James Robert Belden (October 31, 1956 – May 20, 2015) was an American saxophonist, arranger, composer, bandleader, and producer. As a composer he may be best known for his Grammy Award winning

orchestral jazz An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ...

recording, ''Black Dahlia'' (2001). As producer, he was mostly associated with the remastering of recordings by trumpeter

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

Biography

Belden, born in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

, grew up in the

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

suburb of Goose Creek. He briefly attended the University of South Carolina where he met composer Jay Knowles who introduced him to the music of

Gil Evans Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian–American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators in jazz, playing an important role ...

. He then studied saxophone and composition at the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...

before joining the

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...

band. He recorded his first album ''Treasure Island'' in 1990. This was followed by a series of adventurous albums featuring jazz-tinged arrangements of contemporary pop songs culminating with ''Black Dahlia'' in 2001. In 2008, he arranged and produced ''

Miles from India ''Miles from India: A Celebration of the Music of Miles Davis'' is a compilation album by various artists released in April 2008 through Times Square Records. Produced by Bob Belden, the album features songs associated with iconic trumpeter Miles D ...

'', a world fusion music recording based on the compositions of

for which he assembled a group made up of Davis alumni and musicians from India. In addition to his work as arranger, composer, conductor and A & R director, Belden contributed numerous liner notes for noted recordings, such as "

Lou's Blues ''Lou's Blues'' is a big band jazz album by saxophonist Lou Marini and the Magic City Jazz Orchestra (MCJO) recorded at Bates Brothers Recording in Hueytown, Alabama (near Birmingham, Alabama). This CD was the first recording as a leader by Ma ...

" by

Lou Marini Louis William Marini Jr. (born May 13, 1945), known as "Blue Lou" Marini, is an American saxophonist, arranger, and composer. He is best known for his work in jazz, rock, blues, and soul music, as well as his association with The Blues Brothers ...

and the

Magic City Jazz Orchestra The Magic City Jazz Orchestra (MCJO) is an American jazz ensemble which was founded in 1999 as a spin-off of the SuperJazz Big Band (formerly UAB SuperJazz) by Birmingham, Alabama jazz pianist and vocalist Ray Reach. The mission of the group is to ...

. Some of his work as the author of liner notes received

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

. In early 2015, Belden became the first American musician in 35 years to bring a band from the USA to perform in Iran. Belden died of a heart attack on May 20, 2015, at

Lenox Hill Hospital Lenox Hill Hospital (LHH) is a nationally ranked 450-bed non-profit, tertiary, research and academic medical center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, servicing the tri-state area. LHH is one of the region's many unive ...

in Manhattan. He was 58.

Discography

As leader

* ''Treasure Island'' ( Sunnyside, 1990) * ''La Cigale'' (Sunnyside, 1990) * ''Straight to My Heart: The Music of Sting'' (

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

, 1991) * ''When the Doves Cry: The Music of Prince'' (Metro Blue, 1994) * ''Shades of Blue'' (Blue Note, 1996) * ''Bob Belden Presents: Strawberry Fields'' (Blue Note, 1996) * ''Tapestry – The Blue Note Cover Series'' (Blue Note, 1997) * ''Black Dahlia'' (Blue Note, 2001) * ''Three Days of Rain'' (Sunnyside, 2006) With

Tim Hagans Tim Hagans (born August 19, 1954) is an American jazz trumpeter, arranger, and composer. He has been nominated for three Grammy Awards: Best Instrumental Composition for "Box of Cannoli" on ''The Avatar Sessions'' (Fuzzy Music, 2010); Best Contem ...

and Animation * ''Re-Animation Live!'' (Blue Note, 1999) * ''Animation - Imagination'' (Blue Note, 1999) * ''Agemo'' (RareNoise, 2011) * ''Asiento'' (RareNoise, 2011) * ''Transparent Heart'' (RareNoise, 2012) * ''Machine Language'' (RareNoise, 2015) As conductor * ''The Turning Point'',

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Masters, NEA ...

Big Band (

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

, 1991) * ''Journey'', McCoy Tyner Big Band (Verve, 1993) * ''100 Years of Latin Love Songs'', Paquito D'Rivera ( Heads Up, 1998)

With others

* ''Incognito – Beneath the Surface'', New York City Horns (

Talkin' Loud Talkin' Loud was a record label, originally founded by Gilles Peterson in 1990 after he left Acid Jazz Records. The label name is based on Peterson's Dingwalls club night "Talkin' Loud And Sayin' Something", itself a reference to James Brown and ...

, 1996) * ''Mysterious Shorter'',

Nicholas Payton Nicholas Payton (born September 26, 1973) is an American trumpet player and multi-instrumentalist. A Grammy Award winner, he is from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is also a prolific and provocative writer who comments on a multitude of subjects, inc ...

Sam Yahel Sam Yahel (born 1971) is a jazz pianist and Hammond organist. In 1990 he moved to New York City and worked with Bill Frisell, Wycliffe Gordon, Ryan Kisor, Maceo Parker, Madeleine Peyroux, and Joshua Redman. Discography As leader/co-leader * ...

, John Hart,

Billy Drummond Willis Robert "Billy" Drummond Jr. (born June 19, 1959) is an American jazz drummer. Early life Billy Drummond was born in Newport News, Virginia, where he grew up listening to the extensive jazz record collection of his father, an amateur dr ...

( Chesky, 2006)

Biography

Discography

As leader

With others

See also

References and sources

External links