Harry's Choice
''Harry's Choice!'' is a studio album by American trumpeter Harry James with The Harry James Orchestra. The album was recorded in Hollywood, California in June, 1958 and released by Capitol Records on stereo LP (ST-1093), mono LP (T-1093), and a series of three EPs (EAP 1-1093, EAP 2-1093 and EAP 3-1093). After coasting through the mid-1950s, James made a complete reevaluation of where he was heading in his musical career. Count Basie provided the impetus by making a significant comeback with his newly formed "16 Men Swinging" band, and James wanted a band with a decided Basie flavor. This album is the third of several released on Capitol Records representative of the Basie style that James adopted during this period, with some of the arrangements provided by former Basie saxophonist and arranger Ernie Wilkins, whom James hired for his own band. Track listing Personnel *Harry James - leader, trumpet * Willie Smith, Bob Poland, Ernie Small, Herb Lorden, Sam Firmature - sax ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Harry James
Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized and was active again with his band from then until his death in 1983. He was especially known among musicians for his technical proficiency as well as his Tone (musical instrument), tone, and was influential on new trumpet players from the late 1930s into the 1940s. He was also an actor in a number of films that usually featured his band. Early life Harry James was born in Albany, Georgia, United States, the son of Everett Robert James, a bandleader in a traveling circus, the Mighty Haag Circus, and Myrtle Maybelle (Stewart), an acrobat and horseback rider. He started performing with the circus at an early age, first as a contortionist at age of four, then playing the snare drum in the band from about the age of six. It was at this age ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Eddie DeLange
Eddie DeLange (''né'' Edgar DeLange Moss; 15 January 1904 – 15 July 1949) was an American bandleader and lyricist. Famous artists who recorded some of DeLange's songs include Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, and Benny Goodman. Biography DeLange was born in Long Island City, Queens, New York. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1926. He became a stunt man in twenty-four comedies produced by Universal Studios, often for Reginald Denny. DeLange went back to New York City in 1932, earning a contract with Irving Mills. He had several hits in his first year, including " Moonglow." He and composer Will Hudson ''(né'' Arthur Murray Hainer; 1908–1981) formed the Hudson-DeLange Orchestra in 1935. The Orchestra recorded many of their collaborative songs and did many road shows as well. Hudson and DeLange's partnership dissolved in 1938, but DeLange created a new band that played on several tours. He formed a new part ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Capitol Records Albums
A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous U.S. state and territorial capitols * Capitolio Nacional in Bogotá, Colombia * Capitolio Federal in Caracas, Venezuela * El Capitolio in Havana, Cuba * Capitol of Palau in Ngerulmud, Palau Capitol, capitols, or The Capitol may also refer to: ;Entertainment and Media * Capitol (board game), a Roman-themed board game * Capitol (The Hunger Games trilogy), a fictional city in The Hunger Games novels * ''Capitol'' (TV series), a U.S. soap opera * Capitol (collection), a book by Orson Scott Card * The Capitols, a Detroit, Michigan-based soul trio ;Business * Capitol Wrestling Corporation, a predecessor organization to World Wrestling Entertainment * Capitol Records, a U.S. record label * Capitol Air, originally known as Capitol Internat ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1958 Albums
Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third overland journey to the South Pole, the first to use powered vehicles. ** Sputnik 1 (launched on October 4, 1957) falls to Earth from its orbit, and burns up. * January 13 – Battle of Edchera: The Moroccan Army of Liberation ambushes a Spanish patrol. * January 27 – A Soviet-American executive agreement on cultural, educational and scientific exchanges, also known as the "Lacy-Zarubin Agreement, Lacy–Zarubin Agreement", is signed in Washington, D.C. * January 31 – The first successful American satellite, Explorer 1, is launched into orbit. February * February 1 – Egypt and Syria unite, to form the United Arab Republic. * February 6 – Seven Manchester United F.C., Manchester United footballers are among the 21 people killed i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jazz Albums By American Artists
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major form of musical expression in traditional and popular music. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, complex chords, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation. Jazz has roots in European harmony and African rhythmic rituals. As jazz spread around the world, it drew on national, regional, and local musical cultures, which gave rise to different styles. New Orleans jazz began in the early 1910s, combining earlier brass band marches, French quadrilles, biguine, ragtime and blues with collective polyphonic improvisation. But jazz did not begin as a single musical tradition in New Orleans or elsewhere. In the 1930s, arranged dance-oriented swing big bands, Kansas City jazz (a hard-swinging, bluesy, improvisationa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jackie Mills
Jackie Mills (born March 11, 1922, New York City - died March 22, 2010, Beaumont, California) was an American jazz drummer. Biography Mills first learned guitar before picking up drums when he was ten years old. He played in the swing groups of Charlie Barnet and Boyd Raeburn in the 1940s, then with Jazz at the Philharmonic, Gene Norman, Babe Russin, Mannie Klein, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Rene Touzet, Sonny Criss, Andre Previn, Lionel Hampton, Stan Getz, Woody Herman, and Red Norvo. Later in the 1940s he became interested in bebop and began playing in a style influenced by Max Roach. He began playing with Harry James in 1949, working with him through the late 1950s. Mills also recorded as a session musician in the 50s, working with artists such as Gerry Wiggins and Anita O'Day. In his later career, Mills recorded occasionally, including with Freddie Roach in 1966 and Dodo Marmarosa in 1978, but was chiefly active as a record producer and co-founder of Choreo Records, d ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dennis Budimir
