Author Topic: Hackensack Jazz: Van Gelder/Blue Note  (Read 49085 times)

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Hackensack Jazz: Van Gelder/Blue Note
« on: March 20, 2005, 10:23:03 PM »
My brother told me that many important Jazz and Blues musicians recorded in Hackensack. Rudy Van Gelder's Blue Note Records was in Hackensack somewhere.  Does anyone know where? 

Who recorded here?  I know there is a Jimi Hendrix Album called "Hackensack Blues".  Is that a Van Gelder project? 

More about Van Gelder and Blue Note here

Cook says the Blue Note sound was due in large part to engineer Rudy Van Gelder, who set up a studio in his parents' living room in Hackensack, N.J. "There's just something about Blue Note's mixes, the way Van Gelder manage to balance loud instruments and soft instruments in such a way that for the first time, in many cases, you're hearing the bass on jazz records and you're hearing the different levels of drum work between the drums and the cymbals. For their time, they are remarkable sonic documents."


Thanks for any follow up. 

« Last Edit: September 01, 2005, 07:23:37 PM by Editor »



Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Van Gelder/Blue Note
« Reply #1 on: March 21, 2005, 08:27:05 PM »

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Van Gelder/Blue Note
« Reply #2 on: March 29, 2005, 10:55:52 PM »
I'm not sure if these are "Blue Note", but I know they were recorded in Hackensack.



Other Hendrix albums were recorded at "Georges Club 20", where a municipal parking lot now stands on the corner of Bridge and Moore Streets.


Thelonious Monk's "Hackensack"



Dozens of other Jazz artists also recorded here.
« Last Edit: December 30, 2008, 03:11:09 PM by Editor »

Offline Hackensack Jazz

  • HackensackNow Regular
  • **
  • Posts: 10
  • Karma: -8
    • View Profile
Re: Van Gelder/Blue Note
« Reply #3 on: March 30, 2005, 12:06:03 PM »
Very cool topic. This individual tried proposing a MONUMENT FOR THE SITE in 1988 even got the owner of the property to dig a monument in his from yard. Finally hooked up with WBGO (have you joined WBGO yet by becoming a member?) But when the project was discussed with the County Throne... you know that paper... (well it might be cool, maybe if it were, uh... not so IN CONTROL - they refused to cooperate wanting of course the credit for themselves for additional influence. I stopped to contact Rudy because as things stand Jazz need not sell out to abuse of power.  Enough Negativity. If any effort for a monument for the studio exists it should exist outside the influence of FREE EXPRESSION hindered. I mean, I can dig Jazz stuff but it can't be as prohibitive as that paper I designed and let go away just to test the fact that the Monk Tune Hackensack is disjunct in timing as cool walk away as the hackecensack Jazz Cafe... ya dig?

Offline Hackensack Jazz

  • HackensackNow Regular
  • **
  • Posts: 10
  • Karma: -8
    • View Profile
Re: Van Gelder/Blue Note
« Reply #4 on: March 30, 2005, 07:21:56 PM »
My brother told me that many important Jazz and Blues musicians recorded in Hackensack. Rudy Van Gelder's Blue Note Records was in Hackensack somewhere.  Does anyone know where? 

"On The Corner" (c) Copyright 2002
A Derivative from the notes of Joe Campagna (c) 1987. Used by Permission.

By

On The Corner of Prospect Avenue where now is at 25 Prospect Avenue stood the remains of what was a California Style Stucco Home converted into a recording studio by a man who is the subject of or contained in many books about Jazz, Sound Engineering and Acoustics. Rudy Van Gelder moved his studio to Englewood Cliffs where today he continues what many believe to be the fundamental methods of recording session jazz.


