Rob Chiarelli
Rob Chiarelli (born January 13, 1963) is an American record producer, mix engineer, musician, published author and multiple Grammy Award winner. Widely recognized as a music producer for Will Smith and "Men in Black II" (2002), Chiarelli's work appears on numerous gold and platinum albums and motion picture soundtracks, including fourteen Grammy winners. Early life. Chiarelli was born in Newton, Massachusetts, and raised in Waltham, Massachusetts. He started playing the drums when he was ten years old. By junior high school, he was performing in school bands and participating in the Massachusetts All-State Jazz Ensemble and  the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. By age 17, he had received the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award (twice) and numerous awards from the International Association of Jazz Educators (formerly the National Association for Jazz Education, NAJE). Chiarelli graduated from Waltham High School in 1981 and attended the University of Miami School of Music on a scholarship, where he studied under the direction of Don Coffman, Fred Wickstrom and Vince Maggio. He formed his own band "Inferno" which recorded with producer Gary Vandy and included members Tim Mitchell (guitar), Dag Kolsrud (keyboards), Rick Margitza (sax), Mike Mangini (drums), Ed Calle (sax ) and Mike Lambert (trumpet). Career. After moving to Los Angeles, California in 1989, Chiarelli joined Paramount Recording Studios as an assistant engineer and quickly worked his way up to a first chair recording and mix engineer. His professional breakthrough came with legendary producer Jay King while working with the Grammy-winning R&B group Club Nouveau. Impressed with Chiarelli's work, King asked him to mix the entire Nouveau album, which reached #12 on the "Billboard" R&B Charts. While working on Club Nouveau at Aire LA Studios in Glendale, California, Chiarelli met mix engineer/mentor Craig Burbidge and worked on numerous  hit records from artists such as Calloway, Chuckii Booker and Teddy Pendergrass. In 1991 Chiarelli founded Final Mix, Inc., a music production company specializing in contemporary music and artist development. Chiarelli was also CEO of Metro Beat Records, a joint venture with Semaphore Records from 1993 until 1996. In 1997, Chiarelli formed 3.6 Records, a joint venture record label distributed by BMG/Red Ant and located in West Hollywood, CA. In 2008, Chiarelli co-founded Gauge Precision Instruments, Inc. (originally Gauge, Inc.), a manufacturer of audio electronics and accessories for professional and consumer markets. In 2013, Final Mix, Inc. expanded  to include music software development. Mixing and production. As a mix engineer and record producer, Chiarelli has worked with such well known artists as Will Smith, Christina Aguilera, LeAnn Rimes, Kirk Franklin, Mary Mary, Janet Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Keiko Matsui, Coolio, Ray Charles, American Idol, Pink, Johnny Mathis, Paula Abdul, Diana Ross, En Vogue, Ice Cube, The Four Tops, Yolanda Adams, The Temptations, 3LW, K-Ci & JoJo, Madonna, Aaliyah, Hilary Duff, Jesse McCartney, Ricky Martin, The Corrs, Luther Vandross, Erin Boheme, Demetrius Ross and Charlie Wilson. His recordings have been nominated numerous times for Grammy Awards including Christina  Aguilera, Will Smith, Mary Mary and Yolanda Adams. As a musician. Chiarelli is a classically trained musician; his principal instruments include both the electric bass and orchestral percussion. As a musician his work can be heard on the recordings of Keiko Matsui, Will Smith, Hilary Duff, Waldemar Bastos, Jesse McCartney, Tatayana Ali, Teddy Pendergrass, Ray Charles, Jennifer Paige and The Corrs. As a songwriter his work has appeared on Erin Boheme (Concord Records), Sunz of Man (BMG/SONY) and on the motion picture soundtrack of "Love Stinks", a 1999 comedy starring French Stewart, Bridgette Wilson, Bill Bellamy and Tyra Banks . Publishing. In 2009, Chiarelli's first book "The Electric Bass Bible: Volume 1 Dexterity Exercises" was published by Cherry Lane Music Publishing Company, Inc., a division of Hal Leonard. Clinician and speaker. Chiarelli has been a featured speaker & clinician at Berklee College of Music, University of Illinois, TAXI, The Grammy Museum, FSU (Florida State University), MEIEA (Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association), NXNE (North by Northeast Music Convention), Los Angeles Recording School, The International Digital Rights Foundation, Hank Shocklee's Remix Hotel, California Lawyers for the Arts, The Trebas Institute & The Sacramento Music Conference.