Claus Ogerman
| Claus Ogerman | |
|---|---|
| Born |
29 April 1930 Racibórz, Poland |
| Died | 8 March 2016 (aged 85) |
| Genres | Jazz, pop, classical |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, conductor, arranger |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 1950s–2016 |
| Associated acts | Billie Holiday, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Frank Sinatra, Lesley Gore, Diana Krall, João Gilberto |
Claus Ogerman (born Klaus Ogermann, 29 April 1930 – 8 March 2016) was a German arranger, conductor, and composer best known for his work with Billie Holiday, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Frank Sinatra, and Diana Krall.
Born in Ratibor (Racibórz), Upper Silesia, Germany, Ogerman began his career with the piano. He was one of the most prolific 20th century arrangers and has worked in the Top 40, Rock, Pop, Jazz, R&B, Soul, Easy listening, Broadway and Classical music fields. The exact number of recording artists for whom Ogerman has either arranged or conducted during his career has still not yet been determined.
In the 1950s, Ogerman worked in Germany as an arranger-pianist with Kurt Edelhagen, Max Greger, and Delle Haensch. Claus (then Klaus) also worked as a part-time vocalist and recorded several 45 rpms under the pen name of "Tom Collins", duetting with Hannelore Cremer - and he also recorded a solo vocal with the Delle Haensch Jump Combo as well. In 1959, he moved to the United States and joined the producer Creed Taylor at Verve Records, working on recordings with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Bill Evans, Wes Montgomery, Kai Winding and Cal Tjader - among countless others. Verve was sold to MGM in 1963. Claus Ogerman, by his own admission in Gene Lees' Jazzletter publication, arranged some 60-70 albums for Verve under Creed Taylor's direction from 1963-1967. During this time he also arranged a large number of pop hits, e.g. in 1961 "Cry To Me" by Solomon Burke, including also those of Lesley Gore. In 1966 Ogerman arranged and conducted Bill Evans Trio with Symphony Orchestra (Verve Records). In 1967 he joined Creed Taylor on the A&M/CTi label.
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