Ted Jensen(born September 19, 1954) is an Americanmastering engineer,known for having mastered many recordings, including theEagles'Hotel California,Green Day'sAmerican IdiotandNorah Jones'Come Away with Me.
Ted Jensen | |
|---|---|
 Jensen in 2013 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | September 19, 1954 New Haven, Connecticut,U.S. |
| Occupation | Mastering engineer |
| Website | sterling-sound |
Early life and education
editJensen was born on September 19, 1954, inNew Haven, Connecticut,to Carl and Margaret (Anning) Jensen, both of whom were musicians.[1]Carl had studied atYale University.[2]Margaret went toOberlin College & ConservatoryandSkidmore Collegeand was also a pilot.[1]Carl and Margaret met on a train while going to a choral workshop. Ted has one brother, Rick, and two daughters, Kristen and Kim.
While attending high school, Jensen was building his own stereo and recording equipment and began recording local bands both in the studio and at live events. During this time, he recorded several performances for theYale Symphony OrchestraatWoolsey Hallin New Haven, and metMark Levinson,who was starting an audio equipment company.[3]
Career
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Jensen joined up with Levinson and aided in the design and manufacture some of the early products ofMark Levinson Audio Systems.In 1975, Jensen left after six years with Levinson to begin his mastering career with Sterling Sound inNew York City.[4][5]
There were three mastering engineers at Sterling Sound when Jensen was hired to work in the tape copy room,George Marino,[6]Lee Hulko[7]andGreg Calbi.[8]One of Jensen's earliest mastering jobs was the first single byTalking Heads,"Love → Building on Fire" and later that year, Jensen masteredThe Eagles'Hotel California.The following year, he masteredBilly Joel'sThe Stranger,which began a working relationship withPhil Ramone.
Jensen was promoted to Chief Mastering Engineer at Sterling in 1984, and since then has overseen several proprietary developments in mastering technology. This included working closely with Graham Boswell ofNeve Electronicsin the mid-1980s in developing the first all-digital mastering console, the DTC-1,[9]and as one of the consultants to Apple for Mastering for iTunes.[5]
Jensen also designed some of the studio monitors at Sterling, including the ones used byTom Coyne.[10]In 1998, Jensen, Greg Calbi and Tom Coyne, along with Murat Aktar (Absolute Audio co-founder) and UK based Metropolis, purchased Sterling Sound[11]from previous owner, Lee Hulko.[12]
Studio
edit
Sterling Sound[13]was previously located inNew York City,where it occupied the top floor of theChelsea Marketin theMeatpacking District.Jensen's studio was one of the threesurround soundstudios atSterling Sound.It was designed by Fran Manzella, FM Design.[14]
In April 2018, Sterling Sound's 20-year lease for the facility in the Chelsea Market ended, and Jensen, along with senior engineer Ryan Smith, relocated toNashville, Tennessee,where they opened Sterling Sound Nashville, which was designed by Thomas Jouanjean of Northward Acoustics.[15][16]
Awards and recognition
editSince 1976, Jensen has mastered 16Grammy Awardwinners in the categories ofRecord of the Year,Album of the YearandBest Engineered Album, Non-Classical. In 2002, Mastering Engineers became eligible to win Grammys in those categories.[17]
Grammy Nominations
- 2003 – Album of the Year –Norah Jones'Come Away with Me[18]
- 2004 – Album of the Year –Evanescence'sFallen
- 2005 – Album of the Year –Green Day'sAmerican Idiot[19]
- 2014 – Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical –Alice in Chains'The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here[20]
- 2016 – Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical –James Taylor'sBefore This World[21]
Grammy Awards
- 2003 – Jensen received a Grammy Award –Norah Jones,forCome Away with Me,which won Album of the Year for 2002.[22]
Latin Grammy Nominations[23]
- 2007 Album of the Year –Ricky Martin–MTV Unplugged
- 2010 Album of the Year –Alejandro SanzforParaíso Express
- 2016 Album of the Year –Andrés CepedaforThousand Cities
- 2017 Album of the Year –Residente–Residente
- 2020 Album of the Year –Residente–René
Jensen has garnered 23Mix FoundationTEC award nominations, winning 6 of them.[24]
- 1999 – Outstanding Creative Achievement
- 2005 – Outstanding Creative Achievement for Record Production/Single or Track forGreen Day– “American Idiot",American Idiot[25]
- 2008 – Outstanding Creative Achievement for Surround Sound Recording forJames Taylor–One Man Band[26]
- 2010 – Outstanding Creative Achievement for Record Production/Single or Track forGreen Day– “21 Guns”,21st Century Breakdown[27]
- 2010 – Outstanding Creative Achievement for Record Production/Album forGreen Day–21st Century Breakdown
- 2016 – Outstanding Creative Achievement for Record Production/Album forJames Taylor–Before This World[28]
Selected works
editTed Jensen has mastered thousands of albums for more than 1,100 pop and rock artists.[29][30]In November 2018,Bring Me the Horizon's albumThat's the Spiritmastered by Jensen, scored 1 billion streams.[31]Additionally, Jensen has been involved in the soundtrack or music departments on several major motion pictures includingDaredevilandThe Circle.[32]
References
edit- ^abJensen, Margaret."Obituary Notice for Margaret Jensen".legacy.New Haven Register.RetrievedMarch 13,2015.
