Reclaimed Soul: Late Jazz Engineer Rudy Van Gelder’s Influence on Soul

By Morning Shift
Rudy Van Gelder used his parents’ living room in Hackensack, N.J., as his recording studio in the mid-1950s.
Rudy Van Gelder used his parents' living room in Hackensack, N.J., as his recording studio in the mid-1950s.
Rudy Van Gelder used his parents’ living room in Hackensack, N.J., as his recording studio in the mid-1950s.
Rudy Van Gelder used his parents' living room in Hackensack, N.J., as his recording studio in the mid-1950s.

Reclaimed Soul: Late Jazz Engineer Rudy Van Gelder’s Influence on Soul

By Morning Shift
WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter.

Francis Wolff/Mosaic Images, LLC via NPR

Virtually every giant from the world of jazz recorded in the home studio of Rudy Van Gelder. 

Considered the greatest recording engineer in the history of jazz, Van Gelder passed away last week at the age of 91. But his influence was so great, it spread beyond the jazz world, and this edition of Reclaimed Soul pays tribute to the man behind the Blue Note sound.