George Roberts
George Mortimer Roberts (known as "Mr. Bass Trombone") (March 22, 1928 - September 28, 2014) was an American trombonist. Born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa, Roberts began his career after service in the US Navy with the Ray Robbins Band, and then quit to join Gene Krupa in 1947, where he was in the same section with Urbie Green. It was Urbie's lyric tenor trombone playing that inspired George to be an "Urbie" one octave lower. When the Krupa band broke up in 1949, George played freelance in Reno for a year before being hired into the Stan Kenton Orchestra from 1950 until 1953, to replace Bart Varsalona, who had left the band during its 1949-50 hiatus. Roberts opted to stay in Los Angeles rather than go with Kenton on his 1953 European tour, and began working as a freelance substitute. He was introduced to Nelson Riddle by Lee Gillette, one of the executives at Capitol Records who had produced Kenton recordings. George soon launched a successful studio recording career with Riddle, Don Costa, Billy May, Axel Stordahl, Gordon Jenkins, Henry Mancini, among others, in sessions with Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Sarah Vaughan, Nat King Cole and many others. As a Hollywood studio musician, Roberts recorded numerous film scores with all the major studios (Jaws, King Kong, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, etc.) and served on the staff orchestras of the major radio and television networks (The Carol Burnett Show, Dinah Shore Show, Academy Awards, etc.). He eventually appeared on over 6000 recordings before retiring. Roberts died on September 28, 2014, at the age of 86 in Fallbrook, CA, from pneumonia. He also had multiple sclerosis. |
Birth and Death Data: Born March 22, 1928 (Des Moines), Died September 28, 2014 (Fallbrook)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1954 - 1963
Roles Represented in DAHR: trombone
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 36 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Decca | 86791 | 9/3/1954 | Private hell 36 | Leith Stevens Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | |||
Decca | 86792 | 9/3/1954 | Havana interlude | Leith Stevens Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | |||
Decca | 86793 | 9/3/1954 | Easy mood | Leith Stevens Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | |||
Decca | 86794 | 9/3/1954 | Daddy long legs | Leith Stevens Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | |||
Decca | 86795 | 9/3/1954 | Joshua | Leith Stevens Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | |||
Decca | 86796 | 9/3/1954 | Lilli | Leith Stevens Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | |||
Decca | 86797 | 9/3/1954 | Dance of the Lilliputian | Leith Stevens Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | |||
Decca | 86798 | 9/3/1954 | Private blues | Leith Stevens Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | |||
Decca | L 8837 | 12/1/1955 | Around the corner | Johnny Long Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | |||
Decca | L 8838 | 12/1/1955 | Boom boom (Ain't it great to be crazy) | Johnny Long Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | |||
Decca | L 8839 | 12/1/1955 | The sweetest march | Johnny Long Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | |||
Decca | L 8840 | 12/1/1955 | Glorious, glorious | Johnny Long Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | |||
Decca | L 10805 | 10/30/1958 | Jane's jump | Jack Kane Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | |||
Decca | L 10806 | 10/30/1958 | It's a lonesome old town | Jack Kane Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | |||
Decca | L 10807 | 10/30/1958 | Sound of the blues | Jack Kane Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | |||
Decca | L 10808 | 10/30/1958 | Wouldn't it be loverly | Jack Kane Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | |||
Decca | L 10809 | 10/31/1958 | Carioca | Jack Kane Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | |||
Decca | L 10810 | 10/31/1958 | Some of these days | Jack Kane Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | |||
Decca | L 10811 | 10/31/1958 | I'm getting sentimental over you | Jack Kane Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | |||
Decca | L 10812 | 10/31/1958 | Poor butterfly | Jack Kane Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | |||
Decca | L 10813 | 11/2/1958 | St. Louis blues | Jack Kane Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | |||
Decca | L 10814 | 11/2/1958 | Alfern song | Jack Kane Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | |||
Decca | L 10815 | 11/2/1958 | Lazy river | Jack Kane Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | |||
Decca | L 10816 | 11/2/1958 | Clare's tune | Jack Kane Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | |||
Decca | L 13157 | 3/23/1963 | Walking through New Orleans | Pete Fountain and His Mardi Gras Strutters | instrumentalist, trombone |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Roberts, George," accessed July 4, 2022, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/208587.
Roberts, George. (2022). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved July 4, 2022, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/208587.
"Roberts, George." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2022. Web. 4 July 2022.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: George Roberts (trombonist)
Discogs: Roberts, George
Allmusic: Roberts, George
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Roberts, George (Trombonist) - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n93027699
Wikidata: George Roberts (trombonist) - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5543946
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/1678567
MusicBrainz: George Roberts - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/a5b6c5b8-7ac8-4067-a6a5-0af576c2ccf3
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