Torrie Zito, a versatile arranger who worked with swingers like Bobby Darin, Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra as well as younger performers like John Lennon, Sinead OConnor and Clay Aiken, died on Thursday at his home in Manhattan. He was 76.
The cause was emphysema, his stepson, Alan Merrill, said.
Mr. Zito, who started out as a jazz pianist in the bebop mold of Bud Powell, found lasting success as an arranger and orchestrator proficient in a wide variety of styles, with a special flair for string writing.
After working with Perry Como on his album Lightly Latin (1966) and with the flutist Herbie Mann on The Herbie Mann String Album (1967), to take two examples from early in his arranging career, he provided the string orchestrations for the John Lennon album Imagine.
The cause was emphysema, his stepson, Alan Merrill, said.
Mr. Zito, who started out as a jazz pianist in the bebop mold of Bud Powell, found lasting success as an arranger and orchestrator proficient in a wide variety of styles, with a special flair for string writing.
After working with Perry Como on his album Lightly Latin (1966) and with the flutist Herbie Mann on The Herbie Mann String Album (1967), to take two examples from early in his arranging career, he provided the string orchestrations for the John Lennon album Imagine.
