At this time, Guzauski recorded more Latin artists, like Alejandro Sanz, and Hennessey added how adept he was at also shifting into synthesizer-based R&B. Using his favored Solid State Logic consoles, he built his own studio in Mount Kisco, N.Y. “And he snuck in the line, ‘Can I borrow some money?’”Īfter Tommy Mottola became head of Sony Music, he brought Guzauski back to New York in the 1990s to work on such star projects as Mariah Carey’s albums. " Stevie Wonder did his vocals at the very end,” Guzauski said. Still, he had a lighter anecdote about the recording of Warwick’s 1985 “That’s What Friends Are For.” He referred to working with Earth, Wind And Fire as well as its longtime engineer George Massenburg as, “a great experience-all of their consoles were built from the ground up.” After Hennessey played the band’s 1981 post-disco hit, “Let’s Groove,” Guzauski detailed how they used compression and other techniques to make the handclaps sound distinctive. Such success opened doors and Guzauski found himself increasingly busy in Los Angeles’ studio scene during the latter 1970s and early 1980s. “And I got to experiment a little bit on it-I’m proud of the way I used reverb.” “It was one of those records where we knew something would happen,” Guzauski said. That came in 1978 with the smash “Feels So Good.” After Hennessey played the famous track, he asked Guzauski if they knew at the time how big it would become. Still, it took a little while for Guzauski to help craft a hit record for Mangione. But we pulled it off and went from there.” The particular challenges for the young engineer included that it was to tape Mangione’s 45-piece orchestra. They worked together on live dates during the early and mid-1970s and the trumpeter offered an invitation to record him in a Los Angeles studio. Still, with the Eastman School Of Music nearby, his city had a thriving jazz scene and one musician he befriended was Chuck Mangione. Despite Hennessey’s enthusiasm, Guzauski laughs at the mixed results of his initial forays. That turned into a teenage employment in a sound equipment and record store in Rochester, N.Y., during the late 1960s where he obtained an Ampex tape recorder, a Shure mixer and Neumann U 67 tube microphones (valued vintage equipment nowadays frequently discarded back then). As Hennessey questioned him about his work with the likes of Dionne Warwick, Daft Punk and Earth, Wind & Fire, Guzauski discussed how he adapted to evolving studio technology, but also showed that his key tools have always been an extraordinary pair of ears.įor Guzauski, a life in engineering recordings came from being a child who loved listening to albums and looking at hi-fi catalogs. “If it sounds good, I don’t mess with it.”Ĭalifornia-based Guzauski’s affable and low-key statements throughout the night showed how far his humble devotion to helping create high-quality sound has taken him throughout a career that has spanned nearly 50 years. “I try to be a minimalist,” Guzauski said. As Guzauski called up Pro Tools to analyze the layers of Barry Gibb’s “Gray Ghost” - detailing how much reverb on the lead vocals, the exact amount of processing on the drums - he distilled his approach. That demonstration itself showed why he has a shelf of GRAMMY Awards spanning jazz, rock, R&B and electronic dance music. As part of his two-hour-long onstage conversation with fellow engineer Matt Hennessey, the studio legend presented a few of his mix sessions on a projection screen. Mix engineer Mick Guzauski unveiled a surprise during his intimate GRAMMY SoundTables event at Chicago’s Old Town School Of Folk Music on Nov 8.
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