Bob Florence (May 20, 1932 – May 15, 2008) was an American

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchest ...

, and

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

leader.

Career

A child prodigy, Florence began piano lessons before he was five years old and at seven gave his first recital. Although his early education was in classical music, he was drawn to jazz and big band. He went to Los Angeles City College and studied arranging and orchestration with Bob McDonald. He joined the college big band, and his classmates included

Herb Geller Herbert Arnold Geller (November 2, 1928 – December 19, 2013) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger. He was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Early life His mother, Frances ''(née'' Frances Mildred Fullman, al ...

and Tommy Tedesco. Florence spent most of his career with big bands, as a leader, performer, composer, and arranger. After graduating from college, he was a member of bands led by Les Brown, Louis Bellson, and

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...

. His

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orche ...

of "

(Up A) Lazy River "(Up A) Lazy River" is a popular tune and song by Hoagy Carmichael and Sidney Arodin, published in 1930. The melody is by Arodin, arranged and with words modified by Carmichael. It is considered a jazz standard and pop standard, and has been r ...

" for

Si Zentner Simon Hugh Zentner (June 13, 1917 in New York City, United States – January 31, 2000 in Las Vegas, Nevada) was an American trombonist and jazz big-band leader. Zentner played in the bands of Les Brown, Harry James, and Jimmy Dorsey in the ...

was a hit in 1960, and won a Grammy Award. Dave Pell hired him to work full-time as an arranger for

Liberty Records Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revival ...

. The job gave him the opportunity to write in several genres: bossa nova with

Sérgio Mendes Sérgio Santos Mendes (; born February 11, 1941) is a Brazilian musician. His career took off with worldwide hits by his group Brasil '66. He has over 55 releases and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk. He was nominated for ...

, jazz with

Bud Shank Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and thro ...

, and pop vocal with Vic Dana. Bob was the piano player on Bobby Vee's #1 hit "Take Good Care Of My Baby" in 1961American Federation Of Musicians contract #51747 - June 14, 1961 He worked often in Hollywood as a bandleader, composer, and arranger for TV variety shows, hosted by

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

Red Skelton Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program ''The Red Skelton Show''. He has stars ...

, and

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

, and he wrote arrangements for the ''Tonight Show'' band led by

Doc Severinsen Carl Hilding "Doc" Severinsen (born July 7, 1927) is an American retired jazz trumpeter who led the NBC Orchestra on '' The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''. Early life Severinsen was born in Arlington, Oregon, to Minnie Mae (1897–1998) ...

. He won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for a program by Linda Lavin (1981) and another for a concert by

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy F ...

(1990). In 1979 he returned to a recording career that had been sidetracked by other work. Twelve years separated ''Pet Project'' (World Pacific, 1967) from ''Live at Concerts By The Sea'' ( Trend, 1979). His album ''Magic Time'' (1984) was the first to be credited to his eighteen-piece big band, the Bob Florence Limited Edition. The band released albums throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 2000, '' Serendipity 18'' won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance by a Large Ensemble. He received fifteen Grammy nominations during his career. Florence died of pneumonia at the age of 75 on May 15, 2008, in Los Angeles.

Discography

As leader

As arranger/conductor

With

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

* ''

Basie on the Beatles ''Basie on the Beatles'' is an album by pianist and bandleader Count Basie featuring performances recorded in late 1969 and released on the short-lived Happy Tiger label.Edwards, D., Callahan, M. & Eyries, PHappy Tiger Album Discography accessed N ...

'' (Happy Tiger, 1969) With

Louie Bellson Louie Bellson (born Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni, July 6, 1924 – February 14, 2009), often seen in sources as Louis Bellson, although he himself preferred the spelling Louie, was an American jazz drummer. He was a composer, ...

* '' The Brilliant Bellson Sound'' ( Verve, 1959) * '' Big Band Jazz from the Summit'' (Verve, 1962) With

*''Harry James...Today!'' ( MGM E/SE-3848, 1960) *''The Solid Gold Trumpet of Harry James'' (MGM E/SE-4058, 1962) With

* ''

The Great Arrival ''The Great Arrival'' is a 1966 instrumental album by Sérgio Mendes. Track listing #"The Great Arrival (Chegança)" (Edu Lobo, Oduvaldo Vianna Filho) 2:19 #"Monday, Monday" (John Phillips (musician), John Phillips) 2:32 #"Carnaval" (Clare Fische ...

'' (Atlantic, 1966) With

Joe Pass Joe Pass (born Joseph Anthony Jacobi Passalaqua; January 13, 1929 – May 23, 1994) was an American jazz guitarist. Pass is well known for his work stemming from numerous collaborations with pianist Oscar Peterson and vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, an ...

* '' A Sign of the Times'' (World Pacific, 1965) With

* '' California Dreamin''' (World Pacific, 1966) * '' Michelle'' (World Pacific, 1966) * '' Bud Shank & the Sax Section'' (Pacific Jazz, 1966) * '' Bud Shank Plays Music from Today's Movies'' (World Pacific, 1967) With

* ''Up A Lazy River'' (Liberty 1961) * ''Mr. Nashville'' (RCA Victor 1966)

As sideman

With

* ''Love Julie'' (USA Music Group, 1987) With Sue Raney * ''Sings the Music of Johnny Mandel'' (Discovery, 1982) * ''Ridin' High'' (Discovery, 1984) * ''Flight of Fancy: A Journey of Alan & Marilyn Bergman'' (Discovery, 1986) With Brian Swartz Quartet * ''Live at the Jazz Bakery'' (Summit, 2005) With

* '' Girl in Love'' (World Pacific, 1966) * ''Taking the Long Way Home'' (Jazzed Media, 2006) With Joanie Sommers * ''Dream'' (Discovery, 1980 el. 1983 * ''Here, There and Everywhere!'' (Absord

apan Apan is a city and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 346.9 km². Overview As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 39,247. It was an important site in the W ...

2000 el. 2004

References