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Chanteuse extraordinaire Lyn Stanley was at New York's Avatar Studios (formerly The Power Station) recording songs for her next album Potions, which will consist of '50s era covers. Most distinguished recording engineer/producer Al Schmitt was at the board and yes, the big Studer 24 track you see in the picture was rolling.

Seen in the photo taken in Avatar Studio A, from left to right are Glenn Dewes (trumpet/flugelhorn) Lyn Stanley, recording engineer Al Schmitt, analogplanet.com editor Michael Fremer, Kenny Werner (piano), Johannes Weidenmueller (bass), producer Steve Rawlins, Ari Hoenig (drums) and videographer Stephen Speliotis.

While not every track will be recorded and mixed in the analog domain, many will. Your job will be to determine which are which. Maybe we'll run a contest when the album is released either late this year or early next.

Stanley is recording with Schmitt both at Avatar and at Capitol in Los Angeles.

I was lucky enough to witness two tracks being recorded: "Hey There", first made famous by Rosemary Clooney and "In the Still of the Night"—the one by Fred Parris performed by his group The Five Satins, not the one by Cole Porter.

The drum, bass, piano, trumpet quartet got in the groove and the two tracks were quickly recorded to everyone's satisfaction. Microphones used included AKGs, Shures and on the sweet sounding trumpet a Royer R121 ribbon. Stanley's voice was captured on a Neumann U47.

Schmitt confirmed that Paul McCartney's Kisses on the Bottom, which he of course engineered, was recorded at Capitol on analog tape.

When I told Schmitt I was going to be in Los Angeles next week for a project I can't talk about right now, he told me about one that I also can't talk about that he's about to start mixing next week also recorded "live" to analog tape with everyone in the room the way it used to be done.

He invited me to visit Capitol next week and perhaps sit in for part of the mix if the artist allows. Knowing who the artist is, it's doubtful that will happen but he will definitely arrange a tour of Capitol's studio and perhaps I'll get to see the cutting system Don Was installed there for the Blue Note reissues.

The two tracks Stanley cut today were quite fine. She returns to L.A. to record more for the album, with pianist/arranger Bill Cunliffe.