Gene Cipriano, Famed Session Musician as well as Woodwind Player in Hollywood, Dies at 94 


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Gene Cipriano, the constantly active woodwind gamer that soloed on tone sax for Tony Curtis in Some Like It Hot as well as taped with everybody from Miles Davis, Rosemary Clooney as well as Frank Sinatra to Glen Campbell, Paul McCartney as well as Olivia Newton-John, has actually passed away. He was 94.

Cipriano passed awayNov 12 of all-natural reasons at his house in Studio City, his child Paul informed The Hollywood Reporter

Perhaps one of the most taped woodwind gamer in movie industry background, Cipriano played treble, alto, tone, baritone as well as bass saxophones, all the clarinets as well as grooves, the oboe as well as bass oboe, the piccolo as well as the English horn.

Affectionally called “Cip,” the session artist executed as a participant of the Academy Awards Orchestra in the area of 60 times given that 1958. (At the 1977 program, he exchanged “yo’s” with Barbra Streisand, that had actually simply come to the platform after having actually won for “Evergreen.”)

Cipriano on oboe is listened to at the beginning of Sinatra’s moody “It Was a Very Good Year,” as well as he carried out on numerous of Campbell’s very early hits, consisting of “Wichita Lineman” as well as “By the Time I Get to Phoenix.”

Like Campbell, he was a periodic participant of The Wrecking Crew, the legendary collection of workshop artists that taped with the similarity The Beach Boys, Jan & & Dean, The Monkees, Nancy Sinatra & as well asSonny & Cher.

“It was a lot of fun because a lot of times the composer would say to the rhythm section, ‘Think of something wild that would fit this particular piece of music,’” Cipriano remembered in a 2019 meeting for the web site Making Life Swing “They would think of something and then they’d ad lib and tell us what to play. Sometimes we’d make up music right on the spot.”

Shortly after relocating from New York to California in the 1950s, Cipriano was worked with by Henry Mancini to play groove on the brand-new NBC criminal offense collection Peter Gunn The set after that worked together on CBS’ Mr Lucky as well as in movies consisting of The Days of Wine as well as Roses ( 1962 ), Hatari! ( 1962 ), Charade ( 1963) as well as The Hawaiians ( 1970 ).

Cipriano functioned together with Johnny Mandel on The Sandpiper ( 1965) as well as with Michel Legrand on The Thomas Crown Affair ( 1968) as well as was listened to on West Side Story ( 1961 ), Cleopatra ( 1963 ), The Americanization of Emily ( 1964 ), Point Blank ( 1967 ), The Wild Bunch ( 1969 ), The French Connection ( 1971 ), Marathon Man ( 1976 ), One From the Heart ( 1981 ), The Karate Kid ( 1984 ), Up ( 2009) as well as extra.

Born on July 6, 1928, in New Haven, Connecticut, Cipriano began taking clarinet lessons from his daddy, Fred, that used Broadway as well as with the New Haven Symphony.

“He put a clarinet in my hands when I was 8 years old,” he stated. “I began to listen to Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw, and I said, ‘That’s what I want to do.’”

As a junior in senior high school, Cipriano landed a job with Ted Fio Rito’s band, where he satisfied trumpeterDoc Severinsen After he completed institution, he collaborated with Clooney as well as her sibling Betty in The Tony Pastor Band, with pianist Mancini in The Tex Beneke Band as well as with vocalist Frances Irvin, his future better half, in the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.

After he transferred to California, Mancini offered him his luck on Peter Gunn “That got me started because it became such a hot item and then all the other leaders said, ‘Well, get me those guys who played with Henry Mancini,’” he kept in mind in an additional 2019 interview

Cipriano additionally executed on Elvis Presley’s NBC resurgence unique in 1968. Over the years, he taped with Shorty Rogers, Harry Nilsson, Neil Diamond, Thelonious Monk, Elton John, Frank Zappa, Gerry Mulligan, Helen Reddy, Barry Manilow as well as Seth MacFarlane. He additionally used several Emmy as well as Grammy newscasts.

In 2006, Cipriano taped his very own CD, First Time Out, a collection of jazz songs.

In enhancement to his child Paul, survivors include his various other youngsters, Genie, Suzanne as well as Fred; grandchildren Grant as well as Alicia; great-grandchildren Natalie as well as Emily; as well as sibling Marie.

His better half of 43 years, Frances, passed away in 1996. Four years later on, Cipriano satisfied vocalist Catherine “Cat” Conner, as well as they carried out throughout Los Angeles in a tiny band. She took care of him up until his fatality.

This post initially showed up on The Hollywood Reporter.

Source: billboard.com

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