James Cruz started his career in 1995 at The Hit Factory during its "golden age" under the tutelage of Tom Coyne, Chris Gehringer and Herb Powers Jr. While there he mastered records for artists such as Lil' Kim, Toni Braxton, Mary Mary, Maxwell and Outkast. After The Hit Factory, James moved to Sony Studios as a senior mastering engineer. There he worked on artists such as Natasha Bedingfield, Calle 13 and Lil Wayne. He also gained an international following with clients from Serbia, England, Australia and Japan. In 2008 James opened Zeitgeist Sound Studios in Long Island City, New York. It's here that he won his first Latin Grammy for mastering "Los De Atras Vienen Conmigo" by Calle 13. In 2011 The album "Entren Los Que Quieran" by Calle 13 was mastered by James Cruz and won a record setting 9 Latin Grammys including Album of the year.
Awards
Latin Grammy: Calle 13- Album Of The Year "Entren Los Que Quieran" 2011 Grammy: Calle 13- Best Latin Rock/Alt/Urban Album "Los De Atras Vienen Conmigo" 2009 Grammy: Mary Mary- Best Gospel Song "God In Me" 2009 Latin Grammy: Calle 13- Album Of The Year 2009 "Los De Atras Vienen Conmigo" Grammy: Mary Mary- Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album "Thankful" 2000 Latin Grammy: Calle 13- Best Urban Music Album "Residente O Visitante" 2007
Credits
James has mastered over 400 albums, many of them winning either a gold or platinum certification. Some of note are: Calle 13 :: Entren Los Que Quieran Calle 13 :: Residente O Visitante Calle 13 :: Los De Atras Vienen Conmigo Mary Mary :: The Sound Beyoncé :: Above And Beyoncé Tye Tribbett & G.A. :: Stand Out Tye Tribbett & G.A. :: Victory Live! Lil' Kim :: Hard Core Montell Jordan :: Get It On...Tonight Lil Wayne :: Tha Block Is Hot Juvenile :: Tha G Code Juvenile :: 400 Degreez Big Tymers :: I Got That Work Lil Wayne :: Lights Out Mary Mary :: Thankful Three-6 Mafia :: Da Unbreakables Wu-Tang Clan :: W Mary Mary :: Incredible Lyfe Jennings :: Lyfe 268-192 Mary Mary :: Mary Mary Miligram :: Miligram 2 Miligram :: Miligram 3 Miligram :: Magnetic Three-6 Mafia :: Most Known Unknown Natasha Bedingfied :: Unwritten Nina Simone :: Remixed & Reimagined Men Of Standard :: Surrounded Svetlana Ceca Ražnatović :: Ljubav Zivi Svetlana Ceca Ražnatović :: Poziv
