Jim Linkner looks back on his long career in the Hawaii recording industry

Originally from Buffalo, N.Y., Jim Linkner was recently out of the Army when he came to Hawaii in 1968 to open a food brokerage company for a wealthy entrepreneur. From there he started his own business with another partner. When irreconcilable differences ended the partnership, Linkner walked away from a six-figure income to follow his heart and work in the music industry.

He started on that path by working as a manager at Records Hawaii. One of the owners, John Leonard, was also a concert promoter. Before long, Linkner was working backstage with artists such as Janis Joplin, Buddy Miles and Carlos Santana.

In the five decades since that change of career, Linkner became a major figure in the Hawaii recording industry as a studio engineer, record producer and event promoter. He served a term as president of the Hawai‘i Academy of Recording Arts, and has received 17 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards for his work with artists including Olomana and Keali‘i Reichel.

While still recovering from surgery for circulatory problems, Linkner, 76, sat down recently for an interview at the Elks Lodge in Waikiki.

Looking back at 50 years in the music business, if someone said, “I want to do what he does,” what do they need to know?

When I engineer, I want to put the listener in a (special) place. There’s got to be a “wow factor,” not just clean (sound). Learning how to do that is nothing you can be taught. You have to try it and see if you can get it. The job is definitely not a 9-to-5. It’s all about groove. Once that happens, you can find yourself working on something at 1 o’clock in the morning. You just do it because you love it and you see talent.

What are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen?

The first song I recorded with Keali‘i (Reichel) was “Wanting Memories.” He did the vocals the first day and a little of the percussion the first day, and it was pretty evident that the vocals were really sweet. So I got in my car, and I called Mike Kelly, who had just become manager of (Hawaiian radio station) KCCN, and I said, “Mike, you gotta hear this.” So I met Mike and we listened to the cassette in the car, and he liked it — it wasn’t even a finished recording — and 45 minutes later it’s on KCCN. Those were the days when you had disc jockeys who could decide what to play. Now you have national programming consultants looking at a bunch of statistics and deciding what is going to be played. It’s like saying, “One flavor of pasta is the biggest seller so no more of the rest.”

What is one of your most memorable music business experiences?

One of the first two albums I bought, when I was 15 or 16, was “Time Out,” the Dave Brubeck album with “Take Five” and “Blue Rondo a la Turk.” Years later I met him here in Hawaii — I’d met his sons, Darius and Chris, several years before that, and they introduced us. He invited me to join them for dinner with (jazz trombonist) Trummy Young at the Hanohano Room, and then the next day he visited me at the recording studio. We had a piano in the studio, and we were talking about music, and he asked me if there was anything I would like him to play. So there I am, sitting next to Dave Brubeck on the piano bench, listening to him playing “Blue Rondo a la Turk,” my favorite song from one of the first albums I ever bought!

What is something that might surprise people who know you as a Hoku Award-winning record industry figure?

I don’t write or read music, and I am also an Elk and I was Exalted Ruler (president of the Elks Lodge) twice. We do a lot for handicapped children. That’s probably the most rewarding thing I do.

What’s next for you?

At 76, I am probably done. I lost one leg and the other one is just recovering from 25 operations — I have a great doctor who decided to save the other foot — so I can mix (recordings), but running in and out of the control room is not going to be happening.

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Reach John Berger at jberger@staradvertiser.com.