Meeting held September 30, 2004
Every so often a commercial film arrives which shows the magic, art, and science behind what many of us love to do:
audio for music. The most recent entry in this category enchanted a number of members of the Committee, and the PNW
Section arranged for a special showing of the DVD of the film: Tom Dowd & the Language Of Music. Some 50 people
attended. Since public showings of DVDs licensed for home viewing are illegal, Rob Silverberg and Chris Blackwell of
Palm Pictures granted us permission for an AES screening of this film. Palm Pictures is distributing the film in
North America and the Caribbean, playing it at theaters in selected cities in the U.S. and releasing the
DVD to the public.
This film is a 90-minute documentary profiling the life and work of a man whose personal history reflects the evolution of modern music and recording technology: legendary producer/recording engineer Tom Dowd. Tom was an Atlantic Records engineer (1947-1979) responsible for some of the most important R&B, rock, and jazz records ever made. After leaving Atlantic, he went independent and continued producing and engineering hit records until his death in 2002. Interviews with recording industry icons tell the story of this humble genius, while historical footage, photographs and classic music tracks capture the magic of the recording studio. It's here that Dowd, the unaffected master, recounts the recording sessions and technical achievements that altered the course of contemporary music.
Filmmaker Mark Moormann premiered this independently produced feature-length documentary at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, and the film had its international premiere at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival. It has screened at festivals around the world to overwhelmingly enthusiastic audiences and widespread critical acclaim.
After the film, some door prizes were awarded. Brian Ward and Ken Malott won CDs, and Lindsay Smith won a used Alesis compressor, donated by Dansound, Inc.
A discussion and commentary followed. Quite a few attendees stated they will still be buying the DVD for themselves, especially since there was a lot of extra material on the DVD that was not shown that evening.
Reported by Dan Mortensen, Rick Chinn and Gary Louie, PNW Section