Results for "composer/conductor"

Pete Rugolo

Born: December 25, 1915

Pete Rugolo was a jazz composer and arranger. He was born in San Piero Patti, Sicily. His family emigrated to the United States in 1920 and settled in Santa Rosa, California. He started his musical career playing the baritone, like his father, but he quickly branched out into other instruments, notably the French horn and the piano. He received a bachelor's degree from San Francisco State College, and then studied composition with Darius Milhaud at Mills College in Oakland, California. After he graduated, he was hired as an arranger and composer by guitarist and bandleader Johnny Richards

Cab Calloway

Born: December 25, 1907

The legendary "Hi De Ho" man was a energetic showman, gifted singer, talented actor and trendsetting fashion plate. A truly larger than life figure in American pop culture, immortalized in cartoons and caricatures, Calloway also led one of the greatest bands of the Swing Era. Consistently ranked among the top bands of the 1930s and 1940s, Calloway's orchestra entertained millions during its heyday, and the bandleader himself continued thrilling audiences up until the time of his death. Born in Rochester, New York, Cab grew up in Baltimore. He studied music and voice as a youth, singing at local speakeasies when he could

John Barry

Born: November 3, 1933

John Barry, the Academy Award-winning film composer whose idiosyncratic and iconic compositions over the course of a lifetime in the movies -- including some of the best known James Bond music and the themes to "Midnight Cowboy," and "Out of Africa," among dozens of others. The British-born composer not only helped define the feel of the Bond films but crafted music that served as a 1960s soundtrack to a new kind of jet-setting lifestyle. With his wildly adventurous arrangements and instrumentation, his music's devil-may-care feel will forever be connected to fashionably mod cocktail lounges of the era. With its seductive strings and grand melodies, "You Only Live Twice" captures the sound of sexy adventure, both smooth and pleasantly casual but somehow filled with tension

Charlie Barnet

Born: October 26, 1913

Charlie Barnet is one of the more colorful figures in jazz history. He was also a champion of racial equality, hiring many black singers and musicians at a time when other bands were segregated. His use of African-American performers kept his orchestra out of several hotels and ballrooms and was also probably the reason why he was never picked for any big commercial radio series. His music and arrangements were admittedly influenced by Duke Ellington. Barnet was born into New York high society in 1913. He rebelled against his parent's wishes that he study law and became a jazz musician instead, playing in his first outfit at age 16

Mose Allison

Born: November 11, 1927

Mose Allison was born in the Mississippi Delta on his grandfathers farm near the village of Tippo. At five he discovered he could play the piano by ear and began picking out blues and boogie tunes he heard on the local jukebox. In high school he listened to the music of Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Louis Jordan, and his prime inspiration, Nat Cole of the King Cole Trio. He played trumpet in the marching and dance bands and started writing his own songs.

After a year at the University of Mississippi, he went to the Army in l946, playing in the Army Band in Colorado Springs and performing with accomplished musicians from around the country in small groups at NCO and Officers clubs. Returning to Ole Miss he joined the dance band as arranger, piano and trumpet player, but shortly left to form his own trio, playing piano and singing in a style heavily influenced by Nat Cole, Louis Jordan and Erroll Garner. After a year on the road, Mose married, returned to college at Louisiana State University and graduated in 1952 with a BA in English and Philosophy.

He worked in nightclubs throughout the Southeast and West, blending the raw blues of his childhood with modern pianistic influences of John Lewis, Thelonius Monk and Al Haig. His vocal style was influenced by blues singers Percy Mayfield and Charles Brown. Arriving in New York in 1956, Mose received encouragement, work and a record date from Al Cohn. In 1957 he secured his own first recording contract with Prestige Records, recording Back Country Suite, a collection of pieces evoking the Mississippi Delta, released to unanimous critical acclaim. Mose went on to play and record with jazz greats Stan Getz, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims and Gerry Mulligan as well as with his own Mose Allison Trio.

Mose continued working with his own trio, writing and singing his own songs. His songs are a fusion of rustic blues and jazz, embellished with profound and often humorous lyrics. As a pianist, while admiring jazz masters Bud Powell and Lenny Tristano, he also learned from composers such as Bartok, Ives, Hindemith and Ruggles. The fusing of these diverse elements into a cohesive performance continues today. A biography, One Mans Blues: The Life and Music of Mose Allison, written by Patti Jones, was published in 1995 by Quartet Books Ltd. Of London.

