Biography

Sebesky trained in trombone at the Manhattan School of Music; in his early career, he played with Kai Winding, Claude Thornhill, Tommy Dorsey, Warren Covington, Maynard Ferguson and Stan Kenton. In 1960 he began devoting himself primarily to arranging and conducting; one of his best-known arrangements was for Wes Montgomery's 1965 album Bumpin'. Other credits include George Benson's The Shape of Things to Come, Paul Desmond's From the Hot Afternoon and Freddie Hubbard's First Light. His song "Memphis Two-Step" was the title track of the Herbie Mann 1971 album of the same name. His 1973 release, Giant Box, hit #16 on the U.S. Billboard Jazz Albums chart.

He has worked with such orchestras as the London Symphony, the Chicago Symphony, the Boston Pops, The New York Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic of London, and the Toronto Symphony.

He has been nominated for thirty-one GRAMMY Awards and won three Grammy Awards in the 1990s: Best Instrumental Arrangement for "Waltz for Debby" (1998) and "Chelsea Bridge" (1999), and Best Instrumental Composition for "Joyful Noise Suite" (1999). He also won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations for Parade (1999) and Kiss Me, Kate (2000). He won a Tony award for Best Orchestrations in for the revival of Kiss Me, Kate (2000). Sebesky has also written a book, The Contemporary Arranger (1975).

His Broadway theater credits include "Porgy and Bess (London production by Trevor Nunn)", "Sinatra At The Palladium", "Sweet Charity", "Kiss Me Kate", "Bells Are Ringing", "Flower Drum Song", "Parade", "The Life", "Cyrano", "The Goodbye Girl", "Will Rogers Follies", and "Sinatra At Radio City", "Pal Joey", "Come Fly Away", "Baby It's You".

Sebesky's work for television has garnered three Emmy nominations for Allegra's Window on Nickelodeon, The Edge of Night on ABC, and Guiding Light on CBS. He has also composed film scores, including The People Next Door (1970), F. Scott Fitzgerald and 'The Last of the Belles' (1974) and The Rosary Murders (1987).

He has arranged for hundreds of artists including Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, John Pizzarelli, Michael Buble, Liza Minnelli, Seal, Prince, and more.

Don Sebesky has been married since 1986 to Janina Serden and has two daughters with her, Olivia and Elizabeth. He has two sons from a previous marriage, Ken and Kevin.

Discography

As leader

• Don Sebesky and the Jazz-Rock Syndrome (1968)
• Distant Galaxy (1968)
• Giant Box (CTI, 1973)
• The Rape of El Morro (CTI, 1975)
• Three Works for Jazz Soloists and Symphony Orchestra (1979)
• Sebesky Fantasy (1980)
• Moving Lines (1984)
• Full Cycle (1984)
• Symphonic Sondheim (1991)
• Our Love Is Here To Stay (Telarc, 1997) - John Pizzarelli w/ Don Sebesky combo
• I Remember Bill: The Tribute to Bill Evans (1998)
• Joyful Noise: A Tribute to Duke Ellington (1999)
• Kiroron I-Kiroro Melodies (2000)

As sideman

With Stan Kenton

• Viva Kenton! (Capitol, 1959)
• Road Show (Capitol, 1959) with June Christy and The Four Freshmen

As arranger

With Chet Baker

• She Was Too Good to Me (CTI, 1974)
• You Can't Go Home Again (Verve/A&M, 1977)

With George Benson

• Shape of Things to Come (A&M, 1969)
• White Rabbit (CTI, 1972)
• Bad Benson (CTI, 1974)

With Willie Bobo

• A New Dimension (Verve, 1968)

With Kenny Burrell

• Blues - The Common Ground (Verve, 1968)
• Night Song (Verve, 1969)
• God Bless the Child (CTI, 1971)

With Ron Carter

• Pastels (Milestone, 1976)

With Hank Crawford

• Help Me Make it Through the Night (Kudu, 1972)
• We Got a Good Thing Going (Kudu, 1972)

With Paul Desmond

• Summertime (A&M/CTI, 1968)
• From the Hot Afternoon (A&M/CTI, 1969)
• Bridge Over Troubled Water (A&M/CTI, 1970)
• Skylark (CTI, 1973)
• Pure Desmond (CTI, 1975)

With Maynard Ferguson

• A Message from Newport (Roulette, 1958) - also composer and performer
• Swingin' My Way Through College (Roulette, 1959) - also performer
• Maynard Ferguson Plays Jazz for Dancing (Roulette, 1959) - also performer
• Let's Face the Music and Dance (Roulette, 1960)
• "Straightaway" Jazz Themes (Roulette, 1961)
• The Blues Roar (Mainstream, 1965)

With Astrud Gilberto

• The Shadow of Your Smile (Verve, 1965)
• Beach Samba (Verve, 1967)
• Windy (Verve, 1968)

With Dizzy Gillespie

• Cornucopia (Solid State, 1969)

With Freddie Hubbard

• First Light (CTI, 1971)

With Jackie and Roy

• Time & Love (CTI, 1972)
• A Wilder Alias (CTI, 1973)

With Milt Jackson

• Sunflower (CTI, 1972)

With J. J. Johnson and Kai Winding

• Israel (A&M/CTI, 1968)

With Hubert Laws

• Afro-Classic (CTI, 1970)
• The Rite of Spring (CTI, 1971)
• Morning Star (CTI, 1972)
• Carnegie Hall (CTI, 1973)

With Wes Montgomery

• Bumpin' (Verve/Polygram, 1965)
• California Dreaming (Verve, 1966)
• A Day in the Life (A&M, 1967)
• Down Here on the Ground (A&M, 1968)
• Road Song (A&M, 1968)

With Airto Moreira

• Free (CTI, 1972)

With Cal Tjader

• The Prophet (Verve, 1968)

With Walter Wanderley

• When It Was Done (A&M/CTI, 1968)

With Randy Weston

• Blue Moses (CTI, 1972)

With Stanley Turrentine

• If I Could (MusicMasters Jazz, 1993)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]