Number 9 Audio Group is a recording studio located in the Cabbagetown area of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada at 222 Gerrard Street East. Number 9 produced the World Jazz For Haiti charity album in 2010, appeared on Much Music's DISBAND in 2008, and recorded Canadian acts

Barenaked Ladies Barenaked Ladies (BNL) is a Canadian Rock music, rock band which was formed in 1988 in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario. The band developed a following in Canada, with their Barenaked Ladies (EP), self-titled 1991 cassette becoming th ...

and

Amanda Marshall Amanda Meta Marshall (born August 29, 1972) is a Canadian Juno award winning pop-rock singer and songwriter. She has released four studio albums; the first was certified diamond in Canada, with the second and third certified 3× platinum and p ...

in the 1990s, while they were still emerging artists.

History

Number 9 Audio Group was founded in 1981 by George Rondina, who continues to operate the studio to this day. The title of the studio is a nod towards the Beatles'

Revolution 9 "Revolution 9" is a sound collage from the Beatles' 1968 self-titled double album (also known as the "White Album"). The composition, credited to Lennon–McCartney, was created primarily by John Lennon with assistance from Yoko Ono and George ...

. The recording studio is currently housed with a renovated Victorian building, featuring two live rooms, a single control room and small production lab. In 2010, Number 9 Audio Group was profiled by

Canadian Musician ''Canadian Musician'' was a Canadian magazine that was published bi-monthly by Norris-Whitney Communications Inc. The magazine closed in 2023. History and profile ''Canadian Musician'' was launched by Jim Norris in Toronto in 1979. The premier i ...

magazine due to its long history in the Canadian music industry.

Beginnings (Number 9 Sound Studios)

After touring extensively as a keyboardist during the 1970s, George Rondina decided to make a career change to producer/engineer. He took $500 of his savings and opened up the first incarnation of Number 9 Sound Studios in the back of a local record shop. The studio grew quickly and took on a variety of clients from the Toronto area. As business picked up George formed a partnership with Jim Zolis to further grow the studio. They switched locations to a basement studio on Jarvis street in Toronto, in order to better serve their increasingly metropolitan clients. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s Number 9 welcomed artists such as

Jane Siberry Jane Siberry ( ; ; born 12 October 1955) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, known for such hits as "Mimi on the Beach", "I Muse Aloud", "One More Colour" and "Calling All Angels (Jane Siberry song), Calling All Angels". She performed the theme so ...

The Nylons The Nylons were an a cappella group founded in 1978 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, best known for their covers of pop songs such as The Turtles' " Happy Together", Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye", and The Tokens' "The Lion Sleeps Tonight ...

The Waltons ''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural mountainous Western Virginia of the Appalachian Mountains / Allegheny Mountains / Blue Ridge Mountains chain, during the economic hardships and mass unemp ...

and

Jeff Healey Norman Jeffrey Healey (March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008) was a Canadian blues, rock and jazz guitarist, singer and songwriter who attained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. He reached No. 5 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart with " Ang ...

through their doors.

Number 9 Audio Group

Although the studio had gained great popularity by the mid 1990s - earning multiple

Juno Awards The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's music industry. The Grammy Awards are the United S ...

and Gold Records - the two partners decided to go their separate ways in 1996. George went on to build the business that is now known as Number 9 Audio Group, while Jim founded his own company entitled Zolis Audio Productions. The business continued to flourish throughout the 1990s and 2000s, working with an eclectic mix of clients including

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

and

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

. In 2006 the studio moved into a new location; a renovated Victorian home in the core of downtown Toronto, which it occupies to this day.

disBAND

On Monday August 25, 2009, Much Music came to Number 9 to film an episode of their popular show disBAND. The featured band for the episode was pop duo Karamel, who recorded with head engineer Bernie Cisternas with the assistance of

Treble Charger Treble Charger is a Canadian rock band formed in 1992 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, consisting of vocalist and guitarist Greig Nori, vocalist and guitarist Bill Priddle, bassist Rosie Martin and drummer Richard Mulligan. They began with a melo ...

frontman Greg Nori. Although the recording session was a success, Karamel received a "thumbs down" from the disBand jury at the episode's climax.

World Jazz For Haiti

Following the

2010 Haiti earthquake The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake that struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (departm ...

, George Rondina worked in tandem with producer/musician George Koller to produce the World Jazz For Haiti charity album. Over the course of six months the duo recorded a variety of Canadian talent at Number 9 Audio Group, including John McDermott,

Holly Cole Holly Cole (born November 25, 1963) is a Canadian jazz singer and actress. For many years she performed with her group The Holly Cole Trio. Background Cole was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her father, Leon Cole, was a note ...

David Clayton-Thomas David Clayton-Thomas (born David Henry Thomsett, 13 September 1941) is a Grammy Award-winning Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the American band Blood, Sweat & Tears. Clayton-Thomas began his musi ...

and many more. After months of work the album was released at a fundraiser event at Hugh's Room in Toronto. All profits from the album sales and release party went towards the Red Cross' disaster relief fund.

Present Day

Number 9 Audio Group continues to operate as a full-service recording studio to this day. Asides from the usual audio activities, the studio works towards promoting its charity projects and diversifying its client base.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Number 9 Audio Group

World Jazz For Haiti
Recording studios in Canada Music of Toronto Companies established in 1981