Bobby Schiff

I’m Bobby Schiff, a pianist, arranger, composer, conductor and producer who has spent more than five decades shaping the Chicago and Los Angeles music scenes. I’ve led orchestras and bands, performed on piano and keyboards, and collaborated with legendary artists from Mel Tormé and Ella Fitzgerald to Bobby Rydell and Wayne Newton. I started playing seriously in high school, trained from age five, and spent formative years at Universal Recording Studios in Chicago, where I learned the ins and outs of music production and publishing. In the 1970s my commercial music work drew clients like Kimberly-Clark, Sesame Street, McDonald’s and Hallmark, and later LA opened doors in film and television; I even recorded with Marvin Hamlisch and Jerry Goldsmith.

Today I’m based in Chicago, working as a vocal arranger and accompanist while leading my own jazz trio and event bands—Phoenix, The Bobby Schiff Band and the Bobby Schiff Jazz Trio. I’ve served as a National Trustee and National Vice-President of the Grammys and as Vice President of the Association of Professional Orchestra Leaders; I’m active in ASCAP and ASMA. My projects include music directing for the Women of Southport Jazz Festival, releasing the 2006 CD Late Game, and composing orchestral works for Park Ridge Symphony and a Harris Theater Christmas concert with big-band/strings arrangements. I’m also collaborating with violinist Daniela Bisenius in a series blending classical, jazz, tango and gypsy styles.