R.I.P. Maurice White

Early in my career, I was honored to be asked to do a series of big band arrangements of top Earth Wind and Fire hits for A&M’s Almo Publishing.  Already one of my all time favorite groups, it was a great and inspiring experience to really dig into every ingredient of their charts and translate for big band orchestrations.  Thursday (Feb 4 2016), we lost the incredibly talented and inspirational Maurice White. The 74-year-old Parkinson’s Disease sufferer, whose hits included Boogie Wonderland, September and Shining Star, died in his sleep at home in Los Angeles.  Due to his diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease in the late 1980s, White stopped touring with Earth, Wind & Fire in 1994. However, he retained executive control of the band and was still very active in the music business, producing and recording with EWF and other artists.  Earth, Wind & Fire has sold more than 90 million albums worldwide.  Rest in Peace, but keep on jamming with the angels, dear Maurice!