Mose continues to write and perform all over the world. His songs have been covered by Van Morrison, John Mayall, The Who, The Clash, Eric Clapton, the Yardbirds, Elvis Costello and Bonnie Raitt to name a few. Van Morrison recorded a tribute album, Tell Me Something: The Songs of Mose Allison, on Verve Records, and rockers like Pete Townshend, Bonnie Raitt, Ray Davies and Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones have frequently cited Mose Allison as a major influence.

His most recent Grammy nomination was for one of his two newest recordings, Mose Chronicles, Live in London, Vol. I on Blue Note Records. Mose Chronicles, Vol II was just released last year. Also, British born Director Paul Barnays has produced a one hour documentary on Mose, entitled Mose Allison; Ever Since I Stole the Blues, for the BBC4 in the UK. Among recent releases are a dozen reissues on CD including Allison Wonderland and a double CD retrospective on Rhino, and High Jinks, a three CD package on Legacy. Blue Note has also re-released a collection of past recordings, Mose Allison, Jazz Profiles. His music has often been used in movies, and he can be seen performing in the recently released movie, The Score, starring Robert DeNiro and Marlon Brando.

Mose resides on Long Island with his wife Audre where they raised four children: Alissa, an attorney, John, a telecommunication specialist, Janine, a psychiatrist, and Amy Allison, also a successful and respected singer songwriter in New York with her own group.

As one writer recently said: Mose is now at the peak of his performing career. Although maybe this last statement is not quite true as he seems to continue to improve on perfection.

Steve Allen

Born: December 16, 1921

Creator and host of the original "Tonight" show. Authored 52 published books, including: the 1998 publications of "Murder in Hawaii", "Die Laughing" and "Dumbth...(and 101 Ways to Reason Better and Improve Your Mind)"; the 1996 publication "Wake Up to Murder & But Seriously"; the 1995 publication of "The Bug and the Slug in the Rug"; "The Man Who Turned Back the Clock" and "Murder on the Atlantic"; 1994's "Reflections"; and 1993's "The Murder Game", "More Steve Allen on the Bible, Religion & Morality, Book Two", and "Make 'em Laugh"

Pepe lopez

Born: August

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Frank Macchia

Born: October 12, 1958

Born and raised in San Francisco, CA., Frank started on the clarinet at the age of ten years old. Soon afterward he began studies on bassoon, saxophone and flute. By the age of fourteen he began studying composition, writing jazz and classical pieces for his high school band and orchestra and for jazz ensembles that rehearsed at the local union hall, including trumpeter Mike Vax's Big Band. In 1975-76 Frank wrote jazz/classical hybrid works that were performed by the San Francisco Symphony and local professional jazz musicians at the Summer Music Workshop Programs, and he composed and conducted an orchestral overture for his high school graduation ceremony

James Jabbo Ware

Born: 1942

James Jabbo Ware began his professional career as a versatile saxophonist/composer/ arranger in 1962 with the Black Artist Group of St. Louis (whose members included Oliver Lake, Julius Hemphill and Hamiett Bluiett). He went on to serve in a wide range of ensembles led by legendary figures including Dollar Brand, Albert King, Sam Rivers, Charles Mingus and Archie Shepp, with the latter including him on two of his most respected Impulse! recordings, Attica Blues and Cry of My People. Encouraged by Bluiett, Ware moved to New York in 1970 where he studied improvisation and composition with George Coleman and joined Rivers' big band, the Collective Black Artists (CBA) Band, and Frank Foster and the Loud Minority among other groups. In 1973, he realized his dream of leading his own large ensemble when he formed The Me We & Them Orchestra, which he has continued to lead since in addition to his countless collaborations with other musicians

Eugene Marlow

About Eugene Marlow, Ph.D.

Eugene Marlow is a composer/arranger, producer, presenter, performer, author/journalist, and educator.

Composer/Arranger (Jazz & Classical)

P> Dr. Marlow’s jazz compositions include charts for big band in various genres, plus ballads, swing tunes, blues, and Latin-jazz flavored compositions for small ensembles. He has also arranged numerous Jewish liturgical pieces in various jazz and neo-classical styles.

His jazz compositions have been performed by theBMI Jazz Composers Workshop Big Band, the Primary Colors Trio, the SYOTOS Latin/Jazz Band with Chris Washburne, The Numinous Orchestra, The Andy LaVerne Trio, The Trevor Day Big Band, the Manhattan School of Music Latin Jazz Orchestra, the New School Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra, the George Gee Big Band, and the Bobby Sanabria Big Band.

His big band chart “El Aché de Sanabria en Moderación” appears on Bobby Sanabria’s Grammy-nominated album “Big Band Urban Folktales” (2007 JazzHeads)