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Ralph Burns
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.”
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Ralph Burns's "Summer Sequence": An Appreciation
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by Reuben Jackson
It's no secret that the much heralded (and sometimes over romanticized) Big Band Era produced more than a few notable players and ensemble leaders. But it is also clear that for every, say, Duke Ellington and Claude Thornhill, these bands were also driven by the hard (and often undersung) work of arrangers, the best of whom understood the possibilities inherent in their respective ensembles as well as the leaders who hired them.This written celebration of arranger-composer Ralph Burns's ...
read moreTony Bennett: Sings Ellington Hot And Cool
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by C. Michael Bailey
All Class. In the end, there was Tony Bennett. Oft quoted and making a rock-hard point, Frank Sinatra once mused that Bennett was the finest male vocalist performing. And here in arguably the Autumn of his years is Bennett, performing at a new career height. Sings Ellington Hot and Cool is the fourth in a successful series of discs focusing exclusively on contemporaries of Bennett. These releases include 1992’s Perfectly Frank Frank Sinatra, Columbia 52965); 1993’s Steppin’ Out (Fred Astaire, ...
read moreRalph Burns: Swingin' Herd
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
I'm on a bit of a Ralph Burns tear—listening to both the recordings I've owned for some time and grabbing those that I'm unearthing through a deep dive into his discography. What makes Burns special is that he could write beautifully for strings on one album and then tear your heart out with his charts for a big band date on the next. Case in point: Woody Herman's New Swingin' Herman Herd recorded in March 1960 for the Crown label. ...
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Ralph Burns: Warm for Jazz
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Years spent with Woody Herman from late 1943 on as a pianist and arranger gave Ralph Burns an edge when he needed musicians for his own leadership albums. In January 1958, during a period when he was orchestrating for artists signed to Decca, Burns arranged an album under his own name called Very Warm for Jazz. It featured an odd photo of penguins on the cover and a splendid mix of hand-picked pros for the sessions. The cover's reference to ...
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