Aug 25, 2009 5:42 PM

Recording Harry Connick

Around the time RCA closed down Studios [1994], I worked on a Harry Connick Jr. record called She. It was an R&B record, and it was a lot of fun because we took over an old AM radio station on the top floor of the Maison Blanche building on Canal Street [in New Orleans]. The radio station had basically been moth-balled for years and years, and we cleaned it out and boarded up the windows to try to get rid of street noise. We moved gear in there. And this was before Pro Tools, so we moved a Sony 3348 tape machine up there, and a console and mics and mic pre’s, and we basically built a studio. It was this old AM radio station with all these different booths, where you’d have a sound effects guy, and every booth had a different quality to it. One was all wood, one was all tile and that kind of white board with holes in it like they had in Motown studios, and [the different booths were used] for different purposes.

This was just a temporary setup for that record, and when the record was done we packed it all up, and Showco took their gear away, and everything else went back to all the rental places, and we went back to New York and mixed it at Sony Studios.

The next record I got to do with Harry was To See You. We did that one at Capital Studios in L.A. That was 1997. I was in heaven. Historic Capital Studios, their great mic locker, Nat Cole’s piano, L.A. string players, excellent technical staff and the fantastic live echo chambers that I was prohibited from using! For that record, Harry and producer Tracey Freeman, who’s produced almost all of Harry’s records, wanted only natural room ambience, no digital reverb nor chambers. They wanted to hear the rosin on the bows, so whatever “reverb” you hear, and there is not much there, is what we captured with the M50 Decca Tree and M50 wide outs. At the close of the first day of tracking, after Harry left the studio, I patched into echo chamber number four (Sinatra’s chamber). I just had to hear those chambers—beautiful, like Sinatra’s Only the Lonely. The funny thing was, as Tracey and I were bathing in the sound of the orchestra, which was now swimming in the reverb of the echo chambers, Harry, who had forgotten his camera, returned, and said, “What’s that? I thought we agreed, no reverb!” I said, “Harry, I’m at Capital Studios, I had to just hear the chambers!” He laughed, and said “Okay, but don’t get used to it!” Those chambers are magical!

To See You was recorded all live; strings with big band, complete takes—some of Harry’s vocals were with the band while he sat at the piano and conducted at the same time. Almost every overdubbed vocal was recorded as a full pass, not comp'd nor punched. This was how he wanted to do that record because, in essence, it’s a jazz record. Yes, it’s a vocal record, with full orchestral and band arrangements, but there was a lot of space for improvisation. I’ve heard a lot of heavy Jazz musicians (like Wynton Marsalis) call it a masterpiece. I’d have to agree. We mixed it at Sony Music Studios [New York City], Studio B.

Mix Books

Modern Recording and Mixing

This 2-DVD set will show you how the best in the music industry set up a studio to make world-class records. Regardless of what gear you are using, the information you'll find here will allow you to take advantage of decades of expert knowledge. Order now $39.95

Mastering Cubase 4

Electronic Musician magazine and Thomson Course Technology PTR have joined forces again to create the second volume in their Personal Studio Series, Mastering Steinberg's Cubase(tm). Edited and produced by the staff of Electronic Musician, this special issue is not only a must-read for users of Cubase(tm) software, but it also delivers essential information for anyone recording/producing music in a personal-studio. Order now $12.95

Newsletters

MixLine

Delivered straight to your inbox every other week, MixLine takes you straight into the studio, with new product announcements, industry news, upcoming events, recent recording/post projects and much more. Click here to read the latest edition; sign up here.

MixLine Live

Delivered straight to your inbox every other week, MixLine Live takes you on the road with today's hottest tours, new sound reinforcement professional products, recent installs, industry news and much more. Click here to read the latest edition; sign up here.