmitt


Albert Harry Schmitt is an American recording engineer and record producer. He has won over twenty Grammy Awards for his work with Henry Mancini, Steely Dan, George Benson, Toto, Natalie Cole, Quincy Jones, and others.

Biography

Early career

Schmitt grew up in New York City and lived in Brooklyn til the late 1940s. He bought his first 78 at the age of 10, Jimmie Lunceford's record "White Heat." Schmitt's favorite band was Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra. He had a younger sister and two younger brothers, both of who became audio engineers. His family was poor so some Saturdays he worked at a shop doing shoe repairs.
On the weekends, Schmitt would spend time at his uncle's recording studio, Harry Smith Recording From the age of 8, Schmitt would ride the subway himself from Brooklyn to Manhattan to go to the studio.
Smith's studio was the first independent recording studio on the East Coast. engineered sessions for Brunswick Records including with Bing Crosby, and the Andrew Sisters. Smith was his father's brother and also Schmitt's godfather. Schmitt considers Smith one of his mentors for recording along with Tom Dowd.
Smith was friends with Les Paul, who became "like another uncle" to Schmitt. Schmitt and Paul remained friends for life.

Apex

After serving in the U.S. Navy, he began working at Apex Recording Studios at the age of 19 as an apprentice. He got the job based on a recommendation from his uncle. His job was primarily assisting on engineer Tom Dowd's recording sessions. After a few months, he was engineering small demo recordings
On a Saturday afternoon, Schmitt's had a recording session with Duke Ellington and his Orchestra - not the small demo recording he was expecting to do. Schmitt was the only one at the studio and couldn't get the owner or engineer Tom Dowd on the phone so he did the session himself. Schmitt said he 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.
He worked at Apex for two years until it closed.
When Apex closed, he moved to Nola Studios for a year then worked at Fulton Recording. At Fulton, he worked with engineer Bob Doherty who taught him how to mix large orchestras.
In 1958, Schmitt moved to Los Angeles and became a staff engineer at Radio Recorders on Santa Monica Blvd in Hollywood.
In 1963 he moved to RCA in Hollywood as a staff engineer, the first engineer hired for the studio. While at RCA he engineered albums for Henry Mancini, Cal Tjader, Al Hirt, Rosemary Clooney, Liverpool Five, The Astronauts, Sam Cooke in 1961. He also did a lot of motion picture scoring work for Alex North and Elmer Bernstein. In addition, Schmitt worked with Jascha Heifetz's "Million Dollar Trio", which comprised Heifetz himself, Arthur Rubinstein on the piano, and Gregor Piatigorsky or Emanuel Feuermann on cello. Schmitt once stated that "Mr. Heifetz was very temperamental in the Studio." He has also stated that Heifetz would have angry fits during recording sessions. Schmitt also engineered the recording sessions held at RCA Hollywood for Elvis Presley's first post-army motion picture for Paramount Pictures, titled G.I. Blues. These recording sessions were held on 27–28 April 1960.

From the mid-60s to present

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.
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.
Most recently, in 2014, Schmitt worked on Bob Dylan's album, Shadows in the Night, which was released on 30 January 2015.

Capitol Records

Since he moved to Hollywood, Schmitt has almost exclusively worked at Capitol Studios, with occasional sessions at United Recording Studios and EastWest Studios, formerly Western Recording. He made an advertisement for AMS Neve's 88R console at Capitol's Studio A, which currently holds an 88R.
Schmitt has also appeared on the online internet television series "Pensado's Place", hosted by Dave Pensado and Herb Trawick. During one of the segments he mentioned that his favorite microphone is the Neumann U 67 tube condenser microphone, and explained that he uses the microphone on numerous sources.

Production discography

During his career, Schmitt has recorded and mixed more than 150 gold and platinum albums.
He has won more Grammy Awards, more than any other engineer or mixer. He was the first person to win both the Grammy and Latin Grammy for Album of the Year. He won his first Grammy in 1963 for engineering the Hatari! soundtrack by Henry Mancini. The song "Moon River" and its won two Grammy awards in 1961 as well as an Academy Award for Best Song with its appearance in the film Breakfast at Tiffany's. He was awarded two Latin Grammy Awards in 2000 including Album of the Year. In 2005 he won five Grammys for his work on Ray Charles' Genius Loves Company, including Album of the Year, setting the record for most Grammys won by an engineer or mixer in one night. In 2006, he was given the Grammy Trustees Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 2014, Schmitt was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star recognizes his contribution to the music industry and is located at 1750 N. Vine Street.
Don Was, Joe Walsh, and President/CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, Leron Gubler were speakers at Schmitt's Star Unveiling Ceremony. Gubler declared that 13 August would be designated 'Al Schmitt Day' in Hollywood. Although Natalie Cole and Paul McCartney were unable to attend the ceremony, both released statements that were read by Gubler at the ceremony.
He was inducted into the TEC Awards Hall of Fame in 1997.
In June 2014, he won the Pensado Giant Award. In September 2014, he received an honorary doctorate from the Berklee College of Music.

Grammy Awards

YearCategoryTitleNote
1962Best Engineering Contribution – Other Than Novelty And Other Than ClassicalHatari!Henry Mancini
1976Best Engineered Recording – Non-ClassicalBreezinGeorge Benson
1977Best Engineered Recording – Non-ClassicalAjaSteely Dan
1978Best Engineered Recording – Non-Classical"FM "Steely Dan
1982Best Engineered Recording – Non-ClassicalToto IVToto
1991Best Engineered Album – Non-ClassicalUnforgettable… with LoveNatalie Cole
1996Best Engineered Album – Non-ClassicalQ's Jook JointQuincy Jones
1999Best Engineered Album – Non-ClassicalWhen I Look in Your EyesDiana Krall
2000Album of the YearAmarte Es Un PlacerLuis Miguel
2000Pop AlbumAmarte Es Un PlacerLuis Miguel
2001Best Engineered Album, Non-ClassicalThe Look of LoveDiana Krall
2002Best Jazz Vocal AlbumLive in ParisDiana Krall
2004Best Surround Sound AlbumGenius Loves CompanyRay Charles
2004Best Engineered Album, Non-ClassicalGenius Loves CompanyRay Charles
2004Best Pop Vocal AlbumGenius Loves CompanyRay Charles
2004Album of the YearGenius Loves CompanyRay Charles
2004Record of the Year"Here We Go Again"Norah Jones & Ray Charles
2006Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or GroupThe Ultimate AdventureChick Corea
2008Best Traditional Pop Vocal AlbumStill UnforgettableNatalie Cole
2010Best Jazz Vocal Album'Dee Dee Bridgewater
2012Best Traditional Pop Vocal AlbumKisses on the BottomPaul McCartney
2013Best Surround Sound AlbumLive Kisses''Paul McCartney