Ronnie Lang (sometimes spelled Ronny; born July 24, 1929) is an American jazz alto saxophonist. His professional début was with
Hoagy Carmichael
Hoagland Howard Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s, and was among the first ...
's Teenagers. He also played with
Earle Spencer
Robert Earle Spencer (born 26 June 1925 Welborn, Kansas – 19 September 1973 Fillmore, Utah) was an American trombonist and leader of a progressive swing big band bearing his name — Earle Spencer and His Orchestra. He formed the band in 1946 ...
(1946), Ike Carpenter, and
Skinnay Ennis
Edgar Clyde "Skinnay" Ennis Jr. (August 13, 1907 – June 3, 1963) was an American jazz and pop music bandleader and singer.
Early years
The son of Mr. and Mrs. E.C. Ennis, he was born Edgar Clyde Ennis Jr. in Salisbury, North Carolina, United S ...
(1947). Lang gained attention during his two tenures with
Les Brown's Orchestra (1949–50 and 1953–56). He recorded with the
Dave Pell
David Pell (February 26, 1925 – May 7, 2017) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and record producer. He was best known for leading a cool jazz octet in the 1950s.
Biography
Pell played in his teens with the big bands of Tony Pastor, B ...
Octet in the mid-1950s. During this time he attended
Los Angeles State College of Applied Arts and Sciences studying music and woodwinds. In 1958 he became a prolific studio musician in Los Angeles, often employed by
Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...
, and he played the iconic sax melodic line in
Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely re ...
's score for the movie ''
Taxi Driver
''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying and ...
'' (1976). Lang also recorded with
Pete Rugolo
Pietro "Pete" Rugolo (December 25, 1915 – October 16, 2011) was an American jazz composer, arranger and record producer.
Life and career
Rugolo was born in San Piero Patti, Sicily. His family emigrated to the United States in 1920 and settle ...
(1956),
Bob Thiele
Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to:
Places
*Mount Bob, New York, United States
*Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica
People, fictional characters, and named animals
* Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
*Bob (surname ...
(1975), and
Peggy Lee
Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...
(1975).
Partial discography
With
Sammy Davis Jr
Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director.
At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...
*''
It's All Over but the Swingin'
''It's All Over but the Swingin'' is a 1957 album by Sammy Davis Jr., arranged by Jack Pleis and Morty Stevens.
Track listing
# "Guess I'll Hang My Tears out to Dry" (Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne) – 4:43
# "But Not for Me (song), But Not for Me" (Ge ...
'' (Decca, 1957)
With
Ted Nash
*''
Peter Gunn
''Peter Gunn'' is an American private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, Edie Hart. The series aired on NBC from September 22, 1958, to 1960 and on ABC in 1960–1961. The seri ...
'' (Crown, 1959)
With
Pete Rugolo
Pietro "Pete" Rugolo (December 25, 1915 – October 16, 2011) was an American jazz composer, arranger and record producer.
Life and career
Rugolo was born in San Piero Patti, Sicily. His family emigrated to the United States in 1920 and settle ...
*''
Music for Hi-Fi Bugs
''Music for Hi-Fi Bugs'' (also released as ''Music from Out of Space'') is an album by composer, arranger and conductor Pete Rugolo featuring performances recorded in 1956 and originally released on the EmArcy label as a 12-inch LP.Minn, MMaynard ...
'' (EmArcy, 1956)
*''
Out on a Limb'' (EmArcy, 1956)
*''
The Original Music of Thriller'' (Time, 1961)
With
His All Stars
*''
Modern Jazz
Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...
'' (Tops, 1958)
Television soundtracks
With the
Vince Guaraldi Sextet
*''
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
''It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'' is a 1966 American prime time animated television special based on the comic strip ''Peanuts'' by Charles M. Schulz.
A Halloween special, it was the third ''Peanuts'' special (and second holiday-themed ...
'' (1966)
*''
You're in Love, Charlie Brown
''You're in Love, Charlie Brown'' is the fourth prime-time animated television special based upon the comic strip ''Peanuts,'' by Charles M. Schulz. It originally aired on CBS on June 12, 1967. This was the second non-holiday-oriented ''Peanuts'' ...
'' (1967)
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lang, Ronnie
1929 births
Living people
American jazz alto saxophonists
American male saxophonists
Musicians from Los Angeles
21st-century American saxophonists
Jazz musicians from California
21st-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians
Earle Spencer Orchestra members
Los Angeles State College alumni