James Robert Belden (October 31, 1956 – May 20, 2015) was an American saxophonist, arranger, composer, bandleader, and producer. As a composer he may be best known for his Grammy Award winning

orchestral jazz Orchestral jazz or symphonic jazz is a form of jazz that developed in New York City in the 1920s. Early innovators of the genre, such as Fletcher Henderson and Duke Ellington, include some of the most highly regarded musicians, composers, and arr ...

recording, ''Black Dahlia'' (2001). As producer, he was mostly associated with the remastering of recordings by trumpeter

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

Biography

Belden, born in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

, grew up in the

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

suburb of Goose Creek. He briefly attended the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

where he met composer Jay Knowles who introduced him to the music of

Gil Evans Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian Americans, Canadian–American jazz pianist, Music arranger, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators i ...

. He then studied saxophone and composition at the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

before joining the

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roo ...

band. He recorded his first album ''Treasure Island'' in 1990. This was followed by a series of adventurous albums featuring jazz-tinged arrangements of contemporary pop songs culminating with ''Black Dahlia'' in 2001. In 2008, he arranged and produced '' Miles from India'', a world fusion music recording based on the compositions of

for which he assembled a group made up of Davis alumni and musicians from India. In addition to his work as arranger, composer, conductor and A & R director, Belden contributed numerous liner notes for noted recordings, such as " Lou's Blues" by

Lou Marini Louis Eugene Marini Jr. (born May 13, 1945), known as "Blue Lou" Marini, is an American saxophonist, arranger, and composer. He is best known for his work in jazz, rock, blues, and soul music, as well as his association with The Blues Brother ...

and the Magic City Jazz Orchestra. Some of his work as the author of liner notes received

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

. In early 2015, Belden became the first American musician in 35 years to bring a band from the USA to perform in Iran. Belden died of a heart attack on May 20, 2015, at

Lenox Hill Hospital Lenox Hill Hospital (LHH) is a nationally ranked 450 bed non-profit, Tertiary care, tertiary, research and academic medical center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, servicing the tri-state area. LHH is one of the reg ...

in Manhattan. He was 58.

Discography

As leader

* ''Treasure Island'' ( Sunnyside, 1990) * ''La Cigale'' (Sunnyside, 1990) * ''Straight to My Heart: The Music of Sting'' (

Blue Note Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...

, 1991) * ''When the Doves Cry: The Music of Prince'' (Metro Blue, 1994) * ''Shades of Blue'' (Blue Note, 1996) * ''Bob Belden Presents: Strawberry Fields'' (Blue Note, 1996) * ''Tapestry – The Blue Note Cover Series'' (Blue Note, 1997) * ''Black Dahlia'' (Blue Note, 2001) * ''Three Days of Rain'' (Sunnyside, 2006) With Tim Hagans and Animation * ''Re-Animation Live!'' (Blue Note, 1999) * ''Animation - Imagination'' (Blue Note, 1999) * ''Agemo'' (RareNoise, 2011) * ''Asiento'' (RareNoise, 2011) * ''Transparent Heart'' (RareNoise, 2012) * ''Machine Language'' (RareNoise, 2015) As conductor * ''The Turning Point'',

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet from 1960 to 1965, and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Masters, NEA J ...

Big Band ( Verve, 1991) * ''Journey'', McCoy Tyner Big Band (Verve, 1993) * ''100 Years of Latin Love Songs'', Paquito D'Rivera ( Heads Up, 1998)

As a member

As a member of New York City Horns * Incognito, '' Beneath the Surface'' ( Talkin' Loud, 1996)

With others

* Nicholas Payton, Bob Belden, Sam Yahel, John Hart, Billy Drummond, ''Mysterious Shorter'' ( Chesky, 2006)

Biography

Discography

As leader

As a member

With others

See also

References and sources

External links