Chesky Records

Chesky Records is a record company and label founded in 1978 by brothers David and Norman Chesky.^[1][2] The company produces high-definition recordings of music in a variety of genres, including jazz, classical, pop, R&B, folk and world/ethnic.^[1][3][4] Chesky artists include McCoy Tyner, Herbie Mann, David Johansen and the Harry Smiths, Joe Henderson, Chuck Mangione, Paquito D'Rivera, Ron Carter, Larry Coryell, John Pizzarelli, Bucky Pizzarelli, Babatunde Olatunji, Ana Caram, and Rebecca Pidgeon.^[5][6]

Chesky Records also offers binaural recordings, which seeks to replicate 3-D stereo sound so that the recording sounds as if the listener is in the same room with the musicians.^[7] They capture this sound using dummy head recording.^[7] For its recordings, Chesky Records uses acoustically vibrant spaces, including the Hirsch Center in Greenpoint, Brooklyn and St. Paul the Apostle Church located in Manhattan.^[7]

The company has a mastering studio in New York City, New York.^[1]

History

Studio musician and composer David Chesky founded Chesky Records with his brother Norman in 1988. They began the label to preserve the sound of live-in-the studio recordings, without overdubbing original records. In 1990, they switched from recording in studios to recording in churches.^[2] One of the company's first attempts at improving sound quality was the re-issue of classical pianist Earl Wild's recordings of Rachmaninoff for Reader's Digest.^[8][9]

In 1990, Chesky Records released its Jazz Sampler & Audiophile Test Compact Disc, with the first nine tracks devoted to music and the remaining twenty devoted to listening and technical tests for headphones and loud speakers.^[10] Other test discs include Dr. Chesky's Sensational, Fantastic, and Simply Amazing Binaural Sound Show and the Ultimate Demo Disc.^[5]

In 2007, David and Norman Chesky also started an audiophile music download website called HDtracks. HDtracks allows customers to download high-resolution versions of albums in numerous formats (FLAC, AIFF).^[11] The site contains many varied artists and labels.^[12] In 2012, Crosby, Stills, and Nash announced that they would be releasing HD versions of its first three albums through HDtracks, and the company also released remastered titles from the Blue Note label, including John Coltrane's Blue Train, Eric Dolphy's Out To Lunch, Herbie Hancock's Maiden Voyage, Wayne Shorter's Speak No Evil, Horace Silver's Song for My Father and Larry Young's Unity.^[13][14] Other notable artists include Carole King, Janis Joplin, Michael Jackson, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan.

In 2011, Chesky Records incorporated High Resolution Technology in their label,^[15] and introduced binaural recordings.^[2][16] The Binaural+ masters are captured in high-resolution (24-bit/192kHz) sound using a binaural dummy head nicknamed "Lars".^[7] David Chesky collaborated with Princeton professor Edgar Y. Choueiri to begin producing binaural recordings.^[17] The purpose of the technology is to capture three-dimensional sound and imaging.

Chesky Records uses its own custom recording equipment and experiments with different recording techniques and formats.^[8][18]

Awards and recognition

• 1997 Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Performance – Portraits of Cuba, Paquito D'Rivera^[19][20][21]
• 1998 Nominated: Grammy Award for Best World Music Album – Love Drum Talk, Babatunde Olatunji^[22][23]
• 2000 Latin Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album – Tropicana Nights, Paquito D'Rivera^[19][20][24]
• 2005 Nominated: Grammy Award for Best Engineered Classical Recording – Area 31, David Chesky^[25][26]
• 2005 Nominated: Latin Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album – The Body Acoustic, David Chesky^[27][28]
• 2007 Nominated: Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition – Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra, David Chesky^[15][25]

See also

• List of record labels
• David Chesky
• HDtracks

External links

• Official site
• HD Tracks

References