Sy Oliver's Arrangements in 10 Clips

Yesterday's post on arranger, trumpeter and vocalist Sy Oliver generated many emails from readers who have long loved his work and those who weren't familiar with him. In yesterday's post, I shared some of Oliver's classic arrangements for Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra. To drive home Oliver's importance and influence, here are 10 of my favorite arrangements over the decades:

Here's Oliver's arrangement of Now or Never by Billie Holiday in 1949...



Here's Oliver's arrangement of That Old Feeling by Kay Thompson in June 1950...



Here's Oliver's arrangement of I've Got the World on a String by Ella Fitzgerald in 1950...



Here's Oliver's arrangement of Because of Rain by Ella Fitzgerald in March 1951...



Here's Oliver's arrangement of No Name for Count Basie's first New Testament band recordings in January 1952...



Here's Oliver's Redhead for Basie on the same session...



Here's Oliver's Everything I Love by Chris Connor in 1953...



Here's Oliver arrangement of Mr. Wonderful by Peggy Lee in 1956...



Here's Oliver's arrangement of There Is No Greater Love by Sammy Davis Jr. in 1960, with Eric Dolphy on alto saxophone...



And here's Oliver's arrangement of 720 in the Books in 1961...