Arif Mardin, the Grammy Award-winning record producer and arranger born in Istanbul in 1932, died Sunday at age 72 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He is to be buried in Istanbul.
Over a career spanning more than four decades, Mardin collaborated with an extraordinary range of artists, including Aretha Franklin, the Bee Gees, Norah Jones, Phil Collins, Roberta Flack, Chaka Khan, Bette Midler, and Barbra Streisand. Much of that work was done during a long tenure at Atlantic Records, where he eventually rose to senior vice president before retiring in 2001.
After leaving Atlantic, Mardin joined EMI's US operation and co-produced Jones's debut album, Come Away With Me, on the Blue Note label, which became one of the best-selling albums of the new millennium. He also worked on her follow-up record, Feels Like Home.
Mardin studied at Istanbul University and later at the London School of Economics before winning the first Quincy Jones Scholarship at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He subsequently taught there and was eventually named a trustee and awarded an honorary doctorate.
Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer issued a statement calling Mardin one of the most significant music producers of the 20th century and said he had brought pride to his homeland.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in June 2006, in its own words.