Results for "composer/conductor"

Ralph Burns

Born: June 29, 1922

Of the dozens of fine composers and arrangers to come out of New England, none was ever more accomplished or more prolific than Ralph Burns, who left indelible marks on music in America from coast to coast and not only in the jazz idiom. While with Herman in the late 1940s, Burns was the anchor of a composing/arranging staff unsurpassed in big band history. Among his colleagues were Nat Pierce, Neal Hefti, Shorty Rogers, Red Norvo, Bill Harris, Terry Gibbs, Jimmy Giuffre and even Igor Stravinsky, who was inspired to compose “Ebony Concerto” for Herman after hearing some of the works Burns had done for the band. Burns was impressionable himself and often stayed up all night listening to records of Stravinsky, Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker. According to British jazz journalist and radio man Steve Voce, “Burns was befriended by Alexis Haieff, Stravinsky’s protégé, and he studied composition and orchestration with him. It was to serve him in good stead, for Burns went on to be not only a jazz figure to rank with Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Gerry Mulligan and Gil Evans, but also to become one of the finest orchestrators of popular music. “Burns kept busy with writing, never short of work throughout the best part of 60 years, manuscripts for a projected musical on his desk when he died. His skills were directed at chamber composition, jazz writing and at enhancing those who performed the great American songbook. He was matchless, and it is certain that the timeless nature of his work will ensure its survival along with the best of Ellington and Strayhorn, whom he so much admired.” Outside of his legendary work with the Woody Herman band, Burns played a major role in the musical scores for some of the biggest hits on Broadway, including “Chicago,” “No, No, Nanette,” “Sweet Charity,” “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” and “Dancin’.” His Hollywood work included “Cabaret” and a collaboration with Jule Styne and Barbra Streisand on “Funny Girl.” He received Academy awards for “Cabaret” and “All That Jazz,” and a Tony for “Fosse.” Burns’ masterpiece was “Summer Sequence,” a 20-minute suite introduced to the world by Herman at Carnegie Hall on March 25, 1946. “That was something I wish I could remember more,” said Burns years later. “It was a thrilling night. The band was at its absolute peak. We thought nothing of it at the time, like a baseball team that went on to the World Series.”

Les Brown

Born: March 14, 1912

Les Brown and the Band of Renown brought Doris Day into prominence with their recording of "Sentimental Journey" in 1945. The release of "Sentimental Journey" coincided with the end of WWII in Europe and was the homecoming theme for many veterans. They had nine other number-one hit songs, including "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm." Les Brown and the Band of Renown performed with Bob Hope on radio, stage and TV for almost fifty years. They did 18 USO Tours for American troops around the world, and entertained over three million. Before the Super Bowls were televised, the Bob Hope Christmas Specials were the highest-rated programs in television history

Patrick Brennan

New York City based composer, saxophonist & bandleader patrick brennan is a participant in the Blues Continuum who’s pursued a contrarian and independent musical path for over 40 years. He formed his long term, rhythm- section-centric ensemble sonic openings under pressure, in 1979, a project that interfaces flexibly jointed compositional matrices with polyrhythm & collective improvisation. He’s initiated the Sudani Project, a collaboration with Gnawi Ma’alem Najib Soudani of Essaouira, Morocco and U.S. percussionist and singer Nirankar Khalsa. He further explores his multilinear orchestral conceptions via the solo saxophone project rōnin phasing and sustains a modularly organized large ensemble, transparency kestra, now in its 5th year of monthly NYC performances.

Henry Brant

Born: September 15, 1913

Henry Brant is considered to be one of the principal pioneers of 20th Century spatial music, writing work in which the planned positioning of the performers throughout the hall, as well as on stage, is an essential factor in the composing scheme. Born in Montreal in 1913, he moved to New York in 1929, and spent the next 20 years composing and conducting for radio, film, ballet, and jazz groups, while also composing experimentally for the concert stage. In his 72 years of composing, Brant has garnered major international recognition, including numerous awards and accolades ranging from two Guggenheim Fellowships, the Prix Italia (being the first American to win this award), and the American Music Center's Letter of Distinction, to major international retrospectives of his work and the designation of a Henry Brant Week in Boston by Mayor Kevin White

Alberto Socarras

Born: September 19, 1908

Alberto Socarras - clarinet, flute, alto and soprano sax, bandleader,(1908 - 1987) Alberto Socarras is credited with recording the first real jazz flute piece in 1927. Socarras was a highly proficient Cuban clarinetist, and bandleader, who after his arrival in New York, performed with Lew Leslie's Blackbirds, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway and Louis Armstrong. Socarras playing a flute recorded "Shootin' The Pistol" in 1927 with the Clarence Williams Band. His other recordings include “You're Such a Cruel Papa To Me,” with vocalist Lizzie Miles in 1928, and “You Can't Be Mine,”in 1930, with Bennett's Swamplanders

Gunther Schuller

Born: November 22, 1925

The composer Gunther Schuller is, famously, a man of many musical pursuits. He began his professional life as a horn player in both the jazz and classical worlds, working as readily with Miles Davis and Gil Evans as with Toscanini; he was principal horn of the Cincinnati Symphony from age sixteen and later of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra until 1959. In the 1950s he began a conducting career focusing largely on contemporary music, and thereafter conducted most of the major orchestras of the world in a wide range of works, including his own. He was central in precipitating a new stylistic marriage between progressive factions of jazz and classical, coining the term "Third Stream" and collaborating in the development of the style with John Lewis, the Modem Jazz Quartet, and others. An educator of extraordinary influence, he has been on the faculties of the Manhattan School of Music and Yale University; he was, for many years, head of contemporary music activities (succeeding Aaron Copland) as well as a director of the Tanglewood Music Center, and served as President of the New England Conservatory

Ken Schaphorst

Born: May 24, 1960

Ken Schaphorst is a composer, performer, and educator currently chairing the Jazz Studies and Improvisation Department at the New England Conservatory in Boston. Before moving to Boston in 2001, Schaphorst served as Director of Jazz Studies at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin for ten years. Schaphorst is also a founding member of the Jazz Composers Alliance, a Boston-based non-profit corporation promoting new music in the jazz idiom since 1985. Born in Abington, Pennsylvania on May 24, 1960, Schaphorst has studied at Swarthmore College, New England Conservatory, and Boston University, where he received the Doctor of Musical Arts in 1990

Moacir Santos

Born: July 26, 1926

You don’t have to apologize if you don’t know who Moacir Santos is. Many people are oblivious to the works of the arranger and songwriter, regarded by the critics and researchers as one of the most innovative talents in the history of MPB. But from now on, there are no more excuses: the album Ouro Negro, produced by musicians Zé Nogueira and Mario Adnet, is coming out. The CD (released on the label MP,B) features the two instrumentalists performing the sophisticated music of Santos—who is 75 years old and has lived in Los Angeles for the past 3 decades. 

William Russo

Born: June 25, 1928

Coming soon

Luis Russell

Born: August 6, 1902

Luis Russell - piano, bandleader (1902 - 1963) In his native homeland of Panama, Luis was a multi-instrumentalist. He immigrated to New Orleans, LA, in 1919, where, as a pianist, he often found work in the local saloons and brothels. In the early 1920s, he led some small groups of his own, as well as playing with Albert Nicholas and others. In 1925, he went up to Chicago and played in the King Oliver band. In 1927, he started his own band which was resident in New York City, while often touring. It was an interesting big band. At one time or another, it had Louis Armstrong on trumpet; 'Big' Sid Catlett on drums; Henry 'Red' Allen on trumpet and J.C