The following paragraph only describes the night life support which sprung from speak-easys and post-prohibition. That is what had Hackensack Bopping with live cabarets and attracted live Jazz Artists to many an enthusiastic and "buzzing" crowd. Black or White each section of town had their spots and the payola did fly.
In its hayday Hackensack in the late 1930's and 40's had evolved a very cool (quiet) and little known tradition which was born of a plating factory in South Hackensack set up by a Chicago salesman. It had a very special vat and condenser cover. One of the biggest stills made whiskey and a Irish/Scotsman made it age (or taste that way) and it was even better than what you might get from Scotland. 150 Proof! It was such a secret that the locals didn't even know about it. It was sold in New York, Chicago, L.A.  But Hackensack had its own bathtub industry usually operating out of grocery stores. Some drug stores also sold the raw materials and mixing flavors. These were fronts operated by the Black Hands (Sicilian Mafia). It was often a franchise you couldn't refuse. Eventually the Tax Stamps were put on a ne Federal system of keeping America stupid and Main Street became slurred buzz word for Hackensack for some Yet for some it was the intellectual Beat for the Music Nicks.
The last remaining places to fold in name were the State Cafe on Main Street and Leons.

You have to understand that in those days Hackensack was an extremely racist town. Prone to racial beatings by police and occasionally white men especially police looking for a cheap thrill. Hey! truth is truth.   There were those, who differed.People who loved the music could not deal with the racism. Music is from where we all come from. God is where it's from and He ain't a racist!

But all in all there were those who crossed racial barriers and jumped high wall and sounded out high notes. Rudy Van Gelder made possible many things that had secondary effects worldwide. And it was all positive.

Probably the most intellectual of the crowds were the musicians. You asked who played in Hackensack. Here is a few: Thelonius Monk; John Coltrane; Miles Davis; Horace Silver; Dizzy Gilespie; Charlie Parker;

Well, I dont want to do the work for the County Seat...et them buy their won LP's and mess it up for themselves.  - Jazz



Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Van Gelder/Blue Note
« Reply #5 on: April 07, 2005, 10:58:04 PM »
'Hackensack Sessions' by Artist Allan Hill
All Rights Reserved


Notice the words "Blue Note" toward the bottom of the painting.

Click here for more art by Allan Hill.


« Last Edit: October 06, 2005, 08:33:16 PM by Editor »

Offline Jpatete

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 1
  • Karma: 1
    • View Profile
Re: Hackensack Jazz: Van Gelder/Blue Note
« Reply #6 on: September 02, 2005, 10:23:36 AM »
Its very nice to see that the jazz made in Hackensack is getting some recognition. As the previous posts stated up until 1960 or so most of the classic Prestige Jazz albums were made on the corner of Thompson and Prospect in RVG parents living room. Most are out of print but some notables are: Blue Trane, Cotrane's Lush Life,a good percentage of the Prestige All Star dates,most of the Miles' Prestige recordings that later became Steaming, Relaxing ect. and countless other incredible dates whose players read like a jazz Hall of Fame list.It would have been nice to see those guys lurking around the Hilltop area.  8
  Rudy moved to Englewood Cliffs in 1960-61 and recorded perhaps the gold standard of jazz recordings "A Love Supreme" in 1964. Too bad JC didn't get the urge to record it in 59 we could have claimed it as the official album of Hackensack. )
 I still get chills everytime I ride past the professional office it became! A memorial is a great idea. People should know that they are standing on hallowed ground.

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Hackensack Jazz: Van Gelder/Blue Note
« Reply #7 on: January 20, 2006, 06:41:28 PM »

Jazz great Lee Morgan taken at Johnny Griffin's "A Blowing Session" in Hackensack, New Jersey, on 6 April 1957.

Sonny Rollins Volume II session at Hackensack, New Jersey on 14 April 1957

Jazz great Thad Jones taken at the Magnificent Tad Jones session in Hackensack, New Jersey on 2 February, 1957

Doug Watson and Horace Silver Quintet session at Hackensack, New Jersey on 6 February 1955

I found these on ebay.

