​​MUSIC PRODUCTION

​​​The Kitchen Sink

The Kitchen Sink

“I've worked with Jono mastering many of his projects for over 20 years, and I know when he calls, the music, performance, and production will be at a high level. And he's fun to work and hang with. Whether it's his own music, or productions with Tao Seeger, John Popper, Jaime Michaels, or the many Italian artists he works with, he sets the bar high. I'm privileged to work with him and call him my friend.”  - David Glasser (Three-time Grammy Winner / Chief Engineer – Airshow Mastering)

The Sketches "Jogi" - Produced, Recorded and Mixed and Mastered

by Jono Manson

Every time I walk into the Kitchen Sink, it’s like a big sigh of relief, a homecoming.Hundreds of Instruments, great photos, goofy stickers, waded-up song lyrics, and wires wires wires everywhere and…enough coffee for armies. The perfect place and climate to make music. I’ve cut a lot of songs with Jono and started our family album BLOOD SUCKING MANIACS with him at the board.Working with him was a great experience for all of us and set the tone for the whole record. Jono is a true heart, dear friend and extraordinary musician and engineer. I’m honored to know him and to have worked with him.

- Terry Allen ( Singer-Songwriter and Visual Artist )

Selections from various albums by Italy's GANG, Produced, Recorded and Mixed by Jono Manson 2014 - 2024

We did some work on this track for our pal

​Ray Wylie Hubbard:

"If you're gonna make a record, you’re gonna want a magician, a sage, a listener and a partner (Jono Manson !). I’ve always been of the mind that the process should also be kept as simple as possible, as “live’ as it can be- but, that’s me. I’ve spent several days in Jono’s studio— Down an alley, adobe, Sante Fe ! Green chilies.
Recording, gambling, eating good local take-out, throwing ideas back and forth. Give and take. Jono is quick on the things you want to have done quickly, and he’s all about taking a long breath with the rest of it. He has a gifted ear, a remarkable finesse with the technology, and a musician’s sensibility. He’s good with a cardboard box and brushes on short notice— or a stack of newspapers to play with sticks. I needed the right harmony on two songs…? Well, the best option is sitting right there in the engineer’s chair. Nailed it- better than I could have imagined. And that’s true of many of the things we did- the hills we climbed.  So far, we’ve partnered up on a single -BROKEN TRUTH- the #1 Song of the Year on Folk Radio (2024), and my brand new album (Bones of Trees). I recommend him highly. I stand on a table, a ladder, the highest rooftop, and I say to you: WORK WITH JONO MANSON at The Kitchen Sink Studio. He will help you make magic."

- Tim Grimm (Singer/Songwriter)

"We've had the pleasure of working at The Kitchen Sink with Jono Manson, twice…so far.  It’s a great studio. It’s easy to feel comfortable and play well in the tracking room and Jono is a master engineer with a pleasant temperament. We’ve really enjoyed our time in Santa Fe and hope it’s not long before we get out there again." - Greg Loiacono and Tim Bluhm (The Mother Hips)

Crystal Bowersox "He Calls Me Angel" - Recorded LIVE and Mixed by Jono Manson

‘It’s hard to explain the joy at finding Jono soon after moving to Santa Fe. One of the things I was expecting to miss leaving LA was access to a great, beautifully equipped studio. Fears immediately evaporated! Jono’s set up is world class, a beautiful space, and best of all, run by Mr Jono Manson; a musician, producer, and deeply awesome dude. I love working at The Kitchen Sink with him, he is a superb artistic guide working in a rad space, and I hope to keep making music here for many years to come."  - KT Tunstall (Recording Artist)

Recent Release: GANG - Ritorno al Fuoco

"It's no secret that Jono Manson is a brilliant musician, with a long and storied career. What may be less known is that he's a top shelf engineer and producer. He works hard and fast and keeps morale high. His ears are sharp and his ideas fresh. He's generous and selfless, knowing when to steer and when to lay back. I consider myself lucky to get to work beside him.” David Berkeley (Recording Artist / Author / Sons of Town Hall))

Music Production in Santa Fe, NM

"Jono Manson has served many roles for me through out my musical career:  a mentor, as well as a brilliant producer, engineer, perhaps most consistently, among the most prolific songwriters I've gotten a chance to work with. His catalogue of work is as vast as the stars in the sky on a clear night in the high desert and his reputation as being able to craft a bridge in any song has become legend. All of these talents have made him a producer of unique mastery, capable of connecting to any given artist with a particular focus on making them sound like the best, or rather truest version of themselves...And I will never truly be able to overstate his musical abilities." 

