Turkish-born record producer Arif Mardin, who helped shape hit recordings by the Bee Gees, Aretha Franklin, Willie Nelson and Bette Midler among many others, has died at age 74, associates said.
Mardin died in New York on Sunday after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.
The winner of 11 Grammys, including producer of the year, he spent nearly 30 years at Atlantic Records before founding his own label at EMI, Manhattan Records, where he signed Norah Jones for her debut album.
Mardin, a jazz fan and friend of trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and arranger Quincy Jones, was encouraged by them to get formal musical training and he did by attending Boston's Berklee College of Music.
In 1963 he joined Atlantic Records, which was founded Turkish brothers and fellow jazz fans Nesuhi and Ahmet Ertegun.
Among the hit records he produced were "Groovin" by the Young Rascals, "Against All Odds" by Phil Collins and "Jive Talkin" by the Bee Gees.
He also produced several Aretha Franklin albums including "Lady Soul," "I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You" and the gospel album "Amazing Grace."
Technorati Tags: Jazz, Smooth Jazz, Music
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