Gordon "Commissioner Gordon" Williams

Gordon "Commissioner Gordon" Williams is a music recorder, engineer, and mixer. Dubbed the "Commissioner" by rapper KRS-One, his resume includes multiple Grammy Awards and numerous Gold and Platinum albums.

Music career

Early career

Williams' musical roots can be traced back to the Bronx. As a teenager, he experienced the advent of hip hop as a breakthrough musical genre and culture. He started out as a DJ, and from there delved into song production. He left Rutgers University, and attended New York's Center for Media Arts. After graduating, Williams was signed by an independent record label as a producer and member of a group, which scored a top-five dance record. He then earned a production deal with Motown Records, which led to Williams' emergence as a programmer and re-mixer.

1998–2000

Soon, his credits included projects with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Teddy Riley, Babyface, Stacy Lattisaw, Diana Ross, New Edition, Nile Rodgers and Quincy Jones. In 1998, Williams further extended his creative reach and became Senior Director of A&R at Sony Music Entertainment. During this time, he worked on Lauryn Hill’s solo debut smash, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill [1] and Will Smith’s blockbuster movie and soundtrack Men in Black. His label duties involved looking after the likes of Alicia Keys, Wyclef Jean and 50 Cent.

On The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Williams tied the vocals, music and effects together to help create one of the biggest-selling albums of 1998-1999. The album was critically acclaimed and the "Commissioner" won two Grammys for his work on what was hailed as the Album of the Year. During those years, he was also the live sound mixer for Ms. Hill's world tour.[2][3]

2000–2007

In 2000, Williams won another Grammy Award for participating in the mixing of Carlos Santana's multi-platinum Supernatural (Arista) which also won for Album of the Year. His credits include Joss Stone's multi-platinum Mind Body & Soul, Damian Marley’s Grammy-award-winning Welcome to Jamrock, as well as Amy Winehouse’s critically acclaimed debut album entitled Frank.[4]

In 2007, Williams received an honorary degree from Gibbs College for writing the curriculum for their first audio engineering program. The program was accredited by the state of New Jersey and is currently an accredited associate degree course.

2009–present: The Lalabela Alliance

In 2010, Williams was introduced to Bill Strickland of the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild, and agreed to implement his first program at one of Strickland's replication sites, NewBridge Center for Art and Technology in Cleveland. He has since set up programs in Ohio, New York and New Jersey. Williams is also a professor at Long Island University.

Williams is the founder of the Lalabela Alliance, a multi-faceted collective of companies with various specialties in the development of content, marketing, distribution and education. The Alliance strives to appeal to a wide and culturally diverse demographic producing, marketing and distributing music, film, television, gaming and multimedia content.[5]

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References
  1. Nickson, Chris (1999). Lauryn Hill: She's Got That Thing. St. Martin's Paperbacks. ISBN 0-312-97210-5.
  2. Checkoway, Laura. "Inside 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'". August 26, 2008. Rolling Stones. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  3. Boucher, Geoff. "The Legal Tangle of 'Miseducation'". June 24, 1999. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  4. Campbell, Howard. "'She Did It Well' - Jamaican Musician Reflects On Time Spent Working With Amy Winehouse". July 31, 2011. Jamaica-Gleaner. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  5. Coetzer, Diane. "'Commissioner' Gordon Unveils 360-Degree South African Label". September 4, 2009. Billboard. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
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