Michael gibson musicality archive#

'THEATER REVIEW A Jazz Age Tale Of Lust and Death'. 'Michael Gibson, 60 He Orchestrated 'Grease' and Other Musicals, Films'. ^ '1983 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Orchestration'.^ a b c d 'Michael Gibson, 60, Trombonist and Broadway Orchestrator, Dies'.He was survived by his wife of 21 years, Ellen, and son Andrew. Gibson died in Dover, New Jersey in July 2005 after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was also a licensed pilot, and he and Larry Blank flew together. Gibson was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware and attended Harvard University for two years before transferring to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts to study music composition and theory.

Michael gibson musicality archive#

Gibson’s wife donated his archive to the New York Public Library in 2006. His last venture was All Shook Up (2005), which he co-orchestrated with Stephen Oremus. Gibson was known for a big, jazzy musical sound with plenty of brass, which dancers love.

He orchestrated solo shows for dancers and performers, including Liza Minnelli, and, with Jonathan Tunick, the 1993 musical revue, A Grand Night for Singing. Gibson also worked on motion pictures, including Merchant Ivory's Roseland (1976), for which he composed, arranged and orchestrated, and Robert Benton's thriller Still of the Night (1982), orchestrating Kander's score. He received four additional Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations nominations: for Anything Goes (1988), Steel Pier (1997), Cabaret (1998), and the 'dexterously orchestrated' The Wild Party (2000). Best known for his work on the original motion picture version of Grease (1978) and the Broadway musicals Steel Pier (1997) and Cabaret (revival, 1998), Gibson frequently worked with the famous composer-lyricist partnership of John Kander and Fred Ebb his long-standing relationship with Kander began with Woman of the Year (1981). In 1972 he changed direction, to become an orchestrator.

Gibson began his career as a studio musician in New York City, often working with James Brown.