Atlantic Studios

That was exciting.

And we recorded the album at Atlantic Records Studio in Columbus Circle.

And as we were coming into the studio, you know who was walking out of the studio? Aretha Franklin.

She had just finished her album.

This was recorded on his album Blues and Roots, going back to 1959.

It was recorded at Atlantic Studios, and it features Pepper Adams there on the baritone saxophone.

And then Jasmine O'Horn gave us the vocal version of this.

She recorded this at the Grammy Awards

Trumpeter Don Cherry, bassist Charlie Hayden, and drummer Billy Higgins, all seasoned players who had worked in hard bop circles but were open to experimentation.

The group was recorded on May 22nd at Atlantic Studios in New York, a venue that had seen everything from jazz legends to pop hits.

Now, keep in mind, this wasn't just an artistic choice.

It was also a statement about race and economics.

So after we talked about Handy and the way a single platform can launch a genre, the next knot in jazz's timeline is a studio session that feels like a small war.

The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady was recorded on January 20, 1963, at Atlantic Studios in New York, right when Big Band Swing was giving way to post-bop experimentation.

It was Mingus not just playing, but trying to write a ballet for an 11-person band that could stand on its own as a statement of what jazz could become.

Mingus had already been pushing the envelope with Mingus Aum and Pythocanthropus, but the Black Saint project was different because it was a single continuous composition that blended hard bop riffs with avant-garde free-form passages.

use digital distribution to bypass gatekeepers.

The recording technology itself was a key player in shaping the album's sound and its reception.

Atlantic Studios used an early 24-track tape machine that allowed Mingus to layer horns, strings, and percussion without compromising clarity.

This was revolutionary for a big band context where earlier recordings had been limited to six or eight tracks.

He said, "I don't need an office," and it, it, that's the way that place was.

It wasn't like, "Oh, I need a corner office, I need to look at Broadway, I need this, I need that." It just wasn't.

It was such a great place.

Can I, can I ask you, Teresa, when my father hired Michael, was it, like, as an assistant, or was it as... 'Cause I know he mentored him, you know, and he brought him along in the recording and producing, but what was his actual job? I've never really known this.

Right.

You know, they got the sales part, they got the promotion part.

They didn't get 1841 Broadway.

They couldn't envision even what the place looked like.