Jazz legend Nestico still making music at 90

Portrait of musician Sammy Nestico at his Carlsbad home. He began his music career playing the trombone, but switched to composing and arranging.

By Pam Kragen6 P.M.FEB.
6, 2014Updated4:35 P.M.
LA COSTA — Big band icon Sammy Nestico turned 90 Thursday, and he spent it like he does every other day — at the keyboard.

The La Costa-based composer and arranger is still writing music, has two albums in the works and will be the guest of honor at two concerts of his work this weekend in Carlsbad. Retirement is not an option.

“My life has been very good. I’ve been blessed to live this long and I’m still working,” he said Tuesday. “Sometimes I get up in the middle of the night and I hear the orchestra playing in my head so I need to get up and write it down. It’s just something I have to do.”

It’s not a stretch to describe Nestico as a living legend of music. He has composed or arranged more than 630 pieces, spent 14 years as composer/arranger for the Count Basie Orchestra, directed the White House orchestra under two U.S. presidents, did 63 albums for Capitol Records and wrote, arranged or conducted the scores for more than 50 television shows. He has also released six CDs of his own music and written two books, an autobiography and a textbook on orchestrating.

His many collaborators read like a who’s who of big band, jazz and pop music — Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Steve Allen, Stan Freberg and Johnny Mercer, to name a few. Toni Tennille is a good friend and producer Quincy Jones sends lavish presents to Nestico on every birthday (this year, it was a boxed set of Sinatra’s Las Vegas recordings).

“Sammy Nestico is probably the most well-known big band arranger in the world,” said Gary Adcock, trombonist for the Coastal Communities Concert Band, which will present concerts of Nestico’s arrangements and originals on Saturday and Sunday with the First Division Marine Band. “Whenever we play his arrangements, musicians just love him. His arrangements lay down right. Some things you play are herky-jerky but his are always smooth and they sound right.”
Read more: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/feb/06/big-band-arranger-nestico-turns-90/