- John Popper (Grammy-winning frontman for Blues Traveler)

John Popper "The Wayward Rambler" - Produced, Recorded, Mixed and 

Words and Music by Jono Manson

Robert Mirabal

KT Tunstall "Clueless" - Recorded and Mixed by Jono Manson

Photo: Mark Berndt

Shawn Camp in the Studio

“The first time I heard Jono Manson’s music was in the film "The Postman", and his song Almost Home felt like a familiar echo, like an old friend I hadn’t met yet. When we first connected over email, I discovered not just an extraordinary musician and producer but a brave, open-hearted soul. Our friendship took us across continents—from Jamshoro to Santa Fe, from Karachi to Tharparkar—where we shared music, meals, family, and stories, weaving a bond beyond borders.
Working with Jono on our album YOU was an unforgettable adventure. In his studio, music was alive—fearless, raw, and full of possibility. He is more than a collaborator; he is a brother in sound and spirit, someone who makes you believe in the power of a song. I am grateful for his friendship and the countless melodies we’ve shared, knowing there are many more to come.” -  Saif Samejo (Musician/Activist, "The Sketches" - Jamshoro Pakistan)

Jono Manson has produced albums for Grammy winners and local heroes, American Idol finalists and Folksingers, Italian pop stars and Pakistani Sufi folk-rockers. 

“Jono is for us, for Sandro and I, the “third” Gang. The third Brother. For us, having met him on the infinite "Song Lines" was and remains the “kiss on the forehead of Fortune”. With Jono, the desire to make records, to record our songs, returned. A desire that had run out before meeting him a recording silence that had lasted for a good 14 years! Jono was able to “resuscitate us”, to bring back that passion and desire to make records. I have never found in any of the many musicians and various producers, with whom we have played and collaborated in about 40 years of our career (no offense to anyone, but it's like this..), someone like Jono. Someone with whom we have the right feeling in common, the perfect understanding, that common pleasure in building a song. I don't think it's just a question of shared background, of common musical loves but of Zen! Jono is a guru as a producer, he has rare and precious qualities such as humility, respect, understanding, devotion. I would say that it is more about Values ​​and Principles than simply qualities. Jono is a KING for his attitude to put himself at the service of the Good, to do the Good for the GOOD. All this goes beyond the simple job, work, or profession. Jono is above all and more than Everything a great BEAUTIFUL Person. And I thank the Gods of Rock’n’Roll every day for having made me meet him on My Path. In our history today I can say that there was a time, the one before, and a time after Jono Manson, the one who made the DIFFERENCE!“ - Marino Severini, GANG

“The time I spent collaborating with and working alongside Jono Manson has helped me grow exponentially as an artist.  He is a talented fellow who is committed and utterly motivated to create, and beautify the sound waves of the world."   -  Crystal Bowersox (Recording Artist / “American Idol” Finalist)

“Jono is a professional.  In a world where professionals, especially the self-made, blaze their own trail kind are in rare evidence, run (or crawl) for the chance to work with him.  As a producer Jono's work ethic and broad ranging abilities will serve, as all true collaborators do, to make you look and sound better. He might even lend you a pair of red jeans.  Jono is a true blue, sweetheart of a guy whose depth and knowledge of musical possibilities run very deep.  He has honed his voice through the joy of expression, the streets of desperation and the knowledge of inspiration.”  - Donald Rubinstein (Film Composer / Songwriter / Visual Artist)

David Berkeley session

"Working with Jono presents a comfort zone that is immeasurable. His knowledge and ability to get the best out of you as an artist is priceless." - Jay Boy Adams (Songwriter / Recording Artist)

"I have been working closely with Jono Manson since 2001. In that time we have recorded and released 12 albums and are now working on our 13th collaboration, and once again Jono will do what he always does, make all his production decisions based on one thing, “what is good for the song’? Three of these albums won "album of the year" at the New Mexico Music Awards in 2011, 2014 and 2017 respectively.  In all this time I have found Jono to be the ultimate professional both as a producer and especially, as a studio engineer.  He has an enviable work ethic, total respect for his artists, a great ear for production and he knows his gear inside and out and makes the best use of it.  I would highly recommend him to anyone seeking either a producer or a studio." Jaime Michaels (Recording Artist)

Jono Manson:  Producer, Recording Engineer, Mixer, Songwriter, Consultant, Educator

A lifetime dedicated to making music, enabling others to do so, and building community though advocacy and activism

An accomplished audio engineer and producer, Jono is also a prolific singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and master storyteller

who started his first band at age seven and never looked back. During a storied career spanning over five decades he has played everywhere from the local dive to Madison Square Garden and has amassed an impressive discography that includes major label and indie releases on three continents. 

“When it comes to musicianship, production, writing, jamming out lyrics and arranging my concepts into recorded songs, producing them, and mixing them down for final master, there is no one that I trust and enjoy working with more than, Jono Manson.”  - Gary Farmer (Musician / Actor “Dead Man”, “Smoke Signals”, “Powwow Highway”)