The Van Gelder Studio: Peek inside the room where classic jazz happened

Walking into Rudy Van Gelder’s studio is akin to setting foot inside a magnificent cathedral from the world of jazz.

There is this “wow” moment as you glance up at the peaked wooden ceiling towering overhead. You look around the spacious room and notice the microphone stands and suddenly realize – hey, that’s where Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonius Monk and Herbie Hancock recorded some of their finest work.

They came here because of Van Gelder. They knew that the optometrist-turned-record engineer could create a sound quality unlike anyone else. They started coming in the 1950s when Van Gelder built his first sound studio in the living room of his parents’ home in Hackensack.

They followed him to Englewood Cliffs in 1957 when Van Gelder built a new studio inside his home — in a building inspired the architect Frank Lloyd Wright and designed by one of Wright’s acolytes.

Van Gelder worked here right up until his death in August 2016 at the age of 91. His final recording session was June 20, 2016, with the Jimmy Cobb trio — Cob on drums, Paolo Benedettini on bass and Tadataka Unno on piano.

Rudy Van Gelder, sound man to jazz legends, dies at 91

Van Gelder left the studio to his long-time assistant Maureen Sickler, who worked with him for 33 years. They first met in the early 1980s when Sickler's husband and trumpet player Don Sickler recorded and produced several records at the Englewood Cliffs studio.

Van Gelder worked alone at his sound board back then, but gradually allowed Maureen Sickler to carry cables, take notes, check sound and later assist him on multi-track recording sessions.

When asked what went into creating the distinctive “warm” sound for which Van Gelder was known, Sickler cited his love of beauty. “Everything Rudy did was concerned with beauty in architecture, beauty in engineering and solutions,” she says. “No detail was too small.”

Jazz historians say Van Gelder was able to create a distinctive kind of sound in the studio that set him apart from other recording engineers.

Vincent Pelote, director of operations for the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University, said the history of jazz is known through recordings more than transcribed music.

"When you get to someone like Van Gelder and you listen to his stuff...he becomes as important as the musicians because of the way he presents the music," Pelote said.

"I don't even know how to really explain it other than with Van Gelder, you get a warmer sound," Pelote added. "The instrumentation is set up in such a way that it's more realistic to what you would normally hear."

Dimming the lights

As his assistant, Sickler worked alongside Van Gelder on some memorable recording sessions. One that stands out to her was Joe Henderson playing solo tenor sax on the title track of his album Lush Life. The other musicians had left. Henderson played a few warm-up notes and asked Van Gelder if he could change the atmosphere by dimming the studio lights a little.

“How about no lights in the studio,” Van Gelder replied, turning off all the lights including the control booth.

“Are you in your normal mic position?” Van Gelder asked.

Henderson paused and replied, “I think so.”

“Rudy started the take and we all heard some unbelievable personal Joe Henderson,” Sickler recalls. “Of this experience, Joe later related to my producer husband Don how incredible it was to stand in the middle of that room, alone, without headphones (on Rudy’s insistence) and hear himself play in that room.”

The album went on to win Henderson a 1992 Grammy Award for best jazz instrumental performance.

Van Gelder would go on to win his own Grammy in 2012 when the Recording Academy presented him with a “Trustees Award.” The award prompted this tribute by musician Jeff Lorber on the Grammy website: “Obviously, Englewood Cliffs was a magical place where all kinds of amazing recording took place.”

Maureen Sickler says she is determined to preserve both Van Gelder’s legacy and the studio. To that end, she has been working with the Bergen County Historical Society to explore getting landmark status for the studio.

Howard Gelfand, who is helping with the application for historic status, said the studio is significant in three respects: the music that was made there, the Frank Lloyd Wright inspired architecture and in the lives of the many African-American musicians who recorded there.

Maureen Sickler said there are no specific plans for the studio, but she does have a goal.

“My job is to make sure the building is preserved, that people can learn about what Rudy accomplished and that musicians can make music in it for my lifetime and after,” she wrote in an email. “I don’t have any concrete plans yet, but I hope to involve the musicians, producers and fans who were such an important part of his life.”