Bob Florence (1932-2008)

Biography

Bob Florence was born in California and became one of Los Angeles’s finest big band leaders and arrangers. He studied at USC and worked extensively in Los Angeles studios while leading his own Limited Edition big band for over 30 years. Florence arranged for Si Zentner, Benny Goodman, Louie Bellson, and countless studio projects while maintaining his own band as a creative outlet. He won Grammy Awards and his band received numerous accolades. Florence taught at universities and through clinics, influencing younger arrangers. His work combined traditional big band values with contemporary harmonic and rhythmic approaches. Florence represented the best of professional studio arranging combined with artistic ambition, maintaining the highest standards throughout his career. His Limited Edition band kept big band tradition vital on the West Coast, demonstrating that the idiom remained capable of fresh expression.

Musical Style

Florence’s arranging style featured sophisticated voicings combining traditional big band swing with contemporary harmonies and rhythms. His arrangements demonstrated complete technical mastery, with rich, complex voicings that nonetheless swung hard. What distinguished Florence’s work was his balance between complexity and swing—his arrangements were intellectually sophisticated yet never lost rhythmic drive and emotional impact. His writing for brass sections was particularly notable, creating powerful, exciting textures. Florence understood how to voice chords densely while maintaining clarity and transparency. His harmonic language drew from bebop and contemporary jazz while remaining rooted in swing tradition. Florence’s arrangements featured interesting inner voice movement and sophisticated reharmonizations. His style represented the continuation and evolution of West Coast big band tradition, demonstrating that sophisticated arranging and hard swing weren’t contradictory.

Orchestration Techniques

Florence’s voicing approach combines traditional four-way close structures with contemporary extensions, frequently employing clusters built on stacked fourths and tritone substitutions that create dense, modernist sonorities. His brass writing utilizes spread voicings with strategic doublings, often positioning trumpets in close intervals at the top while trombones provide open-fifth foundations, resulting in a powerful yet balanced sound. Sectional writing demonstrates mastery of concerted techniques, with saxophone, brass, and rhythm sections functioning as independent choirs that interact through interlocking rhythmic patterns and complementary voice leading. Contrapuntal textures feature extensive use of invertible counterpoint, with melodic lines that function equally well as bass or soprano voices. Florence’s saxophone voicings exploit the full range of the section, from baritone pedal tones to stratospheric alto passages, with inner voices moving through chromatic planing. The brass register usage emphasizes the middle-upper tessitura, avoiding extreme high trumpet writing in favor of dense, powerful chord clusters that maintain intonation and blend. Rhythmic notation includes complex metric modulations, polyrhythmic figures, and precisely notated swing interpretations using specific articulation symbols for weight and length. Textural approaches range from unison lines to twelve-part divisi, with careful attention to orchestral weight and density throughout formal sections. Florence’s preferred ensemble configuration is the expanded big band with additional woodwind doubles, allowing for timbral variety through flute and clarinet voicings alongside traditional saxophone sounds. Dynamic architecture employs long-range crescendos built through orchestrational accretion, adding instrumental layers systematically to create climactic peaks. His signature technique involves thickened line writing where each melodic note receives a complete chord voicing, creating rich harmonizations that move in rhythmic unison while maintaining complex harmonic content.

Top Albums

Bob Florence Limited Edition - “Westlake” (1981)

Florence’s arrangements for his own big band showcase his mature style. His charts feature dense, sophisticated voicings with strong swing feeling and excellent writing for all sections. What makes these arrangements remarkable is their combination of complexity and accessibility—Florence writes challenging music that nonetheless grooves hard and communicates directly. His composition “Westlake” demonstrates his gift for creating exciting charts that feature the entire band. The voicings prove Florence’s complete mastery of big band orchestration.

Bob Florence Limited Edition - “Jewels” (2000)

Florence’s later arrangements show continued evolution and refinement. His charts maintain his signature sophisticated voicings while incorporating contemporary elements. What’s particularly impressive is the maturity and economy of these arrangements—Florence’s decades of experience result in writing of remarkable effectiveness. His arrangement of “Body and Soul” demonstrates how familiar material can be completely reimagined through sophisticated reharmonization and voicing. The album won a Grammy and represents Florence at peak creative powers.

Bob Florence Limited Edition - “With All the Bells and Whistles” (2005)

Florence’s final recordings demonstrate sustained creativity into his 70s. His arrangements here feature his signature complex voicings with perhaps even greater emotional depth. What makes these charts fascinating is their perfect balance—Florence achieves maximum sophistication while maintaining accessibility and swing. His composition “Blues for Keeps” shows how Florence could write simple blues forms with completely fresh harmonic and orchestral approaches. The album proves Florence remained vital and innovative throughout his life, continually finding new possibilities in big band jazz.