# Gene Paul

Gene William Paul (born August 20, 1944) is an American audio recording / mixing / mastering engineer, producer and musician. He was an engineer at Atlantic Recording Studios during their famed 1960s–80s period and is currently the chief mastering engineer at G&J Audio, a mixing and mastering studio for major and independent labels focused on reissues and new recordings. He has worked on thousands of projects, and has engineered 9 Grammy Award-winning albums with 29 total nominations in 15 different categories. He has engineered many hit recordings, including 7 #1's on the Billboard National Charts, 6 #1's on the Pop Charts, 10 #1's on the Jazz Charts and 5 #1's on the R&B Charts.

## Early years

Gene Paul is the son of the guitarist and inventor Les Paul, the inventor of the solid-body electric guitar and early innovator of multitrack recording. Gene spent his youth developing his engineering skills in the family recording studio and spent a decade as the drummer in his father's touring band from 1959 to 1969, with singer Mary Ford (his stepmother) for the first half. "Without even knowing it, I was being taught about presenting music, which was a great experience. I worked on putting the shows together with dad. I watched him record his own music as well as groups. If he said, 'Do you want to know about this?' I'd say, 'Yes.' And I'd go set up a mic. By the time I grew up, I knew how to record."

## Atlantic Records

His career took off after joining Atlantic Records in 1969 where he quickly became a world-renowned engineer and producer. "The people there, like Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin, Joel Dorn, Ahmet Ertegun, they were all gentle people. You would think that they were all superstars, but they never acted that way. Being at Atlantic was like being welcomed into someone's house. It was a house of music. You never knew who was going to come in, one day Aretha [Franklin], the next The Modern Jazz Quartet, King Curtis, Gladys Knight. ... It was truthfully hard to go home at night."

## Mastering

In the 1980s, Paul began working with Atlantic Records producer Joel Dorn and Atlantic Records engineer Joel Kerr to restore and remaster the recordings of rare live performances by famous artists. This led Paul & Kerr to form DB Plus Digital Services, an independent mastering studio which operated in New York City from 1987 to 2009. In 2010, he became Chief Mastering Engineer at G&J Audio, a mixing and mastering studio for major and independent labels focused on reissues and new recordings, alongside Kerr and engineer Jamie Polaski.

## Grammy Awards

Gene Paul has engineered 9 Grammy Award-winning albums with 29 total nominations in 15 different categories. (Years listed are album release dates.)
| Year | Artist | Album | Label | Producer | Category | Role |
| 1970 | Aretha Franklin | Don't Play That Song | Atlantic Records | Arif Mardin, Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd | WINNER: Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female | Recording Engineer |
| 1971 | Aretha Franklin | "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (single) | Atlantic Records | Arif Mardin, Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd | WINNER: Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female | Recording Engineer |
| 1971 | Aretha Franklin | Young, Gifted and Black | Atlantic Records | Arif Mardin, Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd | WINNER: Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female | Recording Engineer |
| 1973 | Roberta Flack | Killing Me Softly | Atlantic Records | Joel Dorn | WINNER: Record of the Year | Recording Engineer |
| 1973 | Roberta Flack | "Killing Me Softly with His Song" (single) | Atlantic Records | Joel Dorn | WINNER: Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female | Recording Engineer |
| 1974 | Average White Band | AWB | Atlantic Records | Arif Mardin | Best R&B Instrumental Performance (for "Pick Up the Pieces") | Recording Engineer |
| 1975 | Average White Band | Cut the Cake | Atlantic Records | Arif Mardin | Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male (for "Cut the Cake") | Recording Engineer |
| 1978 | Average White Band | Warmer Communications | Atlantic Records | Arif Mardin | Best R&B Instrumental Performance (for "Sweet & Sour") | Recording Engineer |
| 1995 | John Coltrane | Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings | Rhino Records | Joel Dorn | Best Historical Album | Mastering Engineer |
| 1997 | Various Artists | Cuba: I Am Time | Blue Jackel Entertainment | Jack O'Neil | Best Historical Album | Mastering Engineer |
| 1997 | Various Artists | Cuba: I Am Time | Blue Jackel Entertainment | Jack O'Neil | Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package | Mastering Engineer |
| 1998 | Arkadia Jazz All Stars | Thank You, John! Our Tribute to John Coltrane | Arkadia Jazz | Bob Karcy | Best Jazz Instrumental Solo (soloist: David Liebman) | Mastering Engineer |
| 1998 | Arkadia Jazz All Stars | Thank You, Gerry! Our Tribute to Gerry Mulligan | Arkadia Jazz | Bob Karcy | Best Jazz Instrumental Solo (soloist: Randy Brecker) | Mastering Engineer |
| 1998 | Benny Golson | Tenor Legacy | Arkadia Jazz | Bob Karcy | Best Jazz Instrumental Solo (for "Body and Soul") | Mastering Engineer |
| 1999 | Joanne Brackeen | Pink Elephant Magic | Arkadia Jazz | Bob Karcy | Best Jazz Instrumental Solo (for "In Vogue") | Mastering Engineer |
| 2000 | Bobby Sanabria | Afro-Cuban Dream... Live & in Clave!!! | Arabesque Recordings | Bobby Sanabria | Best Latin Jazz Album | Mastering Engineer |
| 2003 | Shirley Horn | May the Music Never End | Blue Note Records | Shirley Horn | Best Jazz Vocal Album | Mastering Engineer |
| 2003 | Kurt Elling | Man in the Air | Blue Note Records | Bill Traut | Best Jazz Vocal Album | Mastering Engineer |
| 2004 | Norah Jones | Feels Like Home | Blue Note Records | Norah Jones, Arif Mardin | WINNER: Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (for "Sunrise") | Mastering Engineer |
| 2004 | Maria Schneider Orchestra | Concert in the Garden | ArtistShare | Maria Schneider | WINNER: Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album | Mastering Engineer |
| 2005 | Rick Moranis | The Agoraphobic Cowboy | WEPI / ArtistShare | Tony Scherr | Best Comedy Album | Mastering Engineer |
| 2005 | John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble | A Blessing | Omnitone Records | John Hollenbeck | Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album | Mastering Engineer |
| 2005 | Various Artists | Songs from the Neighborhood: The Music of Mister Rogers | Nostalgia Records | Dennis Scott | WINNER: Best Musical Album for Children | Mastering Engineer |
| 2007 | Maria Schneider Orchestra | Sky Blue | ArtistShare | Maria Schneider | WINNER: Best Instrumental Composition (for "Cerulean Skies") | Mastering Engineer |
| 2007 | Maria Schneider Orchestra | Sky Blue | ArtistShare | Maria Schneider | Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album | Mastering Engineer |
| 2007 | Bobby Sanabria | Big Band Urban Folktales | Jazzheads | Bobby Sanabria | Best Latin Jazz Album | Mastering Engineer |
| 2009 | Leslie Mendelson | Swan Feathers | Rykodisc | Joel Dorn | Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical | Mastering Engineer |
| 2011 | Fred Hersch | Alone at the Vanguard | Palmetto | Fred Hersch | Best Improvised Jazz Solo (for "Work") | Mixing & mastering engineer |
| 2011 | Various Artists | All About Bullies... Big and Small | Cool Beans Music | Steve Pullara | Best Musical Album for Children | Mastering Engineer |

