Buddy Morrow (born Muni Zudekoff, aka Moe Zudekoff; February 8, 1919 – September 27, 2010) was an American trombonist and bandleader.

Career

On a scholarship at age 16, Morrow studied trombone with Ernest Horatio Clarke (1865–1947) at

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

from October to December 1936. During the next year he began playing trombone with

Sharkey Bonano Joseph Gustaf "Sharkey" Bonano (April 9, 1904 – March 27, 1972), also known as Sharkey Banana or Sharkey Bananas, was an American jazz trumpeter, band leader, and vocalist. His musical abilities were sometimes overlooked because of his lo ...

's Sharks of Rhythm, an

Eddie Condon Albert Edwin Condon (November 16, 1905 – August 4, 1973) was an American jazz banjoist, guitarist, and bandleader. A leading figure in Chicago jazz, he also played piano and sang. Early years Condon was born in Goodland, Indiana, the son of J ...

group. He then worked with Eddy Duchin,

Vincent Lopez Vincent Lopez (December 30, 1895 – September 20, 1975) was an American bandleader, actor, and pianist. Early life and career Vincent Lopez was born of Portuguese immigrant parents in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, Distinguished Am ...

, and

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

. He became known as "Buddy Morrow" in 1938 when he joined the

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

band. In 1939 he performed 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 ...

's Concert Orchestra for their recording of Gershwin's '' Concerto in F''. In 1940, Morrow joined the

Tony Pastor Antonio Pastor (May 28, 1837 – August 26, 1908) was an American impresario, variety performer and theatre owner who became one of the founding forces behind American vaudeville in the mid- to late-nineteenth century. He was sometimes referr ...

band, but this was only a short detour on his way to replacing

Ray Conniff Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s. Biography Conniff was born November 6, 1916 in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United St ...

in the

Bob Crosby George Robert Crosby (August 23, 1913 – March 9, 1993) was an American jazz singer and bandleader, best known for his group the Bob-Cats, which formed around 1935. The Bob-Cats were a New Orleans Dixieland-style jazz octet. He was the young ...

band. Shortly thereafter, he joined the U.S. Navy, during which he recorded with

Billy Butterfield Charles William Butterfield (January 14, 1917 – March 18, 1988) was an American jazz bandleader, trumpeter, flugelhornist, and cornetist. Early years Charles William Butterfield was born in Middletown, Ohio and attended high school in Wyoming ...

, leading a ten-piece band with three trombones, accompanying

Red McKenzie William 'Red' McKenzie (October 14, 1899 – February 7, 1948) was an American jazz vocalist and musician who played a comb as an instrument. He played the comb-and-paper by placing paper, sometimes strips from the ''Evening World'', over the ti ...

singing four arrangements, including "

Sweet Lorraine "Sweet Lorraine" is a popular song with music by Cliff Burwell and words by Mitchell Parish that was published in 1928 and has become a jazz standard. It is written in F major and has an AABA structure. A version by Teddy Wilson charted in Octobe ...

" and "

It's the Talk of the Town "It's the Talk of the Town" is a popular song written by Jerry Livingston, the lyrics by Al J. Neiburg and Marty Symes. The song was published in 1933. The song is a pop standard