The Delta Music Institute, a music industry studies program at Delta State University, will host award winning audio engineer Jeff Powell on Monday, February 27 at 6:00 p.m. in Studio A of the Delta Music Institute on the campus of Delta State University for an interactive discussion as part of the DMI All Access series. DMI All Access is a series of open forums and lectures throughout the academic year featuring industry professionals from various areas of the music business.
Powell has been recording and making records for 23 years. He was a staff assistant engineer, then engineer/mixer and finally rose to the rank of producer at Memphis’ Ardent Studios from 1989-1997. He has worked as an independent audio engineer since then, but still calls Ardent Studios home.
Working at Ardent in his early years afforded Powell opportunities to work with some of the greatest producers and engineers of all time (Jim Gaines, Glyn Johns, Rob Fraboni, John Hampton, Joe Hardy and Jim Dickinson), including six records with the late, great Tom Dowd. Through the years he has taken what he calls “the best from the best” and come up with his own eclectic approach to making records.
Powell has worked on multiple gold and platinum records, six GRAMMY™ award winning projects, and was twice voted Best Engineer for the Premiere Players awards by the Memphis Chapter of the Recording Academy. He currently chairs the Producer and Engineering wing for the Memphis Chapter of the Recording Academy, and has been honored as a legendary producer of Memphis at the annual Blues Ball.
In addition to being a producer and engineer, Jeff has expanded his horizons over the last several years and is now mastering and cutting vinyl records on the original STAX lathe at Ardent Studios. His vinyl cutting business is called Take Out Vinyl. He recently opened recording space in the Edge district in Memphis called Humongous Too. He also teaches as an adjunct professor in the commercial recording program at his alma mater, the University of Memphis.
Some of Powell’s engineering credits include Bob Dylan, B.B. King, Tonic, The Dave Matthews Band, Big Star, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Sharon Jones, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Lucinda Williams, Ryan Adams and The Afghan Whigs.
The DMI All Access series hosted by Steve Azar is open to the public at no charge.
The Delta Music Institute is an independent center of study under the College of Arts & Sciences at Delta State University, offering a B.S. in Music Industry Studies degree. The focus of the DMI is to provide students with a broad and thorough education in the technological, creative, and business areas of the music and entertainment industry. For information, contact (662) 846-4579 or visit http://dmi.deltastate.edu.
