2026 has been a good year for AudioCzar Productions, my recording studio. The sessions we were involved with have been filled with a whole lot of fun and productivity.
We started the year with another audiobook session for Union Hill Publishing. The book we recorded was entitled, Brave Hearts, Strong Arms by Jerry Leachman. Mr. Leachman wrote and narrated the book for Audible. It’s a series of locker room talks for the only game that matters. Jerry has a great personality and it shows in his delivery of the reading. Jerry has helped mentor and guide many individuals through his years as a football player at the University of Alabama and as a chaplain for the team as well as chaplain for the Washington Commanders. He has advised presidents and leaders of our country with his strong beliefs and faiths. The book was produced by Kim Knott. We spent a week recording the narration and another week to edit it for publication.
I also had a great time recording the group, Old City Champs. This project was a couple months in the studio laying down tracks for their latest releases. I think the most fun during this session was tracking the band live. In my opinion, that’s the way all recording sessions for band should be done. All the members of the band played at the same time, just as if they were on stage performing live. It’s the way it was always done in the past. Nowadays recordings are made piecemeal, one player, one part at a time. Recording rhythm parts simultaneously gives the musicians a cohesiveness with each other, playing off each others riffs and inventiveness. Somebody might play something that inspires the others to play off it and add their own spice to it. Once all the rhythm tracks are laid down then the process of adding vocals, background vocals and solos are overdubbed or layered onto them. These guys are veterans and great players and songwriters. You can check out and hear the recordings on the bands Spotify page here.
Also this year, I again had the privilege to mix some songs for my old friend, Michael Dulin. Michael and I go back to the late seventies when he was a session keyboardist on many of the projects I recorded. If you’re not familiar with Michael, you should be. He is an award winning musician and composer who was trained at Juliard in classical piano. He has ten albums out of his classical piano music and has now started producing smooth jazz. The combination of his excellent classical training and skill transitions wonderfully into the relaxing and smooth vibe of the smooth jazz genre. He has been accompanying his new compositions with players from around the world and the results are quite remarkable. I am honored to be trusted to mix his new music and you can hear some of it here.
The years not quite over-stay tuned.