James P. Nichols

Last updated

James P. Nichols is an American recording industry executive producer and master engineer.

Contents

Education

James P. Nichols - Master Recording Engineer Jamespnichols.jpg
James P. Nichols - Master Recording Engineer

Nichols' involvement in the recording industry began in 1973 when after studying recording at The New School for Social Research, he obtained an Assistant Engineer position at A1 Studios in New York City, where he worked for two years under Herb Abramson, one of the founders of Atlantic Records. He then moved on in 1975, to Sound Mixers, which was primarily a jingle studio recording Burger King and Volkswagen 30 second spots in the day and dance records at night. He then worked for Electric Lady Studios where most notably he assisted, engineered, and performed with The Clash on the Sandinista! album. He is credited under the alias "J. P. Nicholson".

He continued his education enrolling at New York Technical College studying Electronics for Communications, Prototype Fabrications and Microprocessors. After graduation, he rekindled old associations in the industry and landed a job at A&R Studios home of Phil Ramone in 1980. Encouraged to record, one of his "Weekend Album Projects" was the first Boogie Down Productions LP on B-Boy Records with Scott La Rock and KRS-One. The single "The Bridge Is Over" remains par for Rap Hip-Hop’s historical course.

A&R Studios is also where he gained his first experiences in music/film engineering and lockup. In 1982 he went to work as a systems prototype fabricator with TimeLine Inc. headed by Gerry Block, formerly studio head for Sigma Sound Studios in New York City. There he built the first working prototype and proceeding first line of The Lynx Time Code Module, a staple device in studios worldwide.

Career

James P. Nichols - with Ken Burns, Wynton Marsalis, Delfeayo Marsalis at recording of the documentary: "World War II" JamespnicholsWWIIsession 1.jpg
James P. Nichols - with Ken Burns, Wynton Marsalis, Delfeayo Marsalis at recording of the documentary: "World War II"

Because of his experience with the Lynx, RCA Recording Studios hired him in 1984. The studios, whose history was in Broadway cast recordings, wanted to become a presence in large-scale orchestra film scoring in New York. RCA Recording soon became the major scoring stage on the east coast and there he was promoted to Master Engineer which led to his working as Scoring Engineer, Recording Engineer, and Mastering Engineer for Jazz, Broadway, and Classical products. One of his pinnacle works with RCA/BMG Studios was the recording, mixing, and mastering of the audio for the Motion Picture Malcolm X , by film director Spike Lee in 1992.

In 1996, after a previous three nominations, he won a Grammy Award for “Best Historical Recording” of “The Jascha Heifetz Collection”. Also in 1996 he moved on to Manhattan Center Studios, New York, as a producer/engineer. He completed several projects, including Ed Wood , starring Johnny Depp, and The Butcher Boy , featuring the music of critically acclaimed composer Elliot Goldenthal, as well as The Pat McGuire Band for Inverin Records.

James P. Nichols - teaching next generation sound and broadcast for New York Parks Jpnatparksny.jpg
James P. Nichols - teaching next generation sound and broadcast for New York Parks

Again in 1997 he received a Producer Grammy nomination for the Broadway hit “Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk” for RCA Victor.

In 2000, he traveled the world creating live sound environments with the Nicholas Payton Quintet and Big Band Orchestra. He also heads an organization founded by himself, entitled “Commercial Free Jazz” whose function as an institution is to support and provide a platform for experimentation in recording and helping artists worldwide realize the potential of their work.

In 2005, Nichols began the next phase of his career by expanding the bounds of his sonic expertise as a Film Applications Engineer for Dolby Laboratories.

In 2008, Nichols became an off Broadway Executive Producer of performance art Operas "Madwoman: A Contemporary Opera", "Femme Fractale: An Opera of Reflection", and "Mon Electro Magnetisme: An Opera on Attraction" all written & performed by Mem Nahadr.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Mancini</span> American film composer (1924–1994)

Henry Mancini was an Italian-American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flutist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Awards, a Golden Globe, and twenty Grammy Awards, plus a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decca Records</span> British record label

Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its US label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president too. In 1937, anticipating Nazi aggression leading to World War II, Lewis sold American Decca, and the link between the UK and US Decca label was broken for several decades. The British label was renowned for its development of recording methods, while the American company developed the concept of cast albums in the musical genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arturo Toscanini</span> Italian conductor (1867–1957)

Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his eidetic memory. He was at various times the music director of La Scala in Milan and the New York Philharmonic. Later in his career, he was appointed the first music director of the NBC Symphony Orchestra (1937–1954), and this led to his becoming a household name, especially in the United States, through his radio and television broadcasts and many recordings of the operatic and symphonic repertoire.

