MICHAEL JACK
Engineer Mixer Producer
Michael Jack is a multi-gold and platinum award-winning producer and recording engineer who has been in the recording industry for over three decades. Before honing his engineering skills, Michael was a vocalist and guitar player for bands like Ninth Line, Teyes, The Remnants,
Alia Hart, and Fallan in the early and mid-80s.
In 1981, while still in high school, he enrolled in a ten-week recording workshop at a local studio named Para Sound in Newmarket, Ontario.
After completing the course Michael was asked to assist on some sessions, where he began to learn the ins and outs of the studio environment. By observing as a "fly on the wall" Michael gained valuable insights into technical, creative and personal dynamics of the recording process.
Also during this period he received guitar lessons from legendary guitarist Red Shea, known for playing with Gordon Lightfoot,
Ian & Sylvia Tyson and Tommy Hunter.
In 1986, Michael toured Canada as part of the technical crew for Liberty Silver, who had recently won two Juno Awards. After sleeping in the back of
a Winnebago motor home and risking his life driving through raging snow storms in Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario Michael decided to settle into
the safer, climate controlled life of the recording studio. He started taking on clients and engineering his own sessions at Para Sound and eventually
took over the majority of the work at the facility. In 1988, at the age of 24, Michael bought the 16 track studio and changed the name to
Sessions Recordings. Liberty Silver graced the studio on more than one occasion as did Glass Tiger and Jim Cregan of the Rod Stewart Band.
In 1992, despite a successful four-year run, Michael chose to sell the studio and relocated to Toronto where he freelanced at various studios.
In the mid-90s he performed with the folk duo "Young Americans" and served as the in-house engineer/producer and A&R for specialty label
Marshmellow Records known for releasing New Age, Latin and World music instrumental CDs.
Many of these projects landed distribution and licensing deals world wide.
From 1999 to 2007, Michael worked as a senior engineer at Phase One Studios, contributing to numerous acclaimed projects that earned gold and platinum record award status and charted in both Canada and the U.S. In 2007 he led a new Solid State Logic-based studio at Lenz Entertainment working on music, film, corporate and television projects. During his time at Lenz Entertainment Michael recorded and mixed songs that achieved top ten and top twenty status on the U.S. Billboard charts.
In 2010 Michael established his own home-based editing and mixing suite named The Radio Room (due to his passion for collecting vintage transistor radios, boasting an extensive collection of over one thousand radios....many of which are on display in the control room)
His work has taken him to various cities, including Nashville, Miami, Cannes, Calgary, Montreal, and Victoria.
Michael has been awarded 27 gold and platinum record awards and has had singles and albums reach the U.S. Billboard charts.
See Awards for a full list.
Michael has recorded, edited and/or mixed sessions for:
The Trews, Bono, Nelly Furtado, Hilary Duff, Rush, Big Sugar, Kardinal Offishal, Ludacris,
The Canadian Tenors, Liona Boyd, Olivia Newton John, Leahy, Jann Arden, Anjulie,
George Canyon, Sass Jordan, Anne Murray, Billy Ray Cyrus, Engelbert Humperdinck, Amy Sky, Hemingway Corner,
Sony/ATV Publishing, Marc Jordan, Canadian Idol, Jesse Cook, Natalie MacMaster, Dala, Michelle Wright,
Jim Brickman, Mark Masri, Simon Wilcox, G.Q., Xquisite, and thousands more.
See Discography for a detailed list.
Film & TV credits include:
752 Is Not A Number, Perfect Harmony (Hallmark TV movie), Men With Brooms Soundtrack, Atomic Betty Soundtrack,
Across The Universe Soundtrack, Too Fast Too Furious Soundtrack, Passchendaele Soundtrack (Sara Slean), Prom Night In Mississippi,
Puck Hogs, Little Mosque On The Prairie, Train 48, The Hour, Wildcard, Canadian Country Music Awards, Mansions, Big Voice, Gold Mind,
What's Your News, Atomic Betty, Stratusphere, Party Mamas, Producing Parker, Jimmy Two Shoes, Crash & Burn, Doc,
Keep Your Head Up Kid -The Don Cherry Story and the soundtrack for the movie "Celine" based on the life of Celine Dion.
Michael has worked with and learned from some of the best record producers in the business:
Jack Douglas (John Lennon, Aerosmith, Slash, New York Dolls, The Who, Cheap Trick, The Trews)
Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, KISS, Peter Gabriel, Rod Stewart, Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Jane's Addiction)
David Leonard (Rush, Prince, John Cougar Mellencamp, Paul McCartney, Collective Soul)
Joe Chiccarelli (Elton John, Beck, Frank Zappa)
Frank Filipetti (KISS, Barbra Streisand, James Taylor, George Michael)
Mike Roth (Dala, Amanda Marshall, Our Lady Peace, Hemingway Corner, Chantal Kreviasuk, Junkhouse)
Jack Lenz (Seals & Crofts, Canadian Tenors, Billy Ray Cyrus, Andrea Bocelli, Loggins and Messina)
Gordie Johnson (Big Sugar, The Trews, Joel Plaskett, Wide Mouth Mason)
Matthew Gerrard (Jonas Brothers, Kelly Clarkson, Cher, Hannah Montana, Hilary Duff, Nick Carter)
Bob Gallo (James Brown, Ottis Redding, Young Rascals, Bo Diddley, Aretha Franklin)
Nick Blagona (Deep Purple, The Police, The Bee Gees, Nazareth, Kim Mitchell, April Wine)
David Martin (Hemingway Corner, Billy Ray Cyrus, Adam Gregory, Dawn Langstroth)
Mark Plati (David Bowie, Roger Waters, New Order, The Cure)
Rhett Lawrence (Mariah Carey, Kelly Clarkson, Paula Abdul, Chicago, Michael Jackson)
Lauren Wild (Carly Simon, Rod Stewart, Art Garfunkel, Taylor Dayne)
Tommy West (Anne Murray, Jim Croce, Blonde On Blonde)
JK Gulley (Lawnie Wallace, Gil Grand, Jason McCoy, Beverley Mahood)
Steve Wingfield (Sugar Jones, Somerset Entertainment, Jim Brickman, Sandi Patty)
Gilles Godard (Curb Music Publishing-Nashville)
Russ Zavitson (The Wilkinsons, The Kinleys)
