Simon Hugh Zentner (June 13, 1917 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, United States – January 31, 2000 in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

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) was an American trombonist and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

big-band leader. Zentner played in the bands of Les Brown,

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 ...

, and

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards " I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary Peop ...

in the 1940s, then moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as a studio musician. He also landed a job with

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

from 1949 to the mid-50s, and was involved in the music for films such as ''

Singin' in the Rain ''Singin' in the Rain'' is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds and featuring Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell and Cyd C ...

'' and '' A Star Is Born''. The Zentner band began recording 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 ...

in 1959, recording numerous successful pop/jazz albums during the 1960s and touring steadily with a large outfit. Zentner was a tireless promoter and claimed to have played 178 consecutive one-night performances when the band was at its peak. His ensemble was voted "Best Big Band" for 13 straight years by '' Down Beat'', and Zentner himself was voted Best Trombonist in ''

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'' Jazz Readers' Poll. In 1962, his album ''Up a Lazy River (Big Band Plays the Big Hits, Vol. 2)'' (arranged by Bob Florence) won a

Grammy Award 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 pr ...

for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. Zentner's success was thoroughly unusual; he had a thriving big band going at a time when big band music was, for the most part, on the wane. He suffered from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

late in life, though he continued performing into 1999; he died of the disease in early 2000.

Discography

* ''Sleepy Lagoon'' (Liberty, 1957) * ''Introducing Si Zentner and His Dance Band'' (Bel Canto, 1958) * ''High Noon Cha Cha Cha'' (Bel Canto, 1959) * ''A Thinking Man's Band'' (Liberty, 1959) * ''Swing Fever'' (Bel Canto, 1959) * ''Suddenly It's Swing'' (Liberty, 1960) * ''The Swingin' Eye'' (Liberty, 1960) * ''Great Band with Great Voices'' (Liberty, 1961) * ''Big Band Plays the Big Hits'' (Liberty, 1961) U.S. No. 65

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

Allmusic.com * ''Great Band with Great Voices...Swing the Great Voices of the Great Bands'' (Liberty, 1961) * ''Presenting Si Zentner'' (Smash, 1961) * ''Exotica Suite'' (Liberty, 1962) * ''In Person'' (International Award Series, 1962) * ''The Stripper and Other Big Band Hits'' (Liberty, 1962) U.S. No. 108 * ''Si and His Orchestra Play Desafinado'' (Liberty, 1962) U.S. No. 139 * ''Up a Lazy River (Big Band Plays the Hits, Vol. 2)'' (Liberty, 1962) U.S. No. 107\ * ''Waltz in Jazz Time'' (Liberty, 1963) * ''Rhythm Plus Blues'' (Liberty, 1963) * ''More'' (Liberty, 1963) * ''Music That's Going Places'' (Liberty, 1963) * ''From Russia with Love'' (Liberty, 1964) * ''Si Zentner Plays the Big Band Hits'' (Liberty, 1964) * ''Bond's 007 Theme'' (Liberty, 1964) * ''Si Zentner in Full Swing!'' (Liberty, 1965) * ''My Cup of Tea'' (RCA Victor, 1965) * ''It's Nice to Go Trav'ling'' (RCA Victor, 1965) * '' Put Your Head On My Shoulder'' (RCA Victor, 1966) * ''A Perfect Blend'' (Liberty, 1966) * ''Swingin' Country'' (Liberty, 1966) * ''Warning Shot'' (Liberty, 1967) * ''Right Here! Right Now! The Big Mod Sound Of'' (Liberty, 1967) * ''The Wonderful Sound'' (Liberty, 1969) * ''Great Band Sounds of Si Zentner'' (United Artists, 1975)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zentner, Si 1917 births 2000 deaths American jazz bandleaders American jazz trombonists Male trombonists Big band bandleaders Musicians from New York (state) RCA Victor artists Liberty Records artists Easy listening musicians 20th-century American musicians 20th-century trombonists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians