Detroit musician and record producer BRUCE NAZARIAN died on Friday October 9th. Aged 66, reports say that he died of a heart attack while editing music on his computer. Soul collectors will know Bruce via his session work with Motown and Invictus, though he was also a member of Brownsville Station and in recent years he was a respected member of the LA contemporary jazz scene and he also hosted a programme on Solar Radio – “The Digital Guy radio Show”.
Nazarian was born in Detroit in 1949 and at school and college he became proficient on piano, sax and guitar. His first major gig was playing in pop star Brian Hyland’s band before playing studio gigs. His studio credits include work with: David Ruffin, Johnnie Taylor, Barrett Strong, Anita Baker, the Spinners, The Dramatics, The Temptations and many others. Then he worked with the team at Invictus Records… he was even the featured singer on 8th Day’s ‘If I Could Just See The Light’. In 1975 he joined funk-rockers Brownsville Station (remember their ‘Smoking’ In The Boys Room’?). He left the band in 1979 and worked more sessions – and was one of the pioneers of using digital sequencing in recording and indeed, along with jazz, digital possibiltes became Bruce’s passion.
