Al Schmitt

Al Schmitt is a nineteen-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, Liverpool Five, The Astronauts, 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 for Jefferson 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 Willy DeVille and 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 and was inducted into the TEC Awards Hall of Fame in 1997, and received the Grammy Trustees Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. As a member of The Recording Academy's Los Angeles Chapter, Al served several terms on The Recording Academy's National Board of Trustees.

The Schnitt-engineered song "Moon River" and its associated album 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". Schnitt won his first Grammy in 1963 specifically for engineering 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)", Steely 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)
* "Genius Love Company" Ray Charles, 2004 (four Grammys)
* "The Ultimate Adventure" Chick Corea 2006
* "The Look of Love", Diana Krall, 2001
* "Live in Paris", Diana Krall, 2002

External links

* [http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/artist.aspx?aid=4300 Verve congratulates Al Schmitt for his latest Grammy]
* [http://www.recordproduction.com/al_schmitt_video_interview.htm video interview with Al Schmitt at Capitol Studios]