According to Rothschild, the presence of this building in state and national registries cannot prevent future owners from tampering with or demolishing the building. To obtain that protection, Sickler applied for a conservation easement. It is attached to the property certificate and includes regular inspections. It also cost $ 10,000, and Sickler said the studio’s recent recording work has raised enough money to cover property taxes. That’s close to $ 40,000 a year.
One of the decisions that Sickler and future operators will face is to stick to jazz or open up the studio to other types of music. Of course, jazz was Van Gelder’s great passion and the purpose of designing the facility. But even at its peak, the space was also used for blues, folk music, polka, and spoken words. The first recording session in July 1959 took place at the West Point Cadet Glee Club.
Having been devoted to the classical jazz repertoire for decades, Don Sickler said he liked to stick to acoustic jazz and dismissed the idea of recording Broadway cast albums and rock’n’roll. (Weezer’s latest album “OK Human”, released in early 2021, recorded a string section at Van Gelder Studio.)
Batiste also urged Sicklers to hold jazz firmly. “It would actually be right to pierce their guns that it was acoustic music and make it an outlier of culture,” he said.
Sickler is more open-minded about the potential of Van Gelder Studio’s future.
“Of course, musicians familiar with the history of the studio and the work of Rudy Van Gelder should have access,” she said. “But the live room loves all the sounds.”