Gene M. Roland (September 15, 1921 in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

– August 11, 1982 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 ...

) was an American

jazz 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 ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

. He played many instruments during his career, but was most significant as an arranger/composer and for his association with Stan Kenton. Roland was one of only two arrangers to write for Kenton, in all four decades of the band's existence, the other being

Ken Hanna Kenneth Lucien Hanna (July 8, 1921 - December 10, 1982) was an American jazz trumpeter, arranger, composer, and bandleader, best known for his work with Stan Kenton. Hired in 1942 by Kenton to add commercial arrangements to the library, he also ...

Life and work

Roland, who gained a degree in music from the University of North Texas College of Music, first met Kenton in 1944, playing fifth

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 ...

and contributing arrangements. He worked briefly with

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

and

Lucky Millinder Lucius Venable "Lucky" Millinder (August 8, 1910 – September 28, 1966) was an American swing and rhythm-and-blues bandleader. Although he could not read or write music, did not play an instrument and rarely sang, his showmanship and musical ...

and then rejoined Kenton in 1945, this time as a trombonist and writer (he arranged the hit " Tampico"). Roland played

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and wrote for a group in 1946 that included

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 ...

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 ...

, Jimmy Giuffre and Herbie Steward and would lead to

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...

's Four Brothers Second Herd. In the late 1940s, Roland played trombone with Georgie Auld, trumpet with Count Basie, Charlie Barnet and

and contributed charts for the big bands of Claude Thornhill and Artie Shaw. After leading a giant rehearsal band in 1950 that included

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 ...

and

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

, Roland wrote for Kenton in 1951,

Dan Terry Dan Terry (December 22, 1924 – December 27, 2011) was an American big band leader, arranger, and trumpet and flugelhorn player who appeared at Birdland, the world-famous jazz club, with Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan, Chris Connor, Johnny Smi ...

in 1954, and Woody Herman from 1956 to 1958, for whom he contributed 65 arrangements. Roland was a major force in Kenton's

mellophonium The mellophone is a brass instrument typically pitched in the key of F, though models in E, D, C, and G (as a bugle) have also historically existed. It has a conical bore, like that of the euphonium and flugelhorn. The mellophone is used as the m ...

band of the early 1960s, not only writing for the ensemble but performing as one of the

mellophoniums The mellophone is a brass instrument typically pitched in the key of F, though models in E, D, C, and G (as a bugle) have also historically existed. It has a conical bore, like that of the euphonium and flugelhorn. The mellophone is used as the m ...

; he also occasionally doubled on soprano sax with the orchestra. Roland remained active as a writer in the 1960s and 1970s, working with the Radiohus Orchestra in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

(1967) and contributing charts to Kenton as well as Dan Terry's ''D.T.B.B.B.'' album (Metronome Records, 1981); he also played trumpet, piano and tenor with his own groups. In addition to writing an entire album for Kenton, Roland led his 1950 rehearsal band on a Spotlite release (

Parker Parker may refer to: Persons * Parker (given name) * Parker (surname) Places Place names in the United States *Parker, Arizona *Parker, Colorado * Parker, Florida * Parker, Idaho * Parker, Kansas * Parker, Missouri * Parker, North Carolina *Park ...

is one of his sidemen), led half of an album (recorded in 1957 and 1959) for

Dawn Records Dawn Records was a subsidiary of Pye Records. Active from 1969 to 1975, it was established as Pye's 'underground and progressive' label rivalling the EMI and Phonogram equivalents, Harvest and Vertigo. The most successful act on the label wa ...

in which he plays trumpet, and arranged a 1963 octet record for Brunswick Records.

Discography

As leader

* ''Jazzville Vol. 4'' (Dawn, 1957)

As sideman

With Stan Kenton * '' Stan Kenton Classics'' (Capitol, 1952) * '' The Kenton Era'' (Capitol, 1955) * ''

A Merry Christmas! ''A Merry Christmas!'' is an album of Christmas music by the Stan Kenton Orchestra recorded in 1961 and released by Capitol Records.Vosbein, PStan Kenton Discographyaccessed June 9, 2016 It was reissued as ''Kenton's Christmas'' in 1970 by Kenton' ...

'' (Capitol, 1961) * ''Kenton's West Side Story'' (Capitol, 1961) * ''The Romantic Approach in the Ballad Style of Stan Kenton'' (Capitol, 1961) * ''

Sophisticated Approach ''Sophisticated Approach'' is an album by the Stan Kenton Orchestra recorded in 1961 and released by Capitol Records.Vosbein, PStan Kenton Discographyaccessed June 8, 2016 In 2006, Sophisticated Approach was digitally remastered and reissued on C ...

'' (Capitol, 1962) * ''

Stan Kenton! Tex Ritter! ''Stan Kenton! Tex Ritter!'' is an album by the Stan Kenton Orchestra with country music vocalist Tex Ritter performing country music compositions arranged in a big band style recorded and released by Capitol Records in 1962.Vosbein, PStan Kento ...

'' (Capitol, 1962) * ''Adventures in Blues'' (Capitol, 1963) * ''The Uncollected Stan Kenton and His Orchestra 1944-1945 Vol. 4'' (Hindsight, 1979) 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 ...

, ''June Time'' (Swing House, 1981) *

, Zoot Sims, Paul Quinichette, Wardell Grey, ''Tenors Anyone?'' (Dawn, 1958) * Jimmy Knepper, ''

A Swinging Introduction to Jimmy Knepper ''A Swinging Introduction to Jimmy Knepper'' is an album led by trombonist Jimmy Knepper which was recorded in 1957 and originally released on the Bethlehem Records, Bethlehem label.

'' (Bethlehem 1957) *

Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...

, ''Awful Natural'' (RCA, 1977) * Rita Reys, Sylvia Pierce & Peggy Serra, ''New Voices'' (Dawn, 1957) *

Tom Talbert Thomas Robert Talbert (August 4, 1924 Crystal Bay, Minnesota – July 2, 2005 Los Angeles) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and band leader. Biography He was born on August 4, 1924, in Crystal Bay, Minnesota, and grew up listening to big b ...

, ''1946–1949'' (Sea Breeze, 1995)

References

External links

Gene Roland ''A Composer/Arranger For All The Right Reasons and Seasons''

Biography in Handbook of Texas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roland, Gene American jazz composers American male jazz composers American music arrangers 1921 births 1982 deaths People from Dallas University of North Texas College of Music alumni 20th-century American composers Jazz musicians from Texas 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century jazz composers