George Roberts (musician)

George Mortimer Roberts (born March 22, 1928 in Des Moines , Iowa , † September 27, 2014 in Fallbrook , California ) was an American studio and jazz trombonist .

Live and act

Roberts did military service in the US Navy; he then studied at the American Operatic Lab in Los Angeles . He gained his first experience in the big band Gene Krupa and His Orchestra ; During this time he switched from the trombone to the bass trombone . In the early 1950s he was bass trombonist in the Stan Kenton Orchestra, a. a. heard on his album New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm (1952). As a session musician, he worked in the Los Angeles studios as a busy session musician ; In the course of his fifty-year career he has participated in around 6,000 recording sessions, including a. with Frank Sinatra , Dean Martin , Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald ( Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook 1956) under the arranger Nelson Riddle . It was Roberts' bass trombone that helped make the sound of the Nelson Riddle Orchestra recognizable, especially heard in Frank Sinatra's vocal numbers I've Got You Under My Skin and Hidden Persuasion . Roberts also recorded two albums under his own name; the second Bottoms Up ( Columbia Records , 1960) worked alongside Joe Mondragon (bass) and Shelly Manne (drums) John Williams as arranger and pianist.

Roberts was also employed as a studio musician on some of Williams' film scores, such as Jaws (1975) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977); he also worked with Lalo Schifrin ( Kobra, take over , Mannix ). Roberts has also appeared on television shows such as the Rosemary Clooney Show and the Dinah Shore Show; he also played at the inauguration of US President John F. Kennedy in 1961. In the jazz field, he was involved in over 400 recording sessions between 1952 and 2008, including a. also at Buddy DeFranco , Billy Eckstine , Harry James , Marty Paich , Bing Crosby , Buddy Bregman , Peggy Lee , Woody Herman , Keely Smith , Patti Page , Skip Martin , Benny Carter , Jackie Davis , The Four Freshmen , Glen Gray , June Christy , Louie Bellson , Dave Pell , Nancy Wilson , Pete Rugolo , Frank Capp , Cal Tjader , Jonah Jones , Neal Hefti , Shorty Rogers , Earl Hines , Billy May , Mel Tormé , Erroll Garner , Frankie Randall , Si Zentner , Junior Mance , Johnny Hodges , Henry Mancini , Bud Shank , Carmen McRae , Chet Baker , Joe Williams , Sarah Vaughan , Ray Charles , The Singers Unlimited, and Ray Anthony . He has also been a member of the International Trombone Association for many years and gave its name to the George Roberts Bass Trombone Competition . Roberts, who had multiple sclerosis , died in late September 2014 at the age of 86 of complications from pneumonia .

Discographic notes

• Meet Mr. Roberts - George Roberts and His Big Bass Trombone with Frank DeVol and His Orchestra (Columbia 1959)

Web links

• George Roberts at Allmusic (English)
• George Roberts at Discogs (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Obituary (Hollywood Reporter)
2. ↑ ^{a b c} obituary (English)
3. ^ Obituary in Hollywood Reporter
4. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from October 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ↑ Tom Lord The Jazz Discography (online, accessed October 3, 2014)