<i>Porgy and Bess</i> Opera by George Gershwin

Porgy and Bess is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play Porgy, itself an adaptation of DuBose Heyward's 1925 novel Porgy.

The 2nd Annual Grammy Awards were held on November 29, 1959, at Los Angeles and New York. They recognized musical accomplishments by performers for the year 1959. Hosted by Meredith Willson, this marked the first televised Grammy Award ceremony, and it was aired in episodes as special Sunday Showcase. It was held in the same year as the first Grammy Awards in 1959, and no award ceremony was held in 1960. These awards recognized musical accomplishments by performers for that particular year. Frank Sinatra and Duke Ellington each won three awards.

The 26th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 28, 1984, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1983. Michael Jackson, who had been recovering from scalp burns sustained due to an accident that occurred during the filming of a Pepsi commercial, won a record eight awards during the show. It is notable for garnering the largest Grammy Award television audience ever with 51.67 million viewers.

A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the show's original cast. A cast recording featuring the first cast to perform a musical in a particular venue is known, for example, as an "original Broadway cast recording" (OBCR) or an "original London cast recording" (OLCR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nathaniel Shilkret</span> American songwriter

Nathaniel Shilkret was an American musician, composer, conductor and musical director.

David Frost is an American classical record producer and pianist. He has won 25 Grammy Awards for his work including seven wins for Producer of the Year, Classical. He is a music producer for the Metropolitan Opera and has recorded major orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Los Angeles Philharmonic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Schmitt</span> American recording engineer and record producer (1930–2021)

Albert Harry Schmitt was an American recording engineer and record producer. He won twenty Grammy Awards for his work with Henry Mancini, Steely Dan, George Benson, Toto, Natalie Cole, Quincy Jones, and others. He also won 2 Latin Grammys, and a Trustees Grammy for Lifetime Achievement.

Steven Epstein is an American record producer. The winner of 16 Grammy Awards and 2 Latin Grammys, he has been nominated 35 times. He has won the Grammy for Classical Producer of the Year 7 times. While primarily known for his work in classical music, Epstein also has Grammy nominations and wins for albums in musical theater, musical show, crossover, soundtrack, and spoken word for children.

Porgy and Bess, the opera by George Gershwin, has been recorded by a variety of artists since it was completed in 1935, including renditions by jazz instrumentalists and vocalists, in addition to operatic treatments.

Warren Schatz, born in New York City, is a prominent producer, arranger and orchestra conductor during the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Nichols (recording engineer)</span> American recording engineer, producer, and inventor

Roger Scott Nichols was an American recording engineer, producer, and inventor.

Charles Allan Gerhardt was an American conductor, record producer, and arranger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historical classical music recordings</span>

Historical classical music recordings are generally classical music recordings made prior to the stereo era of vinyl disc recording, which began around 1957.

Joel Moss is an American record producer, sound engineer and mixer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrence Manchester</span> American music producer, Music Mixer

Lawrence Manchester is a four-time Grammy award winning and one-time Emmy award-winning music producer, engineer, and mixer based in New York City. Known for his work as music mixer for NBC's "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" including co-producer of Fallon's Grammy-winning comedy album, "Blow Your Pants Off, mixing the award-winning score for The Queen's Gambit, many original Broadway cast albums, and film scores, as well as supervising Camila Cabello's broadcast sound for two Grammy performances, a symphony orchestra for Martin Scorsese's "The Departed," tracking vocals with Beyoncé, "Slow Jamming The News” with President Obama, and mixing Justin Timberlake and The Roots.

James Edward Malloy was an American recording engineer. He worked with such artists as Elvis Presley, Duke Ellington, Johnny Cash, Henry Mancini, and Mahalia Jackson. His association with Mancini earned him a Grammy Award for engineering the soundtrack of the 1963 film Charade.

Thomas Vicari is an American recording engineer, mixing engineer, record producer and scoring mixer known for his work with Quincy Jones, Gino Vannelli, Nicholas Britell, Thomas Newman, Prince, George Duke and Barbra Streisand. He was the sound mixer for TV shows and films including Six Feet Under, The Newsroom, Behind the Candelabra, Phantom of the Paradise, Finding Nemo, Finding Dory, Wall-E and Road to Perdition.