One of the most adventurous arrangers of the 1990s and 2000s, Bob Belden took the music of Puccini, Prince, Sting, and Carole King and turned it into jazz. After graduating from the University of North Texas in 1978, he was with Woody Herman’s Orchestra for 18 months, worked with Donald Byrd off and on during 1981-1985, played with the Mel Lewis Orchestra, and produced a couple of Red Rodney records. In 1983, Belden settled in New York as a writer for studio sessions. Influenced by Gil Evans, Belden debuted on Sunnyside with Treasure Island, before working on transforming non-jazz material into jazz. Belden also assisted with Columbia Records’ Miles Davis reissue program. He co-led a band with trumpeter Tim Hagans that issued the albums Animation/Imagination and Re-Animation Live! The 2001 Blue Note release Black Dahlia was written for jazz combo and string orchestra paid tribute to the late Elizabeth Short, a celebrated Hollywood actress who was killed in 1947.
BOB BELDEN’S NOIR MAGNUM OPUS “BLACK DAHLIA”
Even though most casual observers wouldn't have known it, Bob Belden, who passed away on May 20 at the age of 58, was behind the sound of much of the jazz music released during the 1990's. As a producer, Belden directed landmark sessions such as The Joe Henderson Big Band (1996) and Herbie Hancock's New Standard (1997), the latter coming on the heels of a series of Belden’s own rampantly... read more
