Larry Rosen, American jazz producer, died at 75

  Dead Famous

Larry Rosen, born on May 25, 1940 and died October 9, 2015 from brain cancer.

Larry was an American entrepreneur, producer, musician, and recording engineer.

Larry was born in The Bronx, New York.

He began his musical career as a drummer with the Newport Youth Band, meeting eventual partner Dave Grusin while working with singer Andy Williams and attending the Manhattan School of Music.

In 1972, Grusin and Rosen produced vocalist Jon Lucien for RCA Records; Grusin/Rosen Productions would evolve from freelance production team to performer-centric jazz label over the next few years, discovering- and developing homegrown talent like Patti Austin, Lee Ritenour, Earl Klugh, and Noel Pointer along the way.

In 1978, Grusin/Rosen Productions signed a long-term development deal with Arista Records president Clive Davis.

It was a prolific collaboration, with albums from Dave Valentin, Angela Bofill, Bernard Wright, and Tom Browne-whose hit single “Funkin’ For Jamaica” reached number one on Billboard’s R&B and Jazz charts-forming the basis of a breakout catalog.

Arista/GRP outperformed commercial expectations and redefined the boutique American jazz label.

Larry used the opportunity to advance the state of the art, engineering- and co-producing the Dave Grusin album Mountain Dance-the first- digitally recorded non-classical album-in 1979.

Larry Rosen died in Park Ridge, New Jersey at the age of 75 on October 9, 2015.