Dennis Matthew Budimir (June 20, 1938 – January 2023) was an American jazz and rock guitarist. He was considered to be a member of The Wrecking Crew. Biography Budimir learned to play piano and guitar in his youth and first played professionally when he was fourteen years old. In Los Angeles in the mid-1950s he played in a quartet with La Monte Young, Billy Higgins, and Don Cherry. In the late 1950s he worked in the bands of Ken Hanna, Keith Williams, Harry James, and Chico Hamilton. In 1960–1961 he worked with Bud Shank and accompanied Peggy Lee, then entered into military service in 1961. After his discharge in 1963 he toured Japan with Bobby Troup and returned to the Los Angeles area, where he played as a studio musician for the next several decades. He recorded in this capacity with Joni Mitchell, The Carpenters, Brian Wilson, Barbra Streisand, Ravi Shankar, Frank Zappa, Linda Ronstadt, Julie London, Dusty Springfield, Dave Grusin, Quincy Jones, David Axelrod, Lalo Sc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jack Perciful
Jack T. Perciful (November 26, 1925, Moscow, Idaho – March 13, 2008, Olympia, Washington) was an American jazz pianist. Perciful learned piano from an early age; his mother was a pianist who played in silent movie houses. After enlisting in the United States Army, he was stationed in Japan, where he played in a military band during 1945-1946. Following his tour of duty, he enrolled at the University of Idaho, obtaining his bachelor's in 1951; following this he played with local ensembles in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. He is best known for his long-term association with Harry James, playing with James from 1957 to 1974 both on record and in tour and festival performances. Other associations include work with Charlie Barnet, Corky Corcoran, and Red Kelly. References *"Jack Perciful". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'', 2nd edn, 2001, ed. Barry Kernfeld Barry Dean Kernfeld (born August 11, 1950) is an American musicologist and jazz saxophonist who has researched and published ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ray Sims
Ray C. Sims (January 18, 1921, Wichita - 2000) was an American jazz trombonist. He was the brother of Zoot Sims. Sims played in territory bands in the early 1940s, then recorded with Anita O'Day and Benny Goodman shortly after the end of World War II. He worked with Les Brown (1947-1957) and Dave Pell (1953-1957), then with Harry James (1957-1969), and also worked as a sideman in the late 1950s with Charlie Barnet, Bill Holman, and Red Norvo. In the 1970s he played with James again and with Corky Corcoran; near the end of the decade he recorded with his brother Zoot. References *"Ray Sims". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. 2nd edition, ed. Barry Kernfeld. External links Ray Sims recordingsat the Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio stream ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ollie Mitchell
Oliver Edward Mitchell (April 8, 1927 – May 11, 2013) was an American musician and bandleader. He was the son of Harold Mitchell, lead trumpeter for MGM Studios, who also taught Ollie to play the trumpet. Career Mitchell would go on to play in big bands for Harry James, Buddy Rich and Pérez Prado, among others, as well as the NBC Symphony Orchestra. In the 1960s, Mitchell joined The Wrecking Crew, a group of studio and session musicians who played anonymously on many records for popular singers of the time, as well as television theme songs, film scores, and advertising jingles. Mitchell was also an original member of Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass. He would go on to have his own bands—Ollie Mitchell's Sunday Band, and the Olliephonic Horns. Personal life In 1995, Mitchell and his wife Nancy moved from Los Angeles to Puako, Hawaii, where he founded the Horns. In 2010, Mitchell published his memoir, ''Lost, But Making Good Time: A View from the Back Row of the Band''. According ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Willie Smith (alto Saxophonist)
William McLeish Smith (November 25, 1910 – March 7, 1967) was an American saxophonist and one of the major alto saxophone players of the swing era. He also played clarinet and sang. Early life Smith was born in Charleston, South Carolina, United States, and raised in Charleston and attended Avery Institute. His first instrument was clarinet, and his education was in chemistry. He received his chemistry degree from Fisk University, an HBCU. Career In 1929, Smith became an alto saxophonist for Jimmie Lunceford's band, becoming one of the main stars in the group. In 1940, he led his own quintet as a side project. His success with Lunceford had lost its charms by 1942, as he now wanted more pay and less travel. Smith moved to the Charlie Spivak orchestra for a year, and was in the United States Navy for another year. He then switched to Harry James's orchestra, where he made more money, and stayed with him for seven years. After that he worked with Duke Ellington and Billy May. He ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Neal Hefti
Neal Paul Hefti (October 29, 1922 – October 11, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger. He wrote music for ''The Odd Couple'' movie and TV series and for the ''Batman'' TV series. He began arranging professionally in his teens, when he wrote charts for Nat Towles. He composed and arranged while working as a trumpeter for Woody Herman providing the bandleader with versions of "Woodchopper's Ball" and "Blowin' Up a Storm" and composing "The Good Earth" and "Wild Root". He left Herman's band in 1946. Now concentrating on writing music only, he began an association with Count Basie in 1950. Hefti occasionally led his own bands. Beginnings Neal Paul Hefti was born October 29, 1922, to an impoverished family in Hastings, Nebraska, United States. As a young child, he remembered his family relying on charity during the holidays. He started playing the trumpet in school at the age of eleven, and by high school was spending his summer vacations playing in local terr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |