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American recording and mastering engineer who specialised in jazz.

Born November 2, 1924, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA
Died August 25, 2016, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA

Beginning as a hobbyist, he started to record local musicians in the late 1940s in his parents' living room (which became known as the Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey) and began a professional association with alfred lion of Blue Note from late 1952 leading to commissions from other independent labels including Prestige and Savoy Records. In 1959, he opened his new larger studio, the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. His client list expanded to include Impulse!, Verve Records, and CTI Records having developed a close partnership with producer creed taylor. In the more than fifty-years Van Gelder was active, it is estimated that he recorded, mixed and mastered over 2,000 albums,

He can be identified as the lacquer cutting engineer of LPs by the stamp "RVG" or "RVG STEREO" or "VAN GELDER" in the runout section.