George Roberts (trombonist)

George Roberts (known as "Mr. Bass Trombone") 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, 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.

Discography

• George Roberts and His Big Bass Trombone - Meet Mr. Roberts (Columbia, 1959)
• George Roberts' Sextet - Bottoms up (Columbia, 1960)
• Let George Do It (with the Fort Vancouver High School Stage Band) (Regal Records, ? 1968)
• Practice Makes Perfect (DNE Records, 1969)

With Chet Baker

• Blood, Chet and Tears (Verve, 1970)

With Louis Bellson

• Louis Bellson Swings Jule Styne (Verve, 1960)

With Elmer Bernstein

• The Man with the Golden Arm (Decca, 1956)

With Bing Crosby and Buddy Bregman

• Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings (Verve, 1956)

With Sammy Davis Jr

• It's All Over but the Swingin' (Decca, 1957)

With Fred Katz

• Folk Songs for Far Out Folk (Warner Bros., 1958)

With Stan Kenton

• New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm (Capitol, 1952)
• Popular Favorites by Stan Kenton (Capitol, 1953)
• Sketches on Standards (Capitol, 1953)
• This Modern World (Capitol, 1953)
• Portraits on Standards (Capitol, 1953)
• Kenton Showcase (Capitol, 1954)
• The Kenton Era (Capitol, 1940-54, [1955])
• Kenton with Voices (Capitol, 1957)
• Hair (Capitol, 1969)

With Junior Mance

• Get Ready, Set, Jump!!! (Capitol, 1964)
• Straight Ahead! (Capitol, 1964)

With Shorty Rogers

• Shorty Rogers Plays Richard Rodgers (RCA Victor, 1957)
• Portrait of Shorty (RCA Victor, 1957)
• Afro-Cuban Influence (RCA Victor, 1958)
• The Swingin' Nutcracker (RCA Victor, 1960)
• An Invisible Orchard (RCA Victor, 1961 [1997])
• The Fourth Dimension in Sound (Warner Bros., 1961)
• Jazz Waltz (Reprise, 1962)

With Pete Rugolo

• Rugolomania (Columbia, 1955)
• New Sounds by Pete Rugolo (Harmony, 1954-55, [1957])
• Music for Hi-Fi Bugs (EmArcy, 1956)
• Out on a Limb (EmArcy, 1956)
• An Adventure in Sound: Brass in Hi-Fi (Mercury 1956 [1958])
• The Music from Richard Diamond (EmArcy, 1959)
• 10 Trombones Like 2 Pianos (Mercury, 1960)
• The Original Music of Thriller (Time, 1961)

With Lalo Schifrin

• Music from Mission: Impossible (Dot, 1967)
• More Mission: Impossible (Paramount, 1968)
• Mannix (Paramount, 1968)
• Kelly's Heroes (soundtrack) (MGM, 1970)
• Enter the Dragon (soundtrack) (Warner Bros., 1973)

External links

• George Roberts Tribute
• About George Roberts on "Trombone page of the world"