Charles Sumner Kennedy (July 2, 1927 – April 3, 2009) was an American

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

-era alto saxophonist.

Early life

Kennedy was born on

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

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 ...

Career

Kennedy played with Louis Prima's big band orchestra in the 1940s. He performed a solo on that band's 1943 recording of " The White Cliffs of Dover". After a brief stint in his own band, he joined Gene Krupa's big band. Over the course of his career, he also played with Terry Gibbs's ''Dream Band'', as well as

Charlie Ventura Charlie Ventura (born Charles Venturo; December 2, 1916 – January 17, 1992) was an American tenor saxophonist and bandleader from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Career During the 1940s, Ventura played saxophone for the bands o ...

Flip Phillips Joseph Edward Filippelli (March 26, 1915 – August 17, 2001), known professionally as Flip Phillips, was an American jazz tenor saxophone and clarinet player. He is best remembered for his work with Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic conce ...

Chico O'Farrill Arturo "Chico" O'Farrill (October 28, 1921 – June 27, 2001) was a Cuban composer, arranger, and conductor, best known for his work in the Latin idiom, specifically Afro-Cuban jazz or "Cubop", although he also composed traditional jazz pieces a ...

, and Bill Holman. In addition to live performances and recordings with big-name bands, he also was a frequent studio musician. He played in the orchestras for popular movies including ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons f ...

'' and ''

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 ...

''.

Personal life

In the 1970s, for more stable income to support his family with six children, he gave up his career as a full-time musician, but continued to perform in clubs near his home in southern California. He died of pulmonary disease in

Ventura, California Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city on the Southern Coast of California and the county seat of Ventura County. The population was 110,763 at the 2020 census. Ventura is a popular tourist des ...

, at the age of 81.

Discography

As leader

* ''Crazy Rhythms'' with

(Regent, 1957)

As sideman

With

Terry Gibbs Terry Gibbs (born Julius Gubenko; October 13, 1924) is an American jazz vibraphonist and band leader. He has performed or recorded with Tommy Dorsey, Chubby Jackson,Theroux, Gary"Gibbs, Terry".''Grove Music Online''. Oxford University Press. Re ...

* ''Launching a New Band'' (Mercury, 1959) * ''More Vibes On Velvet'' (Mercury, 1959) * ''Swing Is Here!'' (Verve, 1960) * ''The Exciting Terry Gibbs Big Band'' (Verve, 1961) * ''Explosion!'' (Mercury, 1962) * ''Dream Band'' (Contemporary, 1986) * ''Volume Two The Sundown Sessions'' (Contemporary, 1987) * ''Flying Home Volume 3'' (Contemporary, 1988) * ''The Big Cat Volume 5'' (Contemporary, 1991) * ''Main Stem Volume 4'' (Contemporary, 2002) * ''One More Time Vol. 6'' (Contemporary, 2002) With Bill Holman * ''In a Jazz Orbit'' (Andex, 1958) * ''The Fabulous Bill Holman'' (Coral, 1958) * ''Bill Holman's Great Big Band'' (Mercury, 1960) With

Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973), known as Gene Krupa, was an American jazz drummer, bandleader and composer who performed with energy and showmanship. His drum solo on Benny Goodman's 1937 recording of "Sing, Sing, S ...

* ''Gene Krupa's Sidekicks'' (Columbia, 1955) * ''Gene Krupa Plays Gerry Mulligan Arrangements'' (Verve, 1958) * ''Drummin' Man'' (Columbia, 1963) With others *

June Christy June Christy (born Shirley Luster; November 20, 1925June 21, 1990) was an American singer, known for her work in the cool jazz genre and for her silky smooth vocals. Her success as a singer began with The Stan Kenton Orchestra. She pursued a sol ...

, ''Big Band Specials'' (Mercury, 1962) *

Med Flory Meredith Irwin Flory, known professionally as Med Flory (August 27, 1926 – March 12, 2014), was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader, and actor. Early years Flory was born in Logansport, Indiana, United States. His mother was an organist a ...

, ''Jazz Wave'' (Jubilee, 1958) *

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 ...

, ''

The New Continent ''The New Continent'' is an album by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie's Big Band featuring performances arranged and composed by Lalo Schifrin and conducted by Benny Carter recorded in 1962 and released on the Limelight label.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 ...

, ''Jazz Pops'' (Reprise, 1962) *

Chubby Jackson Greig Stewart "Chubby" Jackson (October 25, 1918 – October 1, 2003) was an American jazz double-bassist and band leader. Biography Born in New York City, Jackson began at the age of seventeen as a clarinetist, but quickly changed to bass in ...

, ''Sextet And Big Band'' (Prestige, 1969) *

Shelly Manne Sheldon "Shelly" Manne (June 11, 1920 – September 26, 1984) was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, s ...

, ''

My Fair Lady with the Un-original Cast ''My Fair Lady with the Un-original Cast'' is an album by drummer Shelly Manne with Jack Sheldon and Irene Kral and musical direction by Johnny Williams, recorded in 1964 and released on the Capitol label.Anita O'Day Anita Belle Colton (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006), known professionally as Anita O'Day, was an American jazz singer and self proclaimed “song stylist” widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appe ...

, ''Swings Cole Porter with Billy May'' (Verve, 1959) * Anita O'Day, ''Incomparable'' (Verve, 1964) *

, ''Cuban Blues: The Chico O'Farrill Sessions'' (Verve, 1996) *

Art Pepper Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. (September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982) was an American alto saxophonist and very occasional tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. Active in West Coast jazz, Pepper came to prominence in Stan Kenton's big band. He was known ...

, ''Art Pepper + Eleven Modern Jazz Classics'' (Contemporary, 1959) *

, ''Swinging With Flip'' (Clef, 1956) *

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 ...

, ''Good Old Zoot'' (New Jazz, 1963)

References

1927 births 2009 deaths American male saxophonists 20th-century American saxophonists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians American jazz saxophonists {{US-jazz-saxophonist-stub