Producer/engineer Bill Smith's resume lists such albums as Frank Sinatra's Duets I & II, Quincy Jones' Juke Joint, as well as albums by Diana Krall and Dr. John. He often collaborates with engineering greats Al Schmitt and Elliot Scheiner. Smith began his professional music career as a musician. He became enthralled with audio engineering and started out as a delivery person for Secret Sound in his native New York. His big break came when he was offered an engineering job with singer Lou Reed. During the mid-'80s he did sessions with C&C Music Factory. Trekking west, Smith persevered a became a staff engineer at Cherokee Studios, doing sessions with producers Richard Perry and Trevor Horn and singers Ray Charles,Rod Stewart, and Art Garfunkel. In the early '90s, Capitol Studios' Michael Frondelli, another former New Yorker, recommended Smith to Al Schmitt as an engineering assistant. Smith was able to benefit greatly from Schmitt's 40 years of experience. Smith earned a 1996 Best Engineered Album Grammy nomination worked with Elliot Scheiner for Toto's Tambu. ~ Ed Hogan