Rob Mounsey

Rob Mounsey (born December 2, 1952) is an American musician, composer, and arranger.[1]

Rob Mounsey
Rob Mounsey performing in Oslo in 2018
Rob Mounsey performing in Oslo in 2018
Background information
Born (1952-12-02) December 2, 1952
Berea, Ohio, U.S.
GenresPop, rock, R&B, jazz
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, arranger, producer
Instrument(s)Piano, keyboards
Years active1976 – present
Websiterobmounsey.com

Music career

Mounsey was born in Berea, Ohio, and grew up in Seattle, Washington, spending a few years each in Findlay and Granville, Ohio. At the age of 17, he was awarded a 1970 BMI Student Composer Award for his orchestral work Ilium, New York, Is Divided into Three Parts. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston from 1971 to 1975.

In 1976, he moved to New York City to become a studio musician, arranger, and producer for a wide range of well-known artists, including Aaron Neville, Aztec Camera, Brian Wilson, Carly Simon, Chaka Khan, Chromeo, Brett Eldredge, Diana Krall, Diana Ross, Donald Fagen, Eric Clapton, James Taylor, Karen Carpenter, Madonna, Michael Franks, Natalie Cole, Paul Simon, Rihanna, Steely Dan, and others. He performed on keyboards in 1981 for Simon and Garfunkel's Concert in the Park.

In 1985, he played keyboards in a New-York-based group called Joe Cool with Will Lee, Jeff Mironov and Christopher Parker. They released one album, Party Animals, on the Pony Canyon label in Japan, followed by a Japanese tour.

Mounsey released three solo albums as a recording artist: Dig (Sona Gaia, 1990), and two self-released albums on his own Monkeyville label, Back in the Pool and Mango Theory.

He toured as musical director and pianist for Idina Menzel in her Pops Symphony tours (2010-2015,) for which he created nearly all of the arrangements.

He has composed for film and television, including the 1988 Mike Nichols film Working Girl (with Carly Simon), the film Bright Lights, Big City (with Donald Fagen) and the HBO hit series Sex and the City.[1] Mounsey wrote two long-running Emmy-winning themes for the television show Guiding Light. He is a six-time Grammy Award nominee, and a winner of two Emmy Awards.[1] He is a Zen Buddhist who resides in Brooklyn, New York.

Selected discography

As leader
  • Local Color with Steve Khan (Denon, 1987)
  • You Are Here with Steve Khan (Siam, 1998)
  • Dig with the Flying Monkey Orchestra (Sona Gaia, 1989)
  • Back in the Pool with the Flying Monkey Orchestra (Monkeyville, 1993)
  • Mango Theory with the Flying Monkey Orchestra (Monkeyville, 1995)
  • Party Animals with Joe Cool (Canyon, 1985)

As producer

As arranger/pianist

With Steely Dan

  • Gaucho (MCA, 1980)

With Donald Fagen

  • Nightfly (Warner Bros., 1982)

With Paul Simon

  • Hearts and Bones (Warner Bros., 1983)
  • Graceland (Warner Bros., 1986)

With James Taylor

  • Hourglass (Columbia, 1997)
  • October Road (Columbia, 2002)
  • James Taylor at Christmas (Columbia, 2006)
  • Before This World (Concord, 2015)

With Michael Franks

  • Objects of Desire (Warner Bros., 1982)
  • Passionfruit (Warner Bros., 1983)
  • Skin Dive (Warner Bros., 1985)
  • The Camera Never Lies (Warner Bros., 1987)

With Art Garfunkel

  • Fate for Breakfast (CBS, 1979)
  • Scissors Cut (Columbia, 1981)
  • The Animals' Christmas by Jimmy Webb (CBS, 1986)

With Cissy Houston

  • Cissy Houston (Private Stock, 1977)
  • Think It Over (Private Stock, 1978)
  • Step Aside for a Lady (Columbia, 1979)

With Steve Khan

  • Arrows (Columbia, 1979)
  • Borrowed Time (Tone Center, 2007)
  • Subtext (ESC, 2014)
  • Backlog (ESC, 2016)
  • Parting Shot (Tone Center, 2011)

With Diana Ross

  • Why Do Fools Fall in Love (Capitol/EMI 1981)
  • Silk Electric (Capitol, 1982)
  • Ross (RCA, 1983)

With David Spinozza

  • Spinozza (A&M, 1978)

With Spyro Gyra

  • Carnaval (MCA, 1980)
  • Freetime (MCA, 1981)
  • Incognito (MCA, 1982)

With others

References
  1. "Robmounseymusic". Robmounsey.com. Archived from the original on January 22, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
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