Si Zentner; Vegas Trombonist, Big Band Leader

Si Zentner, 82, Las Vegas trombonist who performed frequently at Disneyland and made a hit recording of “Up a Lazy River.” His 1961 instrumental arrangement of the old standard became his theme song for the rest of his life. Born Simon Hugh Zentner in Brooklyn, N.Y., he played with the big bands of Les Brown, Harry James and Jimmy Dorsey. Then Zentner settled in Los Angeles as a studio musician for MGM until he formed his own big band in 1958. Naysayers told him the big band era was dead, replaced by rock ‘n’ roll. But Zentner’s standard reply was: “The band business didn’t die. The bandleaders did.” His band found steady employment in California and Las Vegas until his death. Zentner recorded more than 30 albums and hundreds of songs for Liberty Records. The trombonist and his so-called anachronistic big band were regulars for a quarter-century at Disneyland’s Carnation Plaza Gardens. Zentner moved to Las Vegas in 1965, performing at the Tropicana’s Blue Room and later conducting the “Folies Bergere” show. On Monday in Las Vegas of leukemia.