James Cruz
James Cruz is a Grammy Award winning audio mastering engineer and owner of Zeitgeist Sound Studios in Long Island City, New York.
Biography
James Cruz started his career in 2002 at The Hit Factory during its "golden age" under the tutelage of Tom Coyne, Chris Gehringer and Herb Powers Jr. While there he mastered records for artists such as Lil' Kim, Toni Braxton, Mary Mary, Maxwell and Outkast.
After The Hit Factory, James moved to Sony Studios as a senior mastering engineer. There he worked on artists such as Natasha Bedingfield, Calle 13 and Lil Wayne. He also gained an international following with clients from Serbia, England, Australia and Japan.
In 2008 James opened Zeitgeist Sound Studios in Long Island City, New York. It's here that he won his first Latin Grammy for mastering "Los De Atras Vienen Conmigo" by Calle 13.
In 2011 The album "Entren Los Que Quieran" by Calle 13 was mastered by James Cruz and won a record setting 9 Latin Grammys including Album of the year.
Awards
Latin Grammy: Calle 13- Album Of The Year "Entren Los Que Quieran" 2011
Grammy: Calle 13- Best Latin Rock/Alt/Urban Album "Los De Atras Vienen Conmigo" 2009
Grammy: Mary Mary- Best Gospel Song "God In Me" 2009
Latin Grammy: Calle 13- Album Of The Year 2009 "Los De Atras Vienen Conmigo"
Grammy: Mary Mary- Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album "Thankful" 2000
Latin Grammy: Calle 13- Best Urban Music Album "Residente O Visitante" 2007
Credits
James has mastered over 400 albums, many of them winning either a gold or platinum certification. Some of note are:
Calle 13 :: Entren Los Que Quieran
Calle 13 :: Residente O Visitante
Calle 13 :: Los De Atras Vienen Conmigo
Mary Mary :: The Sound
Beyoncé :: Above And Beyoncé
Tye Tribbett & G.A. :: Stand Out
Tye Tribbett & G.A. :: Victory Live!
Lil' Kim :: Hard Core
Montell Jordan :: Get It On...Tonight
Lil Wayne :: Tha Block Is Hot
Juvenile :: Tha G Code
Juvenile :: 400 Degreez
Big Tymers :: I Got That Work
Lil Wayne :: Lights Out
Mary Mary :: Thankful
Three-6 Mafia :: Da Unbreakables
Wu-Tang Clan :: W
Mary Mary :: Incredible
Lyfe Jennings :: Lyfe 268-192
Mary Mary :: Mary Mary
Miligram :: Miligram 2
Miligram :: Miligram 3
Miligram :: Magnetic
Three-6 Mafia :: Most Known Unknown
Natasha Bedingfied :: Unwritten
Nina Simone :: Remixed & Reimagined
Men Of Standard :: Surrounded
Svetlana Ceca Ražnatović :: Ljubav Zivi
Svetlana Ceca Ražnatović :: Poziv
Sources
1. http://mixonline.com/recording/mastering/mastering-another-gray-area-1209/index.html
2. http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_hidden_sony_masters/index.html
3. http://www.prosoundnews.com/article/26688
4. http://www.zeitgeistsound.com
5. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p321268
6. Recording Magazine, April, 2010