E-Mail This Article to a Friend TOM DOWD & THE LANGUAGE OF MUSIC

This documentary of Tom Dowd’s life is almost as explosively colorful as the work the recording engineer and producer is known for: classic albums by Dizzy Gillespie, Cream, John Coltrane, the Allman Brothers, Tito Puente, Ray Charles, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and many others. Through vintage footage, re-creations, and the obviously warmhearted Dowd’s own charming narration, director Mark Moormann reveals that the native New Yorker — who died in 2002, at age 77, after this movie was shot — not only had a knack for being exactly where the hippest music or hottest technological breakthrough was happening, he was deeply involved, coaching Eric Clapton on musical ideas, exposing Ray Charles to multi-track recording, developing the faders and equalizers that transformed studio consoles into the machines that captured the sounds of the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. And his genius didn’t extend only to music. During the World War II recording ban, Dowd worked on the Manhattan Project, contributing to the development of the atom bomb. But as testimonials from executives like Atlantic Records chief Ahmet Ertegun and artists including Clapton, Charles, and the Allmans echo, Dowd’s biggest bang was felt in our musical culture, where the shock waves of his work still have a profound effect. (82 minutes)