Biography of Larry Rosen

Mr Larry Rosen CEO of Larry Rosen Productions Inc. endorses and recommends the Business Links Tour to South Africa.

A CD of his experience in SA is available on request.

LRSmedia, LLC founded by Mr. Rosen, jazz legend and media personality Ramsey Lewis, and businessman Lee Rosenberg in 2002 creates music brands and products, which it sells and markets through company produced television, radio, Internet, and live performance events. LRSmedia produces content in the form of CDs, DVDs, new entertainment products such as Blu-ray Discs, and digital products. The first product brand produced under the LRSmedia banner was the LEGENDS OF JAZZ 2005 PBS TV one-hour prime time special, and was followed by the 2006 PBS 13 part series LEGENDS OF JAZZ, for which Mr. Rosen served as the Creator and Producer. Additionally, Mr. Rosen is the Creator and Producer of the epic 10 hour television series titled, RECORDING: The History of Recorded Music, which is scheduled for broadcast in the fall of 2009. By creating music brands and leveraging interrelated programming to market artists and music under the brand umbrellas, LRSmedia reaches more consumers in a more compelling manner than traditional music companies.

N2K, Inc. (NASDAQ), one of the Internet's premier e-commerce and content companies, was co-founded by Mr. Rosen in 1996. Mr. Rosen served as Chairman and CEO leading the company to its initial public offering in the fall of 1997. N2K, Inc. brands included music superstore Music Boulevard and its genre-based community sites Rocktropolis, Jazz Central Station, Classical Insites, and artist sites for Leonard Bernstein, Miles Davis, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, and more, all part of the Music Boulevard Network. The company was the first to distribute music via digital downloads and lead the way for music into the 21st Century. Mr. Rosen architected the plan to merge N2K Inc. and CDNow Inc., the two top Internet music e-commerce companies, completing the merger in March 1999 valuing the combined entity at over $500 million.

GRP Records, Inc. was founded by Mr. Rosen and multi-Grammy Award winning pianist/composer Dave Grusin in 1982. The Grusin/Rosen team recognized the inherent opportunities of digital technology early on at GRP, which became the first label to adopt an "all digital" recording philosophy and released all titles on compact disc. Under Rosen's leadership, GRP went on to become Billboard magazine's #1 contemporary jazz label worldwide for five consecutive years and its artists were nominated for over 80 Grammy Awards. GRP's artist roster included Chick Corea, Lee Ritenour, Diana Krall, Diane Schuur, Patti Austin, Dr. John, Dave Grusin, Spyro Gyra, The Rippingtons, David Benoit, Tom Scott, Gary Burton, B.B. King, Ramsey Lewis, Sergio Salvatore, Dave Valentin, Arturo Sandoval, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Larry Carlton, Yellowjackets, Don Grusin, Kevin Eubanks, GRP All-Star Big Band, and many more. In 1990, Rosen and Grusin sold GRP Records to the Universal Music Group. From 1990 until 1995, Rosen continued as president and CEO of GRP Records. Along with the presidents of Geffen Records and MCA Records, Rosen helped forge Universal's international business strategies.

Rosen began his musical career as a drummer with the Newport Youth Band and met future partner Dave Grusin while working with singer Andy Williams and attending the Manhattan School of Music. In 1972, the duo produced vocalist Jon Lucien for RCA Records and went on to form Grusin/Rosen productions, which discovered and produced new recording artists including Earl Klugh, Noel Pointer, Patti Austin, Lee Ritenour, and others. In 1978, Grusin/Rosen Productions signed a long-term contract with Arista Records president Clive Davis to develop new talent for the Arista/GRP label, including Dave Valentin, Angela Bofill, Bernard Wright, and Tom Browne. In 1979, Rosen engineered and co-produced the Dave Grusin album "Mountain Dance," the first digitally recorded non-classical album.

Mr. Rosen is the producer/executive producer of over 350 CDs, DVDs, and numerous Television programs. Additionally, Mr. Rosen received Ernst & Young's prestigious "Entrepreneur of the Year" award in New Media & Entertainment; Forbes magazine named Rosen an "Internet Icon" in the cover story entitled "Masters of the New Universe." Mr. Rosen served as a member of The Board of Governors of the New York Chapter of the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) and served on The Grammy Screening Committee. He received the NARAS Governor's Award and was inducted into the A&R/Producers Honor Roll. Mr. Rosen serves on the boards of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA), the Music for Youth Foundation (MYF), the Music Educators National Council (MENC), and along with Mr. Grusin, Mr. Rosen co-founded the National Foundation for Jazz Education (NFJE), a philanthropic group which helps young jazz musicians.

Source: Larry Rosen Productions, Inc.

Back to Africa Golf & Safari Profile