Dale Oehler

Dale Dixon Oehler (October 1, 1941 – November 5, 2018) was an American arranger, producer and pianist.

Dale Oehler
Oehler at a recording session in the mid-1990s
Oehler at a recording session in the mid-1990s
Background information
Born (1941-10-01) October 1, 1941
OriginSpringfield, Illinois
DiedNovember 5th, 2018
Occupation(s)Arranger, composer, musician, producer
Instrument(s)Piano
Years active1957–2018
LabelsColumbia Records, Blue Note, Warner Bros. Records, Elektra/Asylum and others

Oehler's work fuses various elements to enhance several genre of music he worked on, including jazz, pop, country, R&B or easy listening. His credits include artists such as Marvin Gaye, Freddie Hubbard, Joni Mitchell and Andre Kostelanetz. Leonard Feather once described Oehler, in his Los Angeles Times jazz column, as "an adaptable writer".[1]

Early career

In his early childhood, Dale received formal piano training in the Classics. While in his teens, Oehler started playing jazz gigs in the Springfield, Illinois area. He later played at clubs in the Chicago area while attending Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

After graduation he went to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to play with J. R. Monterose at the Tender Trap. Other notables that came through the club were Al Jarreau, Dave Sanborn, Freddie Waits and Cecil McBee. He segued from playing in Cedar Rapids to attending the University of Iowa at Iowa City where he pursued his master's degree in Composition and was able to establish the first Jazz Program at that university. While going to school, he represented the University of Iowa at the University of Notre Dame Jazz Festival in 1965 where he received Best Arranger and Best Pianist awards, as judged by Quincy Jones and Clark Terry.

Oehler also played on J.R. Monterose (Studio 4 Records, 1964). While at the University of Iowa, he arranged his first professional record for Bugsy Maugh (Dot Records, 1968), which received a Grammy Award nomination the following year.

Later career

In 1969, Oehler, now married, moved to the Los Angeles, California area to pursue a career in music. In the early 1970s, Oehler again met up with J.J. Johnson, whom he had met in the early 1960s when Johnson was with the Miles Davis band. Johnson was responsible for introducing Dale to Marvin Gaye, with whom he subsequently arranged Trouble Man (1972), which was the main title for the movie of the same name. Also during this period, he reconnected with Tom McIntosh, whom he had first met in 1962 while Tom was with the Art Farmer and Benny Golson Jazztet. Tom was instrumental in providing the opportunity to write various film cues, which included Shaft’s Big Score. It was during that film Dale met Freddie Hubbard, following which Freddie asked Dale to arrange his first Columbia record, entitled High Energy (1974). He also worked on You Light Up My Life, arranging the title tune for Andre Kostelanetz.

Beginning in 1975, he worked at Blue Note Records with Bobby Hutcherson, Carmen McRae and Horace Silver. Oehler's Warner Bros. Records work included Al Jarreau, Randy Crawford and Jennifer Holliday. He also worked on Joni Mitchell's The Hissing of Summer Lawns (Elektra/Asylum).

In 1978, Oehler produced and arranged the Freddie Hubbard album, Super Blue, which featured Joe Henderson, Hubert Laws, Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette, Kenny Barron and George Benson.

During the 1990s, Oehler's credits included work on albums for Dolly Parton, Kirk Whalum, Joe Sample, Diane Schuur and Mark Whitfield (featuring Diana Krall).

Discography

As producer

Dale Oehler at piano (2008)
Title Year Label
Carnival of the Spirits (Moacir Santos) 1975 Blue Note Records|Blue Note
Montara (Bobby Hutcherson) 1975 Blue Note Records|Blue Note
Can’t Hide Love (Carmen McRae) 1976 Blue Note Records
Waiting (Bobby Hutcherson) 1976 Blue Note Records
Knucklebean (Bobby Hutcherson) 1977 Blue Note Records
Promise Me the Moon (Dave Sanborn) 1977 Warner Bros. Records
View from the Inside (Bobby Hutcherson) 1977 Blue Note Records
Super Blue (Freddie Hubbard) 1978 Columbia Records
Un Poco Loco (Bobby Hutcherson) 1980 Columbia Records

As arranger

Title Year Label
Inside Bugsy (Bugsy Maugh) 1968 Dot Records
Shaft’s Big Score (film cues) 1972 MGM
Trouble Man (Marvin Gaye) 1972 Tamla
High Energy (Freddie Hubbard) 1974 Columbia
Willie Dynamite (film cues) 1974 MCA
Hissing of the Summer Lawns (Joni Mitchell) 1975 Elektra/Asylum
Who Is This Bitch, Anyway? (Marlena Shaw) 1975 Blue Note Records
Can’t Hide Love (Carmen McRae) 1976 Blue Note
Glow (Al Jarreau) 1976 Warner Bros.
Promise Me the Moon (Dave Sanborn) 1977 Warner Bros.
You Light Up My Life (Andre Kostelanetz) 1978 Columbia Records
Super Blue (Freddie Hubbard) 1978 Columbia Records
Blue Note Meets the L.A. Philharmonic (Bobby Hutcherson) 1978 Blue Note Records
Silver and Strings (Horace Silver) 1978 Blue Note Records
Suspended Animation (Randy Crawford) 1979 Warner Bros. Records
Un Poco Loco (Bobby Hutcherson) 1980 Columbia Records
Secret Combination (Randy Crawford) 1981 Warner Bros. Records
Nightline (Randy Crawford) 1983 Warner Bros. Records
Say You Love Me (Jennifer Holliday) 1985 Warner Bros. Records
All the Way (Jimmy Scott) 1992 Sire Records
Invitation (Joe Sample) 1993 Warner Bros. Records
Something Special (Dolly Parton) 1995 Sony Records
In This Life (Kirk Whalum) 1995 Columbia Records
Love Walked In (Diane Schuur) 1995 Verve Records
Forever Love (Mark Whitfield; feat. Diana Krall) 1997 Verve Records

As player

Title Year Label
J. R. Monterose (J. R. Monterose) 1964 Studio 4
Inside Bugsy (Bugsy Maugh) 1968 Dot Records
Promise Me the Moon (David Sanborn) 1977 Warner Bros.
Super Blue (Freddie Hubbard) 1978 Columbia Records
Live at the Tender Trap (Reissue) 1993 Fresh Sound

References

  1. Encyclopedia of Jazz in the Seventies, by Leonard Feather and Ira Gitler with Introduction by Quincy Jones; pg 258
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.