## Recordings

In addition to the Grammy Awards listed above, Gene Paul has engineered many hit recordings, including 7 #1's on the Billboard National Charts, 6 #1's on the Pop Charts, 10 #1's on the Jazz Charts and 5 #1's on the R&B Charts.
| Year | Artist | Album | Chart Position | Role |
| 1961 | Eddie Harris | "Exodus" (single) | #16 R&B, #36 US | Remastering Engineer |
| 1968 | Eddie Harris | "It's Crazy" (single) | #88 US | Remastering Engineer |
| 1969 | Eddie Harris & Les McCann | Swiss Movement | #1 Jazz, #2 R&B, #29 US | Remixing & Remastering Engineer |
| 1969 | R.B. Greaves | R.B. Greaves | #24 R&B, #85 US | Mixing Engineer |
| 1971 | Eddie Harris & Les McCann | Second Movement | #1 Jazz, # 41 US | Recording and Remastering Engineer |
| 1971 | Les McCann | Invitation to Openness | #8 Jazz | Remastering Engineer |
| 1971 | Donny Hathaway | Donny Hathaway | #6 R&B, #89 US | Recording Engineer |
| 1972 | Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway | Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway | #3 US, #2 R&B, #10 Jazz | Recording Engineer |
| 1972 | Cream | Live Cream Volume II | #27 US | Remixing Engineer |
| 1972 | Herbie Mann | Hold On, I'm Coming | #7 Jazz | Mixing Engineer |
| 1973 | Bette Midler | Bette Midler | #6 US | Recording Engineer |
| 1973 | Hall & Oates | Abandoned Luncheonette | #33 US | Recording Engineer |
| 1973 | Willie Nelson | Shotgun Willie | #41 US | Recording Engineer |
| 1973 | Les McCann | Layers | #5 Jazz | Remastering Engineer |
| 1973 | Modern Jazz Quartet | Blues on Bach | #34 Jazz | Recording and Mixing Engineer |
| 1973 | Donny Hathaway | Extension of a Man | #18 R&B, #69 US | Recording Engineer |
| 1973 | Bee Gees | Mr. Natural | #178 US | Recording Engineer |
| 1974 | Modern Jazz Quartet | The Complete Last Concert | #34 Jazz | Mixing Engineer |
| 1976 | The Rolling Stones | Black and Blue | #1 US | Recording Engineer |
| 1976 | Willie Nelson | The Troublemaker | #1 Country, #60 US | Recording Engineer |
| 1977 | Ben E. King | Benny & Us | #14 R&B, #33 US | Recording Engineer |
| 1979 | Bette Midler | Thighs and Whispers | #65 US | Recording Engineer |
| 1983 | Paul Simon | Hearts and Bones | #35 US | Recording Engineer |
| 1993 | David "Fathead" Newman | Bigger & Better | #10 Jazz, #42 R&B | Remastering Engineer |
| 1998 | Various Artists | Jazz for the Open Road | #1 Jazz | Mastering Engineer |
| 1998 | Various Artists | Jazz for the Quiet Times | #1 Jazz | Mastering Engineer |
| 1999 | Various Artists | Jazz for When You're Alone | #1 Jazz | Mastering Engineer |
| 1999 | Various Artists | Jazz for a Lazy Day | #4 Jazz | Mastering Engineer |
| 2000 | Various Artists | Jazz for a Rainy Afternoon | #1 Jazz | Mastering Engineer |
| 2000 | Jane Monheit | Never Never Land | #2 Jazz | Mixing & Mastering Engineer |
| 2000 | Various Artists | Jazz for When You're in Love | #9 Jazz | Mastering Engineer |
| 2001 | Jane Monheit | Come Dream with Me | #1 Jazz | Mixing & Mastering Engineer |
| 2002 | Jane Monheit | In the Sun | #2 Jazz | Recording, Mixing & Mastering Engineer |
| 2003 | Various Artists | Jazz for Those Peaceful Moments | #4 Jazz | Mastering Engineer |
| 2007 | Mocean Worker | Cinco de Mowo! | #16 Electronic | Mastering Engineer |