Rudy Van Gelder

Rudy Van Gelder (born November 2, 1924, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA - died August 25, 2016, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA) was an American recording engineer who specialized in jazz and became widely regarded as one of the best engineers in recording history.

He started recording artists such as Miles Davis and Cannonball Adderley in the early 1950's, in his parents' living room (also known as the Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey). It wasn't until 1959 that he opened his studio, the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and along with Alfred Lion, changed the way jazz was being recorded. In the fifty plus years that Rudy was active, it is estimated that he recorded, mixed and mastered over 2000 albums not only for Blue Note and Prestige, but also for Verve Records, Impulse!, CTI Records and many other labels, having developed a close partnership with producer Creed Taylor.

Van Gelder can be identified as the lacquer cutting engineer on vinyl by the stamp "RVG" or "RVG STEREO" or "VAN GELDER" in the runout section.