About me

 
Engineer... I started working behind the glass in the early 1970’s. I was getting gigs in NY as a studio musician, but the first time I stood behind a large recording console I was completely hooked…captivated…mesmerized. Looking back now, I feel sorry for all the engineers I pestered into letting me hang out and show me how the gear worked. Some of my earliest recordings and assists were for Chiaroscur o Records, where I recorded Teddy Wilson, Gene Krupa, Earl Hines, Dizzy Gillespie, Sun Ra and others. Freelancing in Manhattan was wonderful in those days but after I received a commission to design studios for Warner Brothers following their purchase of 75 Rockefeller Center, I stayed on as an engineer. There I got to meet and work with many well-known artists, including Van Morrison, John McLaughlin, Frank Zappa, PP&M and quite a few others. After a few years at the WB, I went back to freelancing and did a fair amount of tour work, (primarily FOH). A few spins around the globe later, I took the position of head engineer at a New Jersey studio just outside Manhattan. That studio, 9-West (later renamed Digital-By-Dickenson), became one of the earliest digital multitrack studios in the world when we picked up the East Coast’s first 3M digital 32 track (and 4 Track) tape recorders in 1980 (The CD was introduced in the US in the spring of 1983). It was the first digital multitrack of any kind in the N.Y. area. That system was used in the studio and for remote work, which was as diverse as The N.Y. Philharmonic one day and punk bands at CBGBS the next. Exciting times... I continue to engineer and mix today, but primarily for my own songwriting and production projects. I still find engineering one of the more fulfilling aspects of the process, but I fear that in the DAW world, it is becoming a lost - and greatly under-appreciated art. Songwriter... I met Joshua Thompson while working at 9-West Studios. Initially, I was producing him and his group, but we quickly evolved into a songwriting team and then a songwriting and production team. My first publishing contract was with MCA Musc. Josh and I signed to MCA as a writing team and wrote many covers together. Now, over 20 years later, we still collaborate on some projects. Josh has gone on to be an extremely successful producer/writer in his own right, working with Alicia Keys, George Benson, Joe, Luther Vandross and others. Of the over 100 songs in my catalog, most were co-written with Josh. My Publishing Company is Len-Tom Music (ASCAP), which is an imprint of MCA Music. My writing would best be described as leaning toward the commercial side of R&B and Pop, although I have also composed and written for movies, radio jingles, podcast themes and ringtones. I am currently working on a classical composition. Producer... I was engineering for Warner Brothers in the 70’s when I left to pursue a career in production. Since that time I have been very lucky. Not only to have sustained my career, but to have worked with some of the most respected artists in our industry. From a strictly personal perspective, sharing album credits with some of the best producers in the world is quite humbling. Some OTHER producers who have also worked on albums I have produced on include: Arif Mardin, Barry Eastmond, Richard Marx, Burt Bacharach, Narada Michael Walden, Preston Glass, Carole Bayer Sager, Joshua Thompson and Luther Vandross. Producer styles seem to be divided into two major camps. Some like to be in complete control of every note and every nuance of a song, while others see their role as an assistant to the artist, stepping in only when needed to help them achieve their vision. Over the years, I have been involved in many sessions that represent the two extremes, although happily, most fall in the middle. Ultimately the producer’s role is that of a decision maker, although frequently musical ideas, technical solutions and financial responsibilities all fall under the umbrella. If I take on a project as producer today, it is because I find the artist and the material interesting, and I feel I can contribute to it. I am not interested in finding the next American Idle. Studio_Design.htmlStudio_Design.htmlhttp://www.hittinsensei.com/TallestTreeMusicfiles/Discography.htmlhttp://www.mpa.org/directories/music_publishers/show/239shapeimage_4_link_0shapeimage_4_link_1shapeimage_4_link_2shapeimage_4_link_3