Thom Russo
Thomas "Thom" Russo is an American record producer, composer, mixer and songwriter.[3] His works range from Anglo-American pop rock to alternative Latin.[3] He is a recipient of 16 Grammy awards.[4]
Life and education
Thom Russo was born in Cleveland, Ohio.[5][6] He studied composition, music theory, and electronic music at Northwestern University, in Evanston, Illinois.[4] He lives and works in Los Angeles.[7]
Career
Russo started his professional career as a musician[4][7] but became interested in music production, composing, engineering and recording as a college student at Northwestern University Conservatory of Music.[4] He first worked at River North Studios in Chicago mentoring under many prolific composers and arrangers in the advertising industry, and then moved on to Larrabee Sound, one of the largest and most famous recording studios in Los Angeles, and later on his own under the Nettwerk Producer Management.[4]
As one of the first projects at Larrabee, Russo produced vocals for Michael Jackson's album Dangerous,[4] Bobby Brown's album Bobby, Cher's Greatest Hits 1965–1992, Diana Ross's Take Me Higher and Paula Abdul's Head Over Heels.[3][8]
That early work laid foundation for Russo's later career. Over the years he has worked with a variety of well-known musicians, in addition to the ones named above,
- Alejandro Sanz (El Tren de los Momentos),
- Aterciopelados (Oye),
- Audioslave (Audioslave, Like a Stone, Doesn't Remind Me, Out of exile),
- Babyface (For the Cool in You, The Day, A Collection of His Greatest Hits),
- Bird York (The Velvet Hour, Wicked Little High),
- Don Tetto
- Enrique Iglesias (Enrique Iglesias),
- Eric Clapton (Change The World),
- Faith Evans (A Faithful Christmas, Keep the Faith),
- Huecco (Assalto, Huecco),
- Jay-Z (99 Problems),
- Jermaine Dupri (12 Soulful Nights of Christmas),
- Jesse and Joy (Electricidad),
- Johnny Cash (American IV: The Man Comes Around),
- Juanes (Fíjate Bien, Un Día Normal, Mi Sangre, La Vida... Es Un Ratico),
- Lili Haydn (Place Between Places),
- Libido (Pop*Porn),
- Love Star (Espectro),
- Macy Gray (The Id, The Trouble with Being Myself, The Very Best of Macy Gray),
- Maná (Amar es Combatir, Drama y Luz),
- Michael Jackson (King of Pop),
- Pedro Suárez-Vértiz (Amazonas),
- Toto (Kingdom of Desire)
- Los Claxons (Un Día De Sol)
- Alan Munro (Ojala)
and others; full listings are available.[3][8]
Since 2000, Russo has been involved in Latin rock and pop music and has worked with Juanes, Mana, and other legendary Latin artists from Latin America, Central America, and Spain.[3]
Russo's mixing techniques include the commonly used audio filtering with different microphones and equalizers, reduction and amplification by DRC, sound fading, and a range of more unconventional approaches.[9] He adapts his methods to accentuate the idiosyncratic features in the music he records,[9] citing the record producer and colleague Rick Rubin as one of the main professional influences.[7]
Awards
Russo has received 12 platinum record awards for his work in the music industry, and won 2 American Grammy Awards and 12 Latin Grammy Awards (listed below in chronological order).
- Rock Solo Vocal Album award for Fíjate Bien, Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences – engineer/mixer[10]
- Nomination for Album of the Year award, for Fijate Bien, Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences – engineer/mixer
- Nomination for Record of the Year award for El Alma al Aire, Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences – engineer/mixer
- Album of the Year award, for Un Día Normal, Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences – engineer/mixer[10]
- Best Rock Solo Vocal Album award for Un Día Normal, Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences – engineer/mixer[10]
- Record of the Year award for Es Por Ti, Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences – engineer/mixer[10]
- Best Rock Solo Vocal Album award for Mi Sangre, Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences – engineer/mixer[10]
- Best Latin Rock, Alternative or Urban Album award for Amar es Combatir, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences – engineer/mixer[11]
- Best Latin Pop Album award for El Tren de los Momentos, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences – engineer[11]
- Best Alternative Music Album award for Oye, Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences – engineer[10]
- Album of the Year award for La Vida... Es Un Ratico, Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, 2008 – engineer/mixer[10]
- Record of the Year award for Me Enamora, Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences – engineer/mixer[10]
- Best Male Pop Vocal Album award for La Vida... Es Un Ratico, Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences – engineer[10]
- Best Engineered Album award, for Distinto, Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, 2010 – engineer[10]
- Best Engineered Album award, for Drama Y Luz, Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, 2011 – engineer[10]
- Best Rock Album award, for Drama Y Luz, Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, 2011 – engineer[10]
Films and TV projects
References
- ^ Quinn, Dave (August 2, 2017). "Alanna Ubach and Thomas Russo Jr. Welcome Son Thomas Rodolfo". People. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
- ^ Rosenfeld, Laura (2017-08-02). "Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce's Alanna Ubach Gives Birth to a Baby Boy". Bravo. Archived from the original on January 20, 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
- ^ a b c d e Thom Russo Credits, All Music, Accessed July 2, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f Advice from a Producer/Mixer Musician Coaching, June 2, 2011, Accessed July 2, 2011.
- ^ Thom Russo Biography AOL Music, Accessed July 2, 2011.
- ^ Thom Russo IMDb, Accessed July 2, 2011.
- ^ a b c Thom Russo -- Interview Latin Media Gurus, 2010, Accessed July 2, 2011.
- ^ a b Thom Russo Album Credits, Accessed July 2, 2011.
- ^ a b THE BLUE Q&A SESSION with Thom Russo Vintage Microphone, Accessed July 2, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Thom Russo Past winners, The Latin Grammy Awards
- ^ a b Thom Russo Past winners, The Grammy Awards, Accessed July 2, 2011.
External links
- Official website
- YouTube interview
- v
- t
- e
- Amarte Es un Placer – Luis Miguel (2000)
- El Alma al Aire – Alejandro Sanz (2001)
- Alejandro Sanz MTV Unplugged – Alejandro Sanz (2002)
- Un Día Normal – Juanes (2003)
- No Es lo Mismo – Alejandro Sanz (2004)
- Cantando Histórias – Ivan Lins (2005)
- Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 – Shakira (2006)
- La Llave de Mi Corazón – Juan Luis Guerra (2007)
- La Vida... Es Un Ratico – Juanes (2008)
- Los de Atrás Vienen Conmigo – Calle 13 (2009)
- A Son de Guerra – Juan Luis Guerra (2010)
- Entren Los Que Quieran – Calle 13 (2011)
- Juanes MTV Unplugged – Juanes (2012)
- Vida – Draco Rosa (2013)
- Canción Andaluza – Paco de Lucía (2014)
- Todo Tiene Su Hora – Juan Luis Guerra (2015)
- Los Dúo, Vol. 2 – Juan Gabriel (2016)
- Salsa Big Band - Rubén Blades & Roberto Delgado & Orquesta (2017)
- ¡México Por Siempre! – Luis Miguel (2018)
- El Mal Querer – Rosalía (2019)
- Un Canto por México, Vol. 1 – Natalia Lafourcade (2020)
- SALSWING! – Rubén Blades and Roberto Delgado & Orquesta (2021)
- Motomami – Rosalía (2022)
- Mañana Será Bonito – Karol G (2023)