Al Cobine, the Indiana bandleader, composer/arranger, and saxophon ist who helped raise Bloomington's music scene to national stature, passed away Thursday afternoon at the age of 82. A native of Richmond, Indiana, Cobine came to Bloomington in the 1950s to pursue a doctorate in political science but ended up becoming a widely renowned big-band leader instead, putting together orchestras and arrangements for Henry Mancini, Johnny Mathis, Elvis Presley, and many other popular artists and directing a Bloomington-based ensemble for decades.
Read the entire blog entry from WFIU's Nightlights host, David Brent Johnson.