Who was Don Sebesky? Legendary American composer dies at 85

Don Sebesky was an American composer, arranger, conductor, and jazz trombonist keyboardist.

Sebesky studied trombone at the Manhattan School of Music and worked with Kai Winding, Claude Thornhill, Tommy Dorsey, Warren Covington, Maynard Ferguson, and Stan Kenton in his early career.

In 1960, he began focusing on arranging and conducting; one of his most well-known arrangements was for Wes Montgomery’s 1965 album Bumpin’.

Sebesky published The Contemporary Arranger, along with three LP phonograph records, in 1975.

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, The Will Rogers Follies, Sinatra at Radio City, Pal Joey, Come Fly Away, Baby It’s You!, and Honeymoon In Vegas are among his Broadway theater credits.

Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, John Pizzarelli, Michael Buble, Liza Minnelli, Seal, and Prince are among the many artists for whom Sebesky has composed arrangements.

Sebesky was nominated for 31 Grammy Awards and won three in the 1990s, including Best Instrumental Arrangement for “Waltz for Debby” (1998) and “Chelsea Bridge” (1999), and Best Instrumental Composition for “Joyful Noise Suite” (1999).

He won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations twice, for Parade (1999) and Kiss Me, Kate (2000). For the revival of Kiss Me, Kate, Sebesky won a Tony Award for Best Orchestrations (2000).

Sebesky passed away on April 29, 2023, according to a Facebook post from his son.