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Just Jazz
As the Owen Hall Recording Studio (OHRS) manager and chief engineer from its opening in  January 2008 to the Spring of 2025 upon my retirement, I had the wonderful opportunity of recording a variety of music ensembles. From pop-rock to classical performances , to acapella and instrumental soloists, the OHRS provided an incredible studio space for capturing live acoustic music. Of all the many artists and musicians recorded in the Owen Studio, the acoustics of the Owen studio magically responded to jazz music the most. To paraphrase the famous Atlantic Records Producer, Tom Dowd, the Owen studio’s acoustics fit jazz like a hand in a glove. Here you will read about and listen to some of the incredible jazz sessions that came out of the Owen Studio’s jazz-inspiring acoustic space.
Nick’s Tune (Haiku)  - A Recording Workshop
In March of 2010, Producer Nick Phillips from Nick Phillips Music and I, taught and recorded the Brubeck Fellows in the Owen studio. The fellows were part of the Brubeck Institute, a two-year student jazz studies program. From across the United States, five top students in jazz performance were selected to be granted a chair in the Brubeck Institute. Chair positions were available for drummers, upright bass players, jazz pianists, trumpet players, and saxophonists. As a member of the Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet (BIJQ) the students would perform throughout California while studying with a variety of jazz faculty at the University of the Pacific.

 
The Brubeck Institute focused on jazz studies however the process of in-studio recording was not part of the Institute curriculum. With coordination by the Director of the music management department, Keith Hatschek, the Studio Manager & Recording Arts Instructor ProfJeff, and award-winning guest lecturer Nick Phillips, worked to create a recording curriculum and then co-taught a four-week workshop in the OHRS. The OHRS, a C/24-mixing control surface with Avid HD192 audio interface, and the Pro Tools multi-track software system, gave Institute members a four-week intensive recording studio experience.
 
The recording workshop presented a series of academic learning sessions, teaching fundamental concepts on microphone technology, multitrack recording, and audio production. Over the four week period, the Brubeck fellows learned about sound and acoustics, mic placement, how to use the Pro Tools recording application and mixing control surface, professional studio etiquette, and then finishing with a live recording session directed by composer and producer Nick Phillips.
The Recording Session
After I set up the microphones in the studio to record a jazz drum set, stereo grand piano, an upright acoustic bass, and a tenor sax (the trumpet player was unavailable), the session began with Nick presenting a newly composed piece never before performed. Nick, an incredible jazz composer and trumpet player, wrote out the chart for the Brubeck fellows to read and record. With Nic’s guidance and instruction, the Brubeck fellows had 15-minutes to review the piece and ask questions about the composition. There was no rehearsal.
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“These are the steps taken when professional studio musicians are asked to perform in a paid recording studio session,” said Nick.

 
1) Review the chart
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2) Get clarification on phrasing and dynamics from the composer
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3) Record the track

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When the review by the musicians was completed, Nick entered the control room and said to me, “Ok, now let’s record.” I turned to the mixing desk and pressed the record button.
 
This was the performance captured.
Nick's Tune (Haiku)NicK Phillips
00:00 / 09:17
Of all the jazz tracks recorded in the OHRS. Nick’s Tune, or Haiku, is one of the best jazz music performances and Owen studio recordings during my tenure. When teaching the class Sound Recording Fundamentals, Nick’s Tune was played every semester during the studio orientation lab session. It was played for students with little or no recording experience. Listening to Nick’s Tune demonstrated how fine jazz musicians within an ensemble listen closely to one another, playing the piece as if they were one musician. It was also used to demonstrate the importance of dynamics, how the changes of sound pressure levels pulls the ear in at low volume, and pushes the ear away at louder sound pressure levels, creating an acoustically emotional impact.

Haiku
Nick Phillips – Composer & Producer
Brubeck Institute Jazz Quartet - Performers
Jeff Crawford – Recording & Mixing Engineer
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