Arif Mardin
Mardin at the Grammy Awards, February 1990
Background information
Born	(1932-03-15)March 15, 1932 Istanbul, Turkey
Died	June 25, 2006(2006-06-25) (aged 74) New York City, U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Occupations	Music producer arranger
Instrument	Keyboards
Years active	1960s–2006
Labels	Atlantic Manhattan

Arif Mardin (March 15, 1932 – June 25, 2006) was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, includingjazz,rock,soul,disco andcountry. He worked atAtlantic Records for over 30 years, as producer, arranger, studio manager, and vice president, before moving toEMI and serving as vice president and general manager ofManhattan Records.^[1]

Mardin worked with artists includingthe Rascals,Queen,Melissa Manchester,John Prine, theBee Gees,Hall & Oates,Anita Baker,Aretha Franklin,Dionne Warwick,Donny Hathaway,Roberta Flack,Bette Midler,Michael Crawford,Chaka Khan,Howard Jones,Laura Nyro,Ringo Starr,Carly Simon,Phil Collins,Daniel Rodriguez, andNorah Jones.^[2] Mardin was awarded 12Grammy Awards and has 18 nominations.^[3]

Mardin was born inIstanbul into a renowned family that included statesmen, diplomats and leaders in the civic, military and business sectors of theOttoman Empire and theTurkish Republic. His father was co-owner in a petroleum gas station chain.

Mardin grew up listening to the likes ofBing Crosby andGlenn Miller. Through his sister he metjazz critic Cuneyt Sermet, who turned him onto this music and eventually became his mentor. After graduating fromIstanbul University in Economics and Commerce, Mardin studied at theLondon School of Economics. Influenced by his sister's music records and jazz, he was also an accomplished orchestrator and arranger, but he never intended to pursue a career in music.

However, his fate changed in 1956 after meeting the American jazz musiciansDizzy Gillespie andQuincy Jones at a concert in Ankara. He sent three demo compositions to his friend Tahir Sur who worked at a radio station in the United States. Sur took these compositions to Quincy Jones and Mardin became the first recipient of the Quincy Jones Scholarship at theBerklee College of Music inBoston. In 1958 he and his fiancé Latife moved from Istanbul to Boston. After graduating in 1961, he taught at Berklee for one year and then moved toNew York City to try his luck. Arif Mardin was later made a trustee of Berklee and was awarded an honorary doctorate.

Mardin began his career atAtlantic Records in 1963 as an assistant toNesuhi Ertegün.^[4] A fellow Turkish émigré, Nesuhi was the brother ofAhmet Ertegün, Atlantic's co-founder and a jazz enthusiast when they met at theNewport Jazz Festival. Mardin rose through the ranks quickly, becoming studio manager, label house producer and arranger. In 1969, he became the Vice President and later served as Senior Vice President until 2001. He worked closely on many projects with co-founders Ertegün andJerry Wexler, as well as noted recording engineerTom Dowd; the three legends (Dowd, Mardin, and Wexler) were responsible for establishing the "Atlantic Sound". Arif Mardin retired from Atlantic Records in May 2001 and re-activated his labelManhattan Records. He maintained ties to the Turkish music industry.^[5]

Heproduced many hit artists includingMargie Joseph,Thereza Bazar,The Rascals,Carly Simon,Petula Clark,Bette Midler,Barbra Streisand,Cher, theBee Gees,Diana Ross,Queen,Patti LaBelle,Aretha Franklin,Lulu,Anita Baker,Judy Collins,Phil Collins,Scritti Politti,Culture Club,Roberta Flack,Average White Band,Hall & Oates,Donny Hathaway,Jeffrey Osborne,Howard Jones,Norah Jones,Daniel Rodriguez,Chaka Khan,George Benson,Melissa Manchester,The Manhattan Transfer,Modern Jazz Quartet,Willie Nelson,John Prine,Leo Sayer,Dusty Springfield,David Bowie,Jewel andRingo Starr.^[6]

Mardin is listed on Stephen Stills'first album (1970) issued by Atlantic Records, as a contributing artist for string arrangement on the songs "Church" and "To a Flame".

Arif Mardin, when producing the Bee Gees' 1975Main Course album track "Nights on Broadway" discovered the distinctive falsetto ofBarry Gibb, which became a familiar trademark of the band throughout the disco era.

Mardin made three solo albums:Glass Onion, in 1970,Journey, in 1975, andAll My Friends Are Here, in 2006. InJourney, he was the composer and arranger, but he also played electric piano and percussion, and was accompanied by many stars of jazz (Randy andMichael Brecker,Joe Farrell,Gary Burton,Ron Carter,Steve Gadd,Billy Cobham and many others).^[7] Mardin composed, arranged, conducted and producedThe Prophet, an interpretation ofThe Prophet byKahlil Gibran, in 1974, featuringRichard Harris.^[8]

In his career of more than 40 years, he collected over 40 gold and platinum albums, over 15 Grammy nominations and 12Grammy Awards. In 1990, Arif Mardin was inducted into theNational Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame.^[9]

Mardin consideredAll My Friends Are Here his life's work. He wrote or co-wrote all but one of the 13 tracks. The album features performances byBette Midler,Chaka Khan,David Sanborn,Norah Jones,Carly Simon,Phil Collins, among the artists whom he produced over the years.^[10][11] Recording sessions and interviews were filmed for the companion documentaryThe Greatest Ears in Town: The Arif Mardin Story.

His son, Joe, created a documentary about his father calledThe Greatest Ears in Town: The Arif Mardin Story which was released on June 15, 2010. The documentary was directed by Doug Biro. It was premiered at several screenings at different chapters of TheRecording Academy. The first screening took place inNew York on June 15, 2010.

He came to the United States in 1958 with his wife, Latife Mardin, who was a playwright and translator. They had three children: Nazan Joffre,Joe Mardin and Julie Mardin.^[15]

Mardin died at his home in New York on June 25, 2006, following a lengthy battle withpancreatic cancer.^[16] His remains were brought to Turkey and were interred atKaracaahmet Cemetery inÜsküdar district of Istanbul on July 5, 2006. Bee Gees' soloistRobin Gibb and his wife Dwina attended the funeral service, among other prominent people.^[17]

Ahmet Necdet Sezer, the Turkish president, said in a statement: “I was deeply saddened by the death of Arif Mardin, who is considered to be one of the most important music producers of the 20th century. He will always be respectfully remembered as a person who made our nation proud.”^[18]

Ahmet Ertegun, Founder of Atlantic Records and former chairman of TheAmerican Turkish Society remarked  "Arif Mardin has been one of the most prolific board members of The American Turkish Society and a great friend. We are deeply grateful for his service."^[19]

A memorial tribute to Mardin was held atAlice Tully Hall in New York City on March 6, 2007.^[20]

• Category: Albums produced by Arif Mardin

• The Arif Mardin Story onYouTube

Wikimedia Commons has media related toArif Mardin.

• 1932 births
• 2006 deaths
• American music industry executives
• Berklee College of Music alumni
• Burials at Karacaahmet Cemetery
• Deaths from pancreatic cancer in New York (state)
• Grammy Award winners
• Istanbul University alumni
• Musicians from Istanbul
• Turkish emigrants to the United States
• Turkish record producers

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