Si Zentner
While big bands seemed to be fading fast during the late '50s and early '60s, bandleader Si Zentner was one of the few to front a successful big band -- enjoying both critical and commercial acclaim. Born Simon H. Zentner on June 13, 1917 in New York City, the future bandleader picked up a violin at the age of four before switching over to trombone, and earned a music college scholarship. Originally studying to be a classical musician, Zentner became interested in more commercial styles of music after lending his skills to a recording session with composer/bandleader Andre Kostelanetz. Throughout the '40s, Zentner learned the tricks of the trade by playing in bands led by such notables as Les Brown, Harry James, and Jimmy Dorsey.
Zentner then relocated to Los Angeles, where he worked regularly as a studio musician -- and from 1949 through 1955, was on the MGM staff (working on such hit movies as Singing in the Rain and A Star Is Born). But Zentner's desire to front his own big band peaked at this time. Signing a recording contract with Liberty Records in 1959, Zentner assembled a large swing outfit, and toured steadily (he once claimed that his band played 178 consecutive one-night stands). While several popular releases came out around this time (1959's Thinking Man's Band, 1960s Suddenly It's Swing, 1963's Waltz in Jazz Time), Zentner's band won a staggering 13 straight Downbeat polls for 'Best Big Band,' as Zentner himself was recognized as 'Best Trombonist' in Playboy's Jazz Reader's Poll. Zentner's band scored their biggest hit in 1961, with a Bob Florence-arranged twist version of Hoagy Carmichael's "Up a Lazy River," which managed to cross over into the Top 40 of the pop charts.
Eventually however, the public's interest in big bands had dwindled to the point that even Zentner's fine band found it increasingly hard to attract a substantial audience on tour. Zentner landed back on his feet in 1965, when he moved to Las Vegas and opened the Tropicana Hotel's lounge, the Blue Room, accompanying Mel Tormé. Three years later, Zentner was named musical director for one of Las Vegas' longest-running floor shows, Folies Bergere. But once more, Zentner couldn't turn his back completely on taking a big band on the road, as he assembled another touring group. The '90s saw such new releases as Road Band, Country Blues, and Blue Eyes Plays Ol' Blue Eyes, but later in the decade, Zentner was diagnosed with leukemia. Admirably, Zentner kept performing up until six months prior to his passing, on January 31, 2000 in Las Vegas.
© Greg Prato /TiVo
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Rhythm Plus Blues
Jazz - Released by Blue Note Records on 1 jan. 1963
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
More (Theme From "Mondo Cane")
Jazz - Released by CAPITOL CATALOG MKT (C92) on 1 jan. 1963
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Exotica; The Space Age Collection, Volume 3
Jazz - Released by PROFOUND on 17 jan. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best Of The Liberty Years
Jazz - Released by EMI Records on 1 jan. 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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All Star Jazz
Si Zentner, Nick Fatool, Eddie Miller
Jazz - Released by CoolNote on 1 jan. 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Warning Shot
Jazz - Released by CAPITOL CATALOG MKT (C92) on 1 jan. 1967
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Big Band Plays The Big Hits
Jazz - Released by Music Manager on 12 sep. 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Big Band Leader
Lounge - Released by Music Manager on 10 jun. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Suddenly It's Swing (High Definition Remaster 2023)
Divers - Released by jjjedizionimusicali on 27 okt. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Swing Band Classics
Jazz - Released by Music Manager on 22 mei 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Remastered Hits (All Tracks Remastered)
Latin jazz - Released by jjjedizionimusicali on 9 aug. 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Man At His Leisure
Jazz - Released by classics & more on 19 jul. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Favourite Dish
Jazz - Released by classics & more on 21 mei 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo