The legends of jazz knew if they wanted the best, they’d have to cross the Hudson from New York City to Hackensack. Rudy Van Gelder [1924-2016] was a sound scientist. Coltrane, Monk, Miles, Ellington, Ray Charles, Sonny Rollins, they all made the trip. The studio is in Englewood now, run by Maureen and Don Sickler. And it’s still producing gems.

Perhaps the most famous recording facility in all of jazz, Rudy Van Gelder’s studio, first in Hackensack, then in Englewood Cliffs, is the birthplace of seminal albums by the likes of Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins and hundreds of others. The newest gem to emanate from these hallowed halls is the self-titled debut of The Heavy Hitters.