Si Zentner
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Born

  • June 17, 1917
  • New York, NY

Died

  • January 31, 2000
  • Las Vegas, NV

Marriages / Children

  • Frances
  • Howard
  • Linda

Theme Song

  • Up a Lazy River

Si Zentner

Bucking the odds, Si Zentner formed his first big band in the late 1950s. Though most everyone else had given up on the band business he wanted to prove that it could still be viable, and prove it he did, scoring a smash hit and winning a Grammy in the process.

Born in New York City, Zentner began learning the violin at age four but later switched to the trombone. He won a college scholarship for music and planned to pursue a classical career, but after working a session with Andre Kostelanetz, he decided to try his hand at commercial music. He landed his first big job with Van Alexander in 1938, leaving to join Les Brown in 1940. He later worked with Abe Lyman and Jimmy Dorsey before settling down in Los Angeles during the war years, where he was on call for all the major studios in Hollywood and worked at MGM as a staff musician from 1949 to 1955.

In 1957 Zentner decided to organize his own big band. The group played its first date at the Hollywood Palladium in January 1959. The show went so well that the band was brought back for several repeat performances. Earning favorable reviews in Downbeat magazine, Zentner's future seemed bright. In 1959 he signed with Liberty Records and in 1960 had a huge hit with "Up a Lazy River," winning a Grammy for Best Instrumental. He remained popular throughout the early and mid-1960s, continuing to release new material up until 1968. Besides Liberty he also recorded for RCA Victor and Bel Canto Records and in 1962 collaborated with lounge artist Martin Denney.

In 1965 Zentner took his orchestra into the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas, where they remained until 1968 when Zentner became musical director for the Folies Bergere, one of the longest-running floor shows in Vegas. He remained with the show until the mid-1970s then organized a new orchestra and went back on the road. Si Zentner passed away on January 31, 2000, from complications related to leukemia.