SCOTT HULL

SCOTT HULL is the principle sound engineer for Tzadik Records and is responsible for a prolific mastering discography. He has worked at many mastering studios including The Hit Factory, Classic Sound, and Jigsaw Sound, all based in New York City. This digital mastermind has the ear for making projects sound beautiful whilst encapsulating the artist’s undiluted musical vision. He ultimately wants to achieve what every music producer has in their imagination. Scott Hull is known for matching the sound to the exact specifications desired for each mastering project. His albums consistently have brilliant sound with distinct clarity and precision mixing. Each project has only one finishing point defined as pure perfection.

Scott Hull masters over two-hundred full length albums each year, including several studio projects from Tzadik-related artists including Anthony Coleman, Carla Kihlstedt, Dave Douglas, Derek Bailey, Elysian Fields, Fred Frith, Jamie Saft, Otomo Yoshihide, and Shelley Hirsch. In addition, Scott Hull has mastered incredible recordings from John Zorn’s Cobra, Elegy, Hemophiliac, Locus Solus, Masada, and the Naked City Complete Studio Recordings. He has also mastered Yoshimi and Yuka’s “Flower With No Color” from Ipecac Recordings, and put the icing on the cake for The Carl Stalling Project. Scott Hull’s mainstream music endeavours have including works by Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Garbage, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Paul McCartney, Rockapella, The Ramones, Tony Bennett and a multitude of talented musicians.

Scott Hull has kindly offered his digital mastering services to the special edition CDs released through The Stone, John Zorn’s new live performance space in downtown New York. In addition, Bill Laswell has donated his studio space for recording projects from The Stone. A to Z Music Services have also help support the venue by providing a competitive deal for manufacturing all their CDs. All albums will be distributed exclusively online through the Downtown Music Gallery, who have also forgone their typical cut so that further funding will go towards the live venue. In essence, all the special edition releases from The Stone will be produced at a fraction of the normal cost due to the goodwill of community members. Scott Hull is currently Chief Mastering Engineer at Jigsaw Sound, and continues to provide the best mastering services using state-of-the-art digital technology. For booking details, contact David Ares at JigsawSound.com.

CD Review

Selected Discography

Exclusive Interview

Justin St. Vincent from Xtreme Music received responses to an e-mail interview with Scott Hull on April 9, 2005.

Xtreme Music: How did you first meet John Zorn and when did you start working together?

Scott Hull: In the mid 1980’s I was the mastering assistant and apprentice to Bob Ludwig at MasterDisk here in New York. Bob Ludwig worked with nearly every major artist at that time. He was mastering projects by artists like The Police, The Rolling Stones, ZZ Top, AC-DC, Bryan Adams, and so on. He also had several classical and new music clients, New World Records and Nonesuch to name just a few. I met John Zorn while doing the digital editing for him on his Nonesuch releases. At that time I did all of Bob Ludwig’s digital editing, it was a really new thing then. It wasn’t done on desktop computers like it is now. It was done with very expensive dedicated machines from Sony. I was one of only a few engineers in New York that
had it really down.

Xtreme Music: What was it like working with this prolific musician from the downtown avant-jazz community?

Scott Hull: To be honest, his music was so out there that I really had no idea of how profound it was. I had played contemporary compositions as a trombonist, and really understood many of the concepts of improvisation and indeterminacy, and even the “avant-garde”, but John Zorn’s music was obviously different. I had trouble giving his work a name. Each record was an eye-opening, new experience for me. I was about 23 at the time. Today, his music still surprises me and makes me laugh and sometime nearly tear up. Then and now he pushes his performers and engineers to maximum achievement. I’m not saying he is one of those “hard to work for” people in the industry. He simply expects those people he works with to be ready to put a lot of personal energy and creativity into what they do for him.

Xtreme Music: How did you go about remastering Naked City’s complete studio recordings? Please tell us about the processes involved in making John Zorn’s radical music “louder, clearer, and more in your face.”

Scott Hull: All trade secrets! No not really. I simply rely on my twenty-five years of experience in what works and what doesn’t. It’s also all about how John Zorn hears this music. He has goals in his mind about how the listener should interact with his music. It’s my job to help him get there. It involves my complete attention to all of the principles of high quality engineering, mixed with completely ignoring all the principles of conventional engineering. Contrasts, high energy, silence, bringing it right to the edge of meltdown. It’s not at all about the gear. It really can’t be explained in writing.

Xtreme Music: What was the most challenging part of sound engineering for the Naked City Box-Set?

Scott Hull: Nothing that was really unique. John wanted it to be perfect. I wanted it to be perfect. We didn’t stop until it was perfect.

Xtreme Music: For those who enjoy Naked City’s radical genre-shifting style, what other bands can you recommend?

Scott Hull: I’ve heard several artists that certainly have been influenced by John Zorn’s works, but few seem to me to bring so many outside and surprising elements into the compositions. I generally don’t listen to a lot of other music besides what I am working on. I don’t consider myself an expert really in anything but how to manipulate sound to help music producers achieve what is in their imagination.

Xtreme Music: Please tell us about your latest musical adventures in sound engineering.

Scott Hull: Mastering for surround sound the sound that the World Trade Center Tower buildings made as they swayed back and forth during a strong wind.  This was recorded by Stephen Vitiello before they were destroyed. For more information, visit: https://www.newmusicbox.org/091101/vitiello.nmbx

Xtreme Music: What are the future plans for your company Jigsaw Sound?

Scott Hull: I’m simply continuing my efforts to provide the best mastering services that I can. My clients decide what sort of music I work on. It’s something new each day. I master about two-hundred full-length albums a year. It’s often a surreal experience to get deeply and emotionally evolved with a new record each day, and then not have time to even listen to it again. I love what I do and everyday is a snowflake. Some are really pretty, some make you wet and cold, and some cause you to loose control of your car.