Alan Raph (born July 3, 1933, in New York City ) is a bass trombonist, composer, arranger, and conductor who founded and conducts the Danbury Brass Band. He has recorded with many popular musicians and for television, movies, and ballet. He was for many years on first call with most New York City recording studios.

Life

Raph was born in New York City to Marion McGuire and Ted Raph. His father was a jazz trombonist in the 1920s and 1930s. Raph married Theresa Capp on October 5, 1957. They had two children. In 1978 he married musician Mary Ann O'Connor, with whom he had a son.

Education

Raph graduated from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

with a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education. He then studied at

Teachers College A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...

Columbia University where he received a Masters of Arts degree. He has studied privately with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

John Mehegan John Francis Mehegan (June 6, 1916 – April 3, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, lecturer and critic. Early life Mehegan was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on June 6, 1916, although he sometimes gave the year as 1920. He began playing the vio ...

, Simon Karasick, and Gabriel Masson.

Professional career

He was a charter member of the American Symphony Orchestra for which he played the bass trombone. He was for many years the bass trombone player on first call with most New York City recording studios. He has performed under the direction of

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appear ...

, with the Gerry Mulligan Concert Jazz Band and the Chamber Brass Players. As a freelance trombonist, he has recorded albums with artists including

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

Don Sebesky Don Sebesky (born December 10, 1937) is an American arranger, jazz trombonist, and keyboardist. Biography Sebesky trained in trombone at the Manhattan School of Music; in his early career, he played with Kai Winding, Claude Thornhill, Tommy D ...

, Philip Glass, the NBC Opera Company,

Eugene Ormandy Eugene Ormandy (born Jenő Blau; November 18, 1899 – March 12, 1985) was a Hungarian-born American conductor and violinist, best known for his association with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as its music director. His 44-year association with ...

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, W ...

and his Palais Royale Orchestra, the Ballet Bolshoi Theatre, Diana Ross, Lena Horne and

Mel Torme Mel, Mels or MEL may refer to: Biology * Mouse erythroleukemia cell line (MEL) * National Herbarium of Victoria, a herbarium with the Index Herbariorum code MEL People * Mel (given name), the abbreviated version of several given names (including ...

. He has also recorded music for many movies and television shows including ''

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'', ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired Thursday nights for eight seasons on NBC between September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on an upper middle-class Africa ...

'', ''

Name That Tune ''Name That Tune'' is an American television music game show. Originally created and produced by orchestra conductor Harry Salter and his wife Roberta Semple Salter, the series features contestants competing to correctly identify songs being p ...

'', ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caa ...

'', '' The Producers'', ''

Midnight Cowboy ''Midnight Cowboy'' is a 1969 American drama film, based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. The film was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, with notable smaller ...

'', ''

Hamburger Hill ''Hamburger Hill'' is a 1987 American war film set during the Battle of Hamburger Hill, a May 1969 assault during the Vietnam War by the U.S. Army's 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile) "Screaming Eagles" on a rid ...

'', ''

Bananas A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

'', ''

Kundun ''Kundun'' is a 1997 American epic biographical film written by Melissa Mathison and directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the life and writings of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, the exiled political and spiritual leader of Tibet. Ten ...

'', ''

Fog of War The fog of war (german: links=no, Nebel des Krieges) is the uncertainty in situational awareness experienced by participants in military operations. The term seeks to capture the uncertainty regarding one's own capability, adversary capability, ...

'', ''

Secret Window ''Secret Window'' is a 2004 American psychological thriller film starring Johnny Depp and John Turturro. It was written and directed by David Koepp, based on the novella '' Secret Window, Secret Garden'' by Stephen King, featuring a musical sco ...

'', and '' Taking Lives''. He was a professor at the Teachers College of Columbia University in New York City, as well as instructor and associate professor at Queens College of the City University of New York. He is the founder, music director, and conductor of the Danbury Brass Band, for which he has composed and arranged many pieces. The ensemble is composed of

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

s, cornets,

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

euphonium The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word ''euphōnos'', meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ( ''eu'' means "well" o ...

s, and

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

s. The band has performed abroad in Australia, Bermuda, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. He has composed for the Joffrey Ballet Company. He also arranged several songs for the Broadway musical Rockabye Hamlet (1976). Raph is a member of ASCAP. Raph is known for his low range playing. He was awarded the Most Valuable Player award by the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous for its Grammy Aw ...

Compositions

Works for wind band

* ''Variations on a Theme by Handel,'' for trombone and band * ''Fantasy on a Theme by Purcell,'' for flute and band

Ballets

* ''Trinity'', premiered in 1970 by the Joffrey Ballet Company * ''Sacred Grove on Mt. Tamalpais'', premiered in 1971 by the Joffrey Ballet Company

Chamber music

* ''Burlesque,'' for trombone ensemble (ca. 1956, per the composer)

Pedagogical works

* ''Bel Canto Vocalises for Bass Trombone'' * ''Beyond Boundaries'' * ''Diversified Trombone Etudes'' * ''Arban Trombone'' * ''Melodious Etudes'' * ''Recital Pieces for Unaccompanied Trombone'' * ''The Double Valve Bass Trombone'' * ''Trombonisms''

Media

Alan Raph: trombone tips - warmups

Alan Raph: trombone tips - high notes

Alan Raph: trombone tips - Bumble Bee

Alan Raph: trombone tips - very low notes

Alan Raph: trombone tips - The Bartok glissando

Alan Raph: trombone tips - staccato & legato

Alan Raph: trombone tips - double (& triple) tonguing

Alan Raph: trombone tips - Reading jazz notation

Publications

* ''Dance Band Reading and Interpretation'', Alfred Music Publishers, 2002. 44 p., * ''"Le" Trombone'', AR Publishing Co., 1983. * ''Trombonisms'', Carl Fischer, Inc., 1983. * ''"Les" Brass'', AR Publishing Co., 1984. * ''"L" Orchestra'', AR Publishing Co., 1986.

Discography

With J. J. Johnson *'' Goodies'' (RCA Victor, 1965) With Lee Konitz *''

Chicago 'n All That Jazz ''Chicago 'n All That Jazz'' (subtitled ''Big Band Jazz of the Broadway Musical'') is an album by American jazz saxophonist Lee Konitz performing John Kander and Fred Ebb's songs from the Broadway musical ''Chicago (musical), Chicago'' recorded in ...

'' (Groove Merchant, 1975) With

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...

*'' Walk on the Water'' (DRG, 1980) *''The Concert Jazz Band'' With

Jerome Richardson Jerome Richardson (November 15, 1920 – June 23, 2000) was an American jazz musician, tenor saxophonist, and flute player, who also played soprano sax, alto sax, baritone sax, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto flute and piccolo. He played with C ...

*'' Groove Merchant'' (Verve, 1968)

Bibliography

Michael Cuscuna Michael Cuscuna (born September 20, 1949 in Stamford, Connecticut, United States) is an American jazz record producer and writer. He is the co-founder of Mosaic Records and a discographer of Blue Note Records. Cuscuna played drums, saxophone and ...

, Michel Ruppli: ''The Blue Note label : a discography'', Revised and expanded edition, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2001, 913 p. * :de:Wolfgang Suppan, :de:Armin Suppan: ''Das Neue Lexikon des Blasmusikwesens'', 4. Auflage, Freiburg-Tiengen, Blasmusikverlag Schulz GmbH, 1994, * Michel Ruppli, Ed Novitsky: ''The Mercury labels : a discography'', Vol. V: record and artist indexes, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1993, 882 p. * E. Ruth Anderson: ''Contemporary American composers - A biographical dictionary'', Second edition, Boston: G. K. Hall, 1982, 578 p., * Jaques Cattell Press: ''ASCAP biographical dictionary of composers, authors and publishers'', Fourth edition, New York: R. R. Bowker, 1980, 589 p.,

References

External links

Official homepage

Conn-Selmer Artist's Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raph, Alan 1933 births American jazz trombonists Male trombonists American jazz composers Living people Musicians from New York City New York University alumni Teachers College, Columbia University alumni Teachers College, Columbia University faculty Jazz musicians from New York (state) 21st-century trombonists American male jazz composers 21st-century American male musicians