Fantasy Studios, 10th and Parker, Berkeley, CA

Fantasy Records and its subsidiary, Galaxy, were established in San Francisco, California, in 1949 by Max and Sol Weiss. The first artist on the label was Dave Brubeck.[2] With help from profits earned from his records the label went on to record Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, Cal Tjader and Vince Guaraldi.[3] In addition to musical acts, the label recorded beat poets Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Allen Ginsberg and comic Lenny Bruce.

Creedence Clearwater Revival and expansion

Saul Zaentz, who joined Fantasy Records as a salesman in 1955, assembled a group of investors in 1967 and purchased the label from the Weiss brothers. In 1968 Fantasy Records signed Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), who soon became extremely profitable for the label. Within eighteen months, twenty of CCR’s singles made Billboard Hot 100 list and nine were consecutive Top 10 singles in the US. The band also earned 21 RIAA-certified gold or platinum records with total sales of over 100 million worldwide.  These successes for CCR made Fantasy the most profitable independent record company in the U.S. and directly resulted in the expansion of Fantasy Records.

In 1971 Fantasy Records relocated to Berkeley, California. In addition to a lobby area, the building included a sauna, an exercise room and a lunch room, which until 1981 was catered daily by Narsai’s Restaurant in Kensington. The sauna and exercise room were later rebuilt for other purposes. In the early 1970s, under the leadership of label president Ralph Kaffel, Fantasy Records purchased the catalogs of three independent jazz labels: Prestige, Riverside (established in 1953 by Bill Grauer and Orrin Keepnews) and Milestone, which Keepnews started in 1966 after the demise of Riverside. After the acquisitions the company became known as “Fantasy Inc.”

Recording Studios

Fantasy Records built Fantasy Studios to accommodate its growing roster, which remained primarily jazz artists but included some in rock, soul and disco. The building went up at 10th and Parker Streets in the western industrial area of Berkeley. Because of the source of funding, it was nicknamed “The House That Creedence Built.” Fantasy was the most profitable independent record company in the U.S.  Jim Stern, who had served as producer for the Sons of Champlin and Van Morrison, was chief engineer from 1974 until 1981.

Jesse Osborn was another early engineer along with Eddie Bill Harris and Don Cody. In 1980, Fantasy Records hired a new Studio Director, Roy Segal. One of Segal’s first initiatives was to the addition of Studio D, as well as upgrading the acoustical treatment and equipment in the existing studios.  Such upgrades included removing carpet from the studio floors and installing bass traps and tiling for the walls in an effort to acoustically tune the rooms. Equipment upgrades included replacing the original consoles in Studios A and C with Neve 8108s and a Trident in Studio B.

Studio Changes and Expansion

In 1982, Segal was asked to manage the three-year-old Saul Zaentz Film Center, at which point he brought in Nina Bombardier to manage the studios. Bombardier started with Fantasy in 1973 as a receptionist, then moved to manage the Record Plant in Sausalito. She served as the director of Fantasy Studios from 1982 to 2007. In addition to recording music, Fantasy Studios saw clients in the film, television, gaming and audio book industries for additional dialog recording sessions.

All studios were ISDN-compatible, providing full-frequency audio and real-time connectivity to other recording studios around the world. There were two full-time mastering engineers on site: George Horn and Joe Tarantino.  Over his career, Horn remixed or remastered albums by artists such as Charles Mingus, The Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Santana. Joe Tarantino mastered albums by artists such as Stan Getz, Sonny Rollins, Dave Brubeck, Charlie Parker and Miles Davis.

Ownership changes and closure

Concord Records acquired Fantasy in late 2004 and the two labels merged to form Concord Music Group. Concord Music Group owned the studios through 2007, at which point the new owners of the Saul Zaentz Media Center, Wareham Property Group, purchased the studios.  The role of Studio Director was filled by music producer Jeffrey Wood upon Bombardier’s departure.  Staff engineers at the time were Adam Muñoz, Jesse Nichols and Alberto Hernandez. In 2018 Wareham Property Group decided to permanently close the studios. (text courtesy of Wikepedia)

Piano Finders Society History Museum Project Connections:

1952 Steinway D Concert Grand #338662 Piano Installation from Sept 18-Oct 5, 2018 at Fantasy Studios at 2600 Tenth St, Berkeley, CA 94710. 1973 Yamaha 9’ Grand #1643700 AKA McCoy Tyner Piano Rebuilt by Kendall Ross Bean and Installed at Fantasy Studios at 2600 Tenth St, Berkeley, CA 94710 from Apr 7, 2010 to Oct 5, 2022, 1979 Yamaha 7’4” Grand #2970196 AKA Bill Evans Piano Rebuilt by Kendall Ross Bean and Installed at Fantasy Studios at 2600 Tenth St, Berkeley, CA 94710 from Aug 6, 2018 to Oct 5, 2022. Yamaha 7’4” Grand AKA George Winston Piano.  Rebuilt by Kendall Ross Bean and Installed at Fantasy Studios at 2600 Tenth St, Berkeley, CA Two Weeks Inside Studio D Recording Sessions  Sept 17-29, 2018 Two Weeks Inside Studio D Music Album Limited Run for KCSM 91.1 Jazz Two Weeks Inside Studio D Film by Michael J. Kofford.

The Piano Connection

In descending chronological order