Al Schmitt

 ( 1930 Births ) 

On a Saturday afternoon, Schmitt had a recording session with Duke Ellington and his Orchestra — not the small demo recording he was expecting. 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 in person. 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 (Tom Dowd told him of the opening), 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 1960, he moved to RCA Records in Hollywood as a staff engineer, the first engineer hired for the studio. While at RCA he engineered albums for Henry Mancini ("Moon River"), Cal Tjader, Al Hirt, Rosemary Clooney, Liverpool Five, The Astronauts, Sam Cooke ("Bring It On Home to Me," "Cupid," "Another Saturday Night") in 1961. He also did a lot of Film score 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 April 27–28, 1960.

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 his last years was with producer Tommy LiPuma. He also recorded Sammy Davis Jr., Natalie Cole, Thelonious Monk, Elvis Presley, Tony Bennett, Madonna, Michael Jackson, and many others.

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

He also worked on the Samsung's Over the Horizon telephone ringtone theme of 2015 as a recording/mixing engineer.

Schmitt 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 was the Neumann U 67 tube (valve) condenser microphone, and explained that he used it on numerous sources.

• Jazz Suite on the Mass Texts — Paul Horn, composed and conducted by Lalo Schifrin (RCA Victor, 1965)
• After Bathing at Baxter's — Jefferson Airplane (1967)
• Crown of Creation — Jefferson Airplane (1968)
• Bless Its Pointed Little Head — Jefferson Airplane (1969)
• Volunteers — Jefferson Airplane (1969)
• Hot Tuna — Hot Tuna (1970)
• Playing My Fiddle for You — Papa John Creach (1974)
• On the Beach — Neil Young (1974)
• Late for the Sky — Jackson Browne (1974)
• We Got By — Al Jarreau (1975)
• Farther Along — Spirit (1976)
• Glow — Al Jarreau (1976)
• Look to the Rainbow — Al Jarreau (1977) (co–produced w/Tommy LiPuma)
• All Fly Home — Al Jarreau (1978)
• Dream Machine — Paul Horn (1978)

He won more Grammy Awards than any other engineer or mixer. He was the first person to win both the Grammy and Latin Grammy for Album of the Year. After being Grammy nominated for his work on the film Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), he won his first Grammy in 1963 for engineering the Hatari! score by Henry Mancini. 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 August 13 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.

• Al Schmitt Interview at NAMM Oral History Collection (2011)