Nobody has ever documented an era more lovingly, or more thoroughly, than Blue Note Records founders Alfred Lion and Francis (Frank) Wolff. The era that they chronicled: the inception and rise of bebop in America. Lion's charge was the music. He recorded a staggering array of seminal jazz artists from 1939 through 1967. Wolff's contribution to history was more subtle but no less significant. Using a hand-held Leica or Rolleiflex camera, he, too, recorded every Blue Note artist for posterity. Three hundred of Francis Wolff's jazz photographs were artfully cropped, integrated with typography and given jazz immortality as Blue Note album covers. Aside from the album reissues and Mosaic Records brochures, this book of postcards marks the first appearance of a selection of Francis Wolff Blue Notes photographs in twenty-five years.
« Last Edit: April 26, 2006, 11:53:56 AM by Editor »

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Video: Coltrane/Hackensack
« Reply #8 on: December 16, 2006, 11:30:59 AM »
John Coltrane & Stan Getz: Rifftide (Hackensack) (You Tube Video)

Hackensack is a Jazz song.  I think Thelonious Monk wrote it.
« Last Edit: February 11, 2007, 09:09:57 PM by Editor »

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Hackensack Jazz: Van Gelder/Blue Note
« Reply #9 on: December 30, 2008, 03:02:42 PM »
Here's a nice write-up of Rudy Van Gelder: http://www.answers.com/topic/rudy-van-gelder

This is a small portion:

Early career
Van Gelder's interest in microphones and electronics can be traced to a youthful enthusiasm for amateur radio. A longtime jazz fan, his uncle had been a drummer for Ted Lewis in the 1920s, Van Gelder first recorded friends in his parents' Hackensack, New Jersey, living room, while working during the day as an optometrist. The house in Hackensack had been designed and built so that it could also be used as a recording studio. One of Van Gelder's friends, baritone saxophonist Gil Melle, introduced him to Blue Note Records producer Alfred Lion around 1952. The meeting led to the start of a second career, and as a result, Van Gelder is closely associated with the Blue Note label.

Within a few years Van Gelder was in demand by many other independent labels based around New York, including Prestige Records and Savoy Records.


« Last Edit: December 30, 2008, 03:05:19 PM by Editor »

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Hackensack Jazz: Van Gelder/Blue Note
« Reply #10 on: December 14, 2009, 12:13:50 AM »
Cleopatra's Dream - Bud Powell Trio

The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 5 - The Scene Changes Bud Powell (pf) Paul Chambers (b) Art Taylor (ds) Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, December 29, 1958 Blue Note BLP 4009   

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/KzzD09DnvZ0&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;&quot;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/KzzD09DnvZ0&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;&quot;</a>

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Hackensack Jazz: Van Gelder/Blue Note
« Reply #11 on: December 14, 2009, 12:17:59 AM »
Royal Flash - Sonny Clark

Cool Struttin' Art Farmer (tp) Jackie McLean (as) Sonny Clark (pf) Paul Chambers (b) Philly Joe Jones (ds) Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, January 5, 1958 Blue Note BLP 1588   

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/-0WcD3mCZmw&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/-0WcD3mCZmw&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;</a>

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Hackensack Jazz: Van Gelder/Blue Note
« Reply #12 on: December 14, 2009, 12:22:27 AM »
Hank Jones - Little Girl Blue

Drums: Kenny Clarke Bass: Wendell Marshall Originally recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studios, Hackensack, New Jersey 1955 The audio was recorded from radio in autumn 2005.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/hwWC2r7EcY4&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/hwWC2r7EcY4&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;</a>

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Hackensack Jazz: Van Gelder/Blue Note
« Reply #13 on: December 14, 2009, 12:38:20 AM »
Tadd Dameron with John Coltrane - On a Misty Night

"On a Misty Night" from Tadd Damerons "Mating Call" album. Composed by Tadd Dameron. Recorded November 30, 1956 in Hackensack, New Jersey.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/qVVf-mRXZ9U&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/qVVf-mRXZ9U&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;</a>

Musicians:
*John Coltrane: tenor saxophone
*Tadd Dameron: piano
*John Simmons: bass
*Philly Joe Jones: drums
*Rudy Van Gelder: recording engineer


Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Hackensack Jazz: Van Gelder/Blue Note
« Reply #14 on: January 07, 2010, 09:47:16 AM »
Reflection - We Three - Roy Haynes

We Three Phineas Newborn Jr. (pf) Paul Chambers (b) Roy Haynes (ds) Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, November 14, 1958.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/-qiXawQOaz8&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/-qiXawQOaz8&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;</a>