Manny Albam (June 24, 1922 – October 2, 2001) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, record producer, and educator.
Early life
A native of the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...
, Albam grew up in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. He was attracted to jazz at an early age when heard the music of
Bix Beiderbecke
Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer.
Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical app ...
.
Career
He left school in his teens and played saxophone in a Dixieland band led by
Muggsy Spanier
Francis Joseph "Muggsy" Spanier (November 9, 1901 – February 12, 1967) was an American jazz cornetist based in Chicago. He was a member of the Bucktown Five, pioneers of the "Chicago style" that straddled traditional Dixieland jazz and swing ...
. When he was with the Georgie Auld band, he learned about arranging with Budd Johnson. By 1950 Albam was concentrating less on performing and more on writing and arranging.
Within a few years, he became known for a bebop style that emphasized taut and witty writing with a flair for distinctive shadings; flute-led reed sections became something of an Albam trademark. One of his most popular works from that era was "Samana", an Afro-Latin composition he did for the Stan Kenton Innovations Orchestra, named after his birthplace Samaná in the Dominican Republic. He worked with bandleaders Charlie Barnet and Charlie Spivak before collaborating with Count Basie,
Stan Getz
Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of ...
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...
,
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...
,
Hank Jones
Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored ...
Art Farmer
Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, double ...
Milt Hinton
Milton John Hinton (June 23, 1910 – December 19, 2000) was an American double bassist and photographer.
Regarded as the Dean of American jazz bass players, his nicknames included "Sporty" from his years in Chicago, "Fump" from his time on the ...
.
Albam wrote arrangements for
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...
's score for the musical ''
West Side Story
''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents.
Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1 ...
'' in 1957. The work earned him a Grammy Award nomination in 1959. He was invited by Bernstein to write for the New York Philharmonic, and he began to study classical music with
Tibor Serly
Tibor Serly (; Losonc, Kingdom of Hungary, 25 November 1901 – London, 8 October 1978) was a Hungarian violist, violinist, and composer.
Serly was the son of Lajos Serly, a pupil of Franz Liszt and a composer of songs and operettas in the ...
, eventually writing ''Quintet for Trombone and Strings''. He also wrote music for movies, television, and commercials. In the early 1960s he became music director for
Solid State Records
Solid State Records is a Christian metalcore record label, an imprint of Tooth & Nail Records. Unlike Tooth & Nail, Solid State signs hardcore punk and heavy metal bands. Like Tooth & Nail, Solid State is primarily a Christian label. However, ...
. For the rest of his career, he taught at Glassboro State College, Eastman School of Music, and Manhattan School of Music. He helped start and lead the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop.
* ''The Drum Suite'' (RCA Victor, 1956)
* ''The Jazz Workshop'' (RCA Victor, 1956)
* ''Manny Albam and the Jazz Greats of Our Time Vol. 1'' (Coral, 1957)
* ''Steve's Songs'' (Dot Records, 1958)
* ''Jazz Horizons: Jazz New York'' (Dot Records, 1958)
* ''Sophisticated Lady'' (Coral, 1958)
* ''With All My Love'' (Mercury, 1958)
* ''A Gallery of Gershwin'' (Coral, 1958)
* ''The Jazz Greats of Our Time Vol. 2'' (Coral, 1958)
* ''The Blues Is Everybody's Business'' (Coral, 1958)
* ''Double Exposures'' (Top Rank, 1960)
* ''West Side Story'' (Vocalion, 1960)
* ''I Had The Craziest Dream'' (RCA Victor, 1961)
* ''More Double Exposure'' (RCA Victor, 1961)
* ''
Jazz Goes to the Movies
''Jazz Goes to the Movies'' is an album by American jazz arranger and conductor Manny Albam recorded in 1962 for the Impulse! label.
'' (
Impulse!
Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...
, 1962)
* ''
Brass on Fire
''Brass on Fire'' is an album by American jazz arranger and conductor Manny Albam featuring performances recorded in 1966 and originally issued on the Solid State Records (jazz label), Solid State label as their first proper release.Payne, D.Sonny ...
'' (Solid State, 1966)
* ''
The Soul of the City
''The Soul of the City'' is an album by American jazz arranger and conductor Manny Albam featuring performances recorded in 1966 and originally issued on the Solid State label.Payne, D.Sonny Lester discographyaccessed April 14, 2015
Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band
The Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band was a jazz big band co-led by American drummer Kenny Clarke and Belgian pianist François "Francy" Boland. They were one of the most noteworthy jazz big bands formed outside the United States, featuring top ...
* ''
Latin Kaleidoscope
''Latin Kaleidoscope'' is an album by the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band featuring performances recorded in Germany in 1968 and released on the MPS label in Europe and also released in the US on Prestige Records.
Reception
AllMusic awarded ...
The Natural Seven
''The Natural Seven'' is an album by saxophonist, composer and arranger Al Cohn recorded in 1955 for the RCA Victor label.That Old Feeling'' (RCA Victor, 1955)
* ''
Four Brass One Tenor
''Four Brass One Tenor'' is an album by Al Cohn's Jazz Workshop recorded in 1955 for the RCA Records, RCA Victor label.Jose Feliciano
* ''Jose Feliciano Sings'' (RCA, 1972)
With
Curtis Fuller
Curtis DuBois Fuller (December 15, 1932May 8, 2021) was an American jazz trombonist. He was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and contributed to many classic jazz recordings.
Early life
Fuller was born in Detroit on December 15, 1932. ...
Mr. Rhythm
''Mr. Rhythm'' is the sole album led by jazz guitarist Freddie Green. The album was recorded in late 1955 for RCA Victor.Lafargue, P.Mr. Rhythm reissue liner notes accessed December 7, 2015
Reception
The Allmusic review by Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr ...
The Hawk in Paris
''The Hawk in Paris'' is an album by saxophonist Coleman Hawkins featuring compositions related to Paris performed with an orchestra arranged and conducted by Manny Albam which was recorded in 1956 for the RCA Records subsidiary Vik label.Evensmo, ...
'' (Vek, 1956)
* '' Desafinado'' (Impulse!, 1962)
With
Groove Holmes
Richard Arnold "Groove" Holmes (May 2, 1931 – June 29, 1991) was an American jazz organist who performed in the hard bop and soul jazz genre. He is best known for his 1965 recording of "Misty".
Career
Holmes's first album, on Pacific Ja ...
O'Donel Levy
O'Donel "Butch" Levy (September 20, 1945 – March 14, 2016) was a Rhythm and blues, rhythm & blues, funk and jazz guitarist from Baltimore, Maryland. He was brother of session drummer Stafford Levy.
Levy studied music at the Peabody Institute at ...
* ''
Breeding of Mind
''Breeding of Mind'' is an album by American jazz guitarist O'Donel Levy recorded in 1972 and released on the Groove Merchant label.Dawn of a New Day'' (Groove Merchant, 1973)
* '' Simba'' (Groove Merchant, 1974)
With Jimmy McGriff
* ''
The Big Band
''The Big Band'' (rereleased as ''The Big Band: A Tribute to Basie'') is an album by American jazz organist Jimmy McGriff featuring performances recorded in 1966 and originally released on the Solid State Records (jazz label), Solid State label.Pa ...
'' (Solid State, 1966)
* ''
A Bag Full of Blues
''A Bag Full of Blues'' is an album by American jazz organist Jimmy McGriff featuring performances recorded in 1967 and originally released on the Solid State label.Payne, D.Solid Sonny Lester discographyaccessed April 14, 2015Payne, D.accessed A ...
Salute to Satch
''Salute to Satch'' is a tribute album to Louis Armstong by jazz trumpeter Joe Newman and His Orchestra recorded in 1956 for the RCA Victor label.Cohen, N.Benny Powell Discographyaccessed December 3, 2015
Reception
Allmusic awarded the album ...
After the Lights Go Down Low and Much More!!!
''After the Lights Go Down Low and Much More!!!'' is the debut album of Freda Payne, released in 1964. Duke Ellington's "Blue Piano" makes its first album appearance, while the majority of the songs on this album are cover songs and jazz standard ...
'' (Impulse!, 1964)
With
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, ...
* ''
With Respect to Nat
''With Respect to Nat'' is a 1965 studio album by jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, recorded in tribute to Nat King Cole, who had died earlier that year. Peterson sings on all tracks except "Easy Listening Blues".
''With Respect to Nat'' is the second ...
The Roar of '74
''The Roar of '74'' is a 1973 studio album by Buddy Rich, with his big band, released on the Groove Merchant Records label in the United States. The album was released in the UK in 1974 on the Mooncrest label by B & C Records.
Track listing
...
'' (RCA, 1974)
With
Zoot Sims
John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...
Dakota Staton
Dakota Staton (June 3, 1930 – April 10, 2007) was an American jazz vocalist who found international acclaim with the 1957 No. 4 hit "The Late, Late Show". She was also known by the Muslim name Aliyah Rabia for a period due to her conversion to ...
* ''
I Want a Country Man
''I Want a Country Man'' is an album by American jazz vocalist Dakota Staton recorded in 1973 and released on the Groove Merchant label.Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (born Edward L. Vinson Jr.; December 18, 1917 – July 2, 1988) was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamed Cleanhead after an incident in which his hair was ...
* ''
Clean Head's Back in Town
''Clean Head's Back in Town'', subtitled ''Eddie Vinson Sings'', is an album by the American saxophonist and vocalist Eddie Vinson, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson. Recorded in 1957, it was released by Bethlehem Records.Dionne Warwick
Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host.
Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...
* ''
Dionne Warwick in Valley of the Dolls
''Dionne Warwick in Valley of the Dolls'' is the title of Dionne Warwick's ninth album for the Scepter label. It was recorded during the summer and fall of 1967 and was released early the next year on March 23, 1968. It was recorded at A&R and ...