- ^Catalogue of the officers and graduates of Yale University.The University. 1921. p. 654.
- ^"Ted Jensen biography".Sterling Sound.RetrievedMay 28,2015.
- ^"Interview with Mark Levinson"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on March 11, 2014.RetrievedJune 25,2014.
- ^abSmith, Ebonie (January 9, 2015)."The Masters Behind the Mix: A Behind the Scenes Glimpse Into Music Making With Mastering Engineer Ted Jensen".Atlantic Records.RetrievedMay 28,2015.
- ^"George Marino".allmusic.RetrievedJune 27,2014.
- ^"Lee Hulko".allmusic.RetrievedJune 27,2014.
- ^"Greg Calbi".allmusic.RetrievedJune 27,2014.
- ^Boswell."Prism Sound: A brief history".audio-times.Archived fromthe originalon July 7, 2015.RetrievedJune 29,2014.
- ^"Tom Coyne".allmusic.RetrievedJune 25,2014.
- ^"Mix Magazine".RetrievedJune 27,2014.
- ^Verna, Paul (September 26, 1998)."Mastering Clients Applaud Sterling Developments".Billboard.RetrievedAugust 31,2023.
- ^"Worlds Best Mastering Studios".Landr.July 18, 2014.RetrievedJanuary 11,2016.
- ^Manzella, Fran."FM Design".Archived fromthe originalon September 14, 2015.RetrievedMarch 13,2015.
- ^Jouanjean, Thomas."Sterling Sound Nashville".Northward Acoustics.RetrievedDecember 3,2018.
- ^Jensen, Ted."Dilapidated Roxy Theater set for new life as 'premier' East Nashville music venue".RetrievedDecember 3,2018.
- ^Inc, Nielsen Business Media (April 26, 2003).Billboard.Nielsen Business Media, Inc.
{{cite book}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^"Grammy Nominations 2003".SFGate.January 8, 2003.RetrievedJanuary 11,2016.
- ^"Grammy Nominees 2005".Music Slam.RetrievedJanuary 11,2016.
- ^"Grammys 2014 Nominees".LA Times.December 7, 2013.RetrievedJanuary 11,2016.
- ^"Grammy Nominations 2016".Billboard.RetrievedJanuary 11,2016.
- ^"45th Annual Grammy Awards Winners".
- ^Jensen, Ted."Latin Grammy Nominations".The Latin Recording Academy.RetrievedSeptember 30,2020.
- ^"Tec Awards Past Winners".
- ^"TEC Awards 2005 winners".Archived fromthe originalon June 2, 2012.RetrievedJune 25,2014.
- ^"TEC Awards 2008 Winners".
- ^"2010 TEC Awards Winners".RetrievedJune 25,2014.
- ^"NAMM Tec Awards".The Street.RetrievedJanuary 24,2016.
- ^"Ted Jensen".allmusic.RetrievedJune 26,2014.
- ^"Artist".Discogs.RetrievedJune 12,2015.
- ^"BMTH That's the Spirit Scores 1 Billion Streams".Loudwire.RetrievedDecember 3,2018.
- ^Ted JensenatIMDb
External links
edit
Media related toTed Jensenat Wikimedia Commons
