Rob Mounsey

Even as pop music shifted its instrumental parameters after the 1960s, there remained room for those adept in the old ways. Rob Mounsey is one such craftsman, a name associated with string and orchestral arrangements on albums by platinum-selling artists since the '70s. When not devising charts and offering occasional production for singers, he has performed keyboards on albums under his own name, including two with jazz guitarist Steve Khan and one as part of the ensemble Joe Cool. Mounsey, born in Berea, Ohio, in 1952 and raised in both Seattle, Washington, and Granville, Ohio, took to the art of arranging by teaching himself composition around the age of 11. In 1970, the music publisher BMI bestowed upon him a Student Composer award for an orchestral work called "Ilium, New York Is Divided Into Three Parts." He graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 1975 and briefly joined Tommy Dorsey's orchestra, but found he preferred studio work to live performance. Over time, Mounsey built an impressive résumé as a first-call string arranger and occasional keyboardist. Early credits included keyboards on albums by Roberta Flack and Cissy Houston, and as a studio bandmember for the soundtracks to National Lampoon's Animal House and the film version of Broadway's The Wiz. Often, one gig would lead to another: an early arranging credit for Diana Ross' fan favorite "No One Gets the Prize" put him on the radar of that track's producers Ashford & Simpson, who recruited him for their Stay Free album in 1979. After playing keys and arranging horns for several tracks on Steely Dan's Gaucho, Mounsey would do the same on Dan frontman Donald Fagen's solo debut The Nightfly (notably charting the horns on the hit "I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World)." In 1985, Mounsey arranged Madonna's Crazy for You, a chart-topping hit ballad from the soundtrack to Vision Quest. A year later -- having played on albums by both Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel and as part of Simon & Garfunkel's celebrated 1981 reunion concert in Central Park -- he played the indelible synth hook to Simon's "You Can Call Me Al" off the Grammy-winning Graceland. He also added keyboards to two hits from Steve Winwood's Back in the High Life (the title track and "The Finer Things") and even co-produced Carly Simon's Oscar and Golden Globe-winning "Let the River Run" from the soundtrack to Working Girl. Mounsey branched out into topline performing during this period. With guitarist Jeff Mironov, bassist Will Lee, and drummer Chris Parker, he formed Joe Cool, a combo that released 1984's Party Animals on Japan's Canyon label. Mounsey released a solo album, 1989's Dig, under the alias the Flying Monkey Orchestra, which became a full ensemble on the albums Back in the Pool (1993) and Mango Theory (1995), featuring all the members of Joe Cool and session legends like saxophonist Michael Brecker and guitarist Steve Khan. (Mounsey and Khan released the albums Local Color, 1987, and You Are Here, 1998.) As the '90s gave way to the 2000s, Mounsey stayed active, playing and arranging on Rod Stewart's first two Great American Songbook albums, 2002's It Had to Be You, and 2003's As Time Goes By; he also produced albums for Aaron Neville, Idina Menzel, and Billy Porter. ~ Mike Duquette, Rovi