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, Macy Gray, Chuck Mangione, Paquito D'Rivera, Ron Carter, Larry Coryell, John Pizzarelli, Bucky Pizzarelli, Babatunde Olatunji, Ana Caram, and Rebecca Pidgeon.^[5][6]

Chesky Records
Founded	1978 (1978)
Founder	David Chesky Norman Chesky
Distributor(s)	E1 Music
Genre	Various
Country of origin	U.S.
Location	New York, New York
Official website	www.chesky.com

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 1978. 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/192 kHz) 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.

In 2016, Chesky Records released the critically acclaimed jazz debut of Macy Gray, Stripped, which debuted No. 3 on the Billboard Jazz Charts.^[18] The label also released the debut album from City of the Sun, which debuted No. 12 on the Billboard Jazz Charts, would go on to garner over 17 million album streams on Spotify and peak at No. 2 on the Spotify US Viral 50.^[19][20]

In 2018, Casey Abrams and Meiko signed with Chesky Records. Abrams' debut album for the label, Put a Spell on You, hit #5 on the Billboard Jazz Charts,^[21] and Meiko hit #23 on the Billboard Folk Charts with Playing Favorites.^[22]

In 2019, Anna Nalick signed with Chesky Records and released her label debut The Blackest Crow that December.^[23]

Chesky Records uses custom recording equipment and experiments with recording techniques and formats.^[8][24]

Artists

• Camille Thurman^[25]
• Casey Abrams^[25]
• City of the Sun^[25]
• Macy Gray^[25]
• Meiko^[25]

Awards and recognition

• 1997 Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Performance – Portraits of Cuba, Paquito D'Rivera^[26][27][28]
• 1998 Nominated: Grammy Award for Best World Music Album – Love Drum Talk, Babatunde Olatunji^[29][30]
• 2000 Latin Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album – Tropicana Nights, Paquito D'Rivera^[26][27][31]
• 2005 Nominated: Grammy Award for Best Engineered Classical Recording – Area 31, David Chesky^[32][33]
• 2005 Nominated: Latin Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album – The Body Acoustic, David Chesky^[34][35]
• 2007 Nominated: Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition – Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra, David Chesky^[15][32]
• 2013 Independent Music Award – Contemporary Classical Album – String Theory, David Chesky^[36]
• 2015 Independent Music Award – Contemporary Classical Album – Rap Symphony, David Chesky^[36]
• 2016 Independent Music Award – Jazz Vocal Album – Stripped, Macy Gray^[37]
• 2016 Nominated: Independent Music Award – Contemporary Classical Album – The Venetian Concertos, David Chesky^[37]
• 2019 Nominated: Independent Music Award - Contemporary Classical Album - Piano Concertos 2,3, David Chesky^[38]
• 2019 Nominated: Independent Music Award - Tribute Album - Playing Favorites, Meiko ^[38]
• 2019 Nominated: Independent Music Award - Cover Song - "Super Freak" (Meiko) ^[38]

See also

• List of record labels
• David Chesky
• HDtracks

External links

• Official site
• HD Tracks

References

1. Nels Ferre (November 2009). "A Few Moments With David Chesky". Enjoy the Music. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
2. Steve Guttenberg (May 25, 2012). "The making of "Dr Chesky's Sensational, Fantastic, and Simply Amazing Binaural Sound Show!"". Inner Fidelity. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
3. "Chesky Records". HDTracks. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
4. "Biography". David Chesky. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
5. "Chesky Records". Discogs. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
6. "Herbie Mann". AllMusic. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
7. Jason Victor Serinus (July 31, 2012). "Chesky Goes Binaural". Stereophile. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
8. Blair Jackson (February 1, 2005). . Mix Magazine. Archived from the original on October 24, 2006. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
9. "David Chesky: A Portrait of the Artist as His Own Man Page 2". Stereophile. 30 October 2005. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
10. "Chesky Records Jazz Sampler & Audiophile Test Compact Disc, Vol. 1". All Music. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
11. "HDTracks". HDTracks. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
12. Julie Hill. . The Berklee Groove. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
13. Jeff Tamarkin (July 26, 2012). . Jazz Times. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
14. "New (old) Blue Note on HDtracks". AudioStream. 17 June 2010. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
15. . Rockian Trading. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
16. "Two albums in one: Binaural & Soundfield". HDTracks. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
17. "David Chesky: "Dr. Chesky's Sensational Fantastic and Simply Amazing Binaural Sound Show!"". SoundStage! Access. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
18. "Macy Gray Chart History". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved Jan 25, 2018.
19. "City of the Sun Chart History". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved Jan 25, 2018.
20. Shirvell, Bridget (11 May 2016). "Fall in Love with the Acoustic Music of City of the Sun | Long Island Pulse Magazine". Long Island Pulse Magazine. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
21. "Casey Abrams Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
22. "Meiko Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
23. "The Blackest Crow - Anna Nalick | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
24. "Matej Isak interview with David Chesky". Mono Stereo. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
25. "Artists – Chesky Records". Chesky Records. Chesky Records. Retrieved Jan 25, 2018.
26. "Past Winners Search". Grammy.com. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
27. "Complete List of Honors". Paquito D'Rivera. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
28. "Paquito D'Rivera – Portraits of Cuba". CD Universe. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
29. "World music pioneer Olatunji dead". CNN. April 13, 2003. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
30. "Love Drum Talk". CD Universe. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
31. "Paquito D'Rivera – Tropicana Nights". CD Universe. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
32. Ellen Mallernee (December 7, 2007). . Gibson. Archived from the original on April 2, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
33. "48th Grammy Award Nominees, Best Engineered Album, Classical". Amazon. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
34. "Bebe Leads Latin Grammy Nominations". The American Society of Composers. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
35. "Complete list of 6th annual Latin Grammy nominations". USA Today. November 2, 2005. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
36. Serinus, Jason Victor (July 24, 2015). "David Chesky Scores His Second IMA Award". New York. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
37. "The 15th Independent Music Awards Nominees". Independent Music Awards. Music Resource Group LLC. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
38. "The 17th Independent Music Awards Nominees". Independent Music Awards. Music Resource Group LLC. Retrieved November 13, 2019.