Don Sebesky

Don Sebesky – born December 10, 1937, in Perth Amboy, New Jersey – was a multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, and conductor. While best known as a jazz trombonist, he could also play several other instruments including piano, organ, accordion, and clavinet. He began his musical journey by studying the trombone at the Manhattan School of Music before he began working with various jazz musicians including Maynard Ferguson, Kai Winding, Stan Kenton, Claude Thornhill, Tommy Dorsey, and others. By 1960, Don Sebesky’s skills at arranging and conducting brought him to the attention of many artists and he worked on albums by Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Paul Desmond, Kenny Burrell, Astrud Gilberto, Hubert Laws, and more. While still working with other artists, he released his first album as a leader, Distant Galaxy, in 1968. He quickly followed that album with Don Sebesky and the Jazz Rock Syndrome, which was released later that year. His next album, Giant Box (1973), was a great success and reached Number 16 on Billboard’s Jazz Albums chart. In 1975, he wrote the book The Contemporary Arranger which was accompanied by three vinyl LPs. He began arranging Broadway musicals including Porgy and Bess, Sweet Charity, Kiss Me Kate, Parade, Flower Drum Song, Pal Joey, and many others. As a composer, Don Sebesky’s film scores included The People Next Door (1970), F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Last of the Belles (1974), and The Rosary Murders (1987). His arranging skills continued to be utilized by artists such as Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, John Pizzarelli, Michael Bublé, Liza Minnelli, Seal, and Prince. A prolific artist, he continued his solo career with albums such as The Rape of El Morro (1975), Sebesky Fantasy (1980), and Symphonic Sondheim (1991. Don Sebesky was nominated for 31 Grammy Awards and won three: Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella (1999, 2000) and Instrumental Composition for “Joyful Noise Suite” (2000). Don Sebesky on April 29, 2023, at the age of 85.

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