{{short description|American recording engineer and studio owner (1926–2014)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = Cosimo Matassa | image = Cosimo Matassa - J&M Studio building - New Orleans.jpg | caption = Matassa in front of J&M Studio building | birth_name = Cosimo Vincent Matassa | birth_date = {{Birth date|1926|4|13}} | birth_place = New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2014|9|11|1926|4|13}} | death_place = New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | other_names = | occupation = Recording engineer, {{nowrap|music studio}} owner | known_for = J&M Recording Studio | notable_works = | awards = Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Blues Hall of Fame, Grammy Trustees Award }} '''Cosimo Vincent Matassa''' (April 13, 1926 – September 11, 2014) was an American recording engineer and studio owner, responsible for many R&B and early rock and roll recordings.
==Life and career== Matassa was born in New Orleans in 1926.<ref name=amg>{{cite web|last=Unterberger |first=Richie |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/cosimo-matassa-mn0000124190 |title=Cosimo Matassa – Music Biography, Credits and Discography |publisher=AllMusic |date=1926-04-13 |access-date=2013-03-06}}</ref><ref name=liner>Komorowski, Adam. Liner notes. ''The Cosimo Matassa Story'' (CD).</ref> In 1944 he began studies as a chemistry major at Tulane University, which he abandoned after completing five semesters of course work.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/14/arts/music/cosimo-matassa-whose-studio-birthed-a-rock-n-roll-sound-dies-at-88.html?ref=obituaries|title=Cosimo Matassa, Whose Studio Created a Rock 'n' Roll Sound, Dies at 88|work=New York Times|date=September 12, 2014|author=Martin, Douglas}}</ref> In 1945, at the age of 18, Matassa opened the '''J&M Recording Studio''' at the back of his family's shop on Rampart Street, on the border of the French Quarter in New Orleans.<ref name=amg /> In 1955, he moved to the larger '''Cosimo Recording Studio''' on Gov. Nichols Street, nearby in the French Quarter.<ref name=amg /><ref name="Hall of Fame (Matassa)">{{cite web|title=Cosimo Matassa|url=https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/cosimo-matassa|website=www.rockhall.com|publisher=Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum|access-date=14 August 2017}}</ref>
Nola Records, New Orleans-based record label, was having constant distribution problems.<ref name="Broven">{{cite book | first= John| last= Broven| year= 1978| title= Walking to New Orleans: The Story of New Orleans Rhythm and Blues| edition= 3rd| publisher= Pelican Publishing| location= Gretna, Louisiana| isbn= 0-88289-433-1| url= https://openlibrary.org/books/OL8179083M/Rhythm_and_Blues_in_New_Orleans}}</ref> In 1965, he founded his national distribution company, '''Dover Records'''. His goal was to act as the distributor of numerous of local and regional record labels in order to provide a way for the music of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast to be heard by a wider audience.<ref name="ACW">{{cite web |author=The Ponderosa Stomp Foundation |title=Jazz City Studio |url=https://acloserwalknola.com/places/jazz-city-studio/ |website=A Closer Walk |publisher=WWOZ |access-date=February 27, 2026 |date=May 31, 2017}}</ref> In an effort to create a "one-stop shop," by 1967, Matassa relocated Cosimo Recording Studios from Gov. Nichols Street to what is now known as Jazz City Studio on Camp Street, now occupied by the New Orleans Zen Temple. This building also served as the head office of '''Superior Plastics''', Matassa's vinyl record-pressing plant. His production company became the home of producers like Wardell Quezergue and Eddie Bo.<ref name="ACW"/> One label, Axe Records, founded by Al Reed, made record "99 44/100 Pure Love" with regional success. Per Reed, Dover distributed an upwards of 25 labels, including his own and Art, Debt, Eight Ball, White Cliffs, and others.<ref name="Broven"/>
As an engineer and proprietor, Matassa was crucial to the development of the sound of R&B, rock and soul of the 1950s and 1960s, often working with the producers Dave Bartholomew and Allen Toussaint. He recorded many hits, including Fats Domino’s "The Fat Man" (a contender for the first rock and roll record), Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti", and records by Ray Charles, Lee Dorsey, Dr. John, Smiley Lewis, Bobby Mitchell, Tommy Ridgley, the Spiders and many others. He was responsible for developing what became known as the New Orleans sound, with strong drums, heavy guitar and bass, heavy piano, light horns and a strong vocal lead. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Matassa also managed the successful white New Orleans rock-and-roll performer Jimmy Clanton.<ref>''Billboard'', May 23, 1960. p. 30.</ref>
Matassa is interviewed on screen in the 2005 documentary film ''Make It Funky!'', which presents a history of New Orleans music and its influence on rhythm and blues, rock and roll, funk and jazz.<ref name="IAJE">{{cite journal |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=April 2005 |title=IAJE What's Going On |journal=Jazz Education Journal |location=Manhattan, Kansas |publisher=International Association of Jazz Educators |volume=37 |issue=5 |page=87 |issn=1540-2886 |id={{ProQuest|1370090}} }}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |date=2005 |title=Make It Funky! |type=DVD |language=en |time= |location=Culver City, California |publisher=Sony Pictures Home Entertainment |id=11952 |isbn=9781404991583 |oclc=61207781}}</ref>
Matassa retired from the music business in the 1980s to manage the family's food store, Matassa's Market, in the French Quarter.<ref name="Legend">{{cite web|url=http://www.bestofneworleans.com/blogofneworleans/archives/2014/09/11/new-orleans-sound-legend-cosimo-matassa-has-died|title="New Orleans sound" Legend Cosimo Matassa Has Died|publisher=Bestofneworleans.com|access-date=2014-09-13}}</ref> He died on September 11, 2014, aged 88, in New Orleans.<ref name=nola>[http://www.nola.com/music/index.ssf/2014/09/cosimo_matassa_new_orleans_rec.html Spera, Keith. "Cosimo Matassa, New Orleans Recording Studio Owner, Engineer and Rock 'n' Roll Pioneer, Has Died"]. ''Times-Picayune'', September 11, 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.</ref>
==Awards and honors== In December 1999, J&M Recording Studio was designated as a historic landmark.<ref name="Legend"/>
In October 2007, Matassa was honored for his contributions to Louisiana music with induction into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. In the same year he was also given a Grammy Trustees Award.<ref>{{cite web| title= Cosimo Matassa Dies: Engineer and Recording Academy Trustees Award Recipient Dies at 88 | date= September 11, 2014 |url= http://www.grammy.com/news/cosimo-matassa-dies| publisher= Grammy.com | access-date=2014-09-12}}</ref>
On September 24, 2010, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum designated J&M Recording Studio a historic Rock and Roll Landmark, one of 11 nationwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nola.com/music/index.ssf/2010/09/cosimo_matassas_jm_recording_s.html |title=Cosimo Matassa's J&M Recording Studio Named Rock and Roll Landmark |publisher=NOLA.com |access-date=2013-03-06}}</ref>
In 2012, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland as a nonperformer.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16067120 |title=Guns n' Roses Inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=2011-12-07 |access-date=2013-03-06}}</ref> He was inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame in 2013.<ref name="BHOF">{{cite web|url=https://www.blues.org/#ref=index|title=2013 Blues Hall of Fame Inductees Announced|publisher=Blues.org|access-date=2013-03-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101026014126/https://blues.org/#ref=index|archive-date=October 26, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==See also== * Italians in New Orleans
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|2280216}} * {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=cosimo-matassa-mn0000124190}} * {{Discogs artist|648104|Cosimo Matassa}} * [http://mattsakakeeny.com/cosimo-matassa/ "Cosimo Matassa" by Matthew Sakakeeny, 2003], at ''Roll With It'' * [https://acloserwalknola.com/places/jm-recording-studio/ J&M Recording Studio], curated by Ponderosa Stomp Foundation * [http://hnoc.minisisinc.com/thnoc/catalog/3/17672 Oral History Interview with Cosimo Matassa] at [https://www.hnoc.org/ The Historic New Orleans Collection] * [https://nolamusic.net/artists/artist-cosimo-matassa.html Cosimo Matassa] at Nolamusic.net
{{2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame|state=collapsed}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Matassa, Cosimo}} Category:1926 births Category:2014 deaths Category:Record producers from Louisiana Category:American people of Italian descent Category:Businesspeople from New Orleans Category:Tulane University alumni Category:20th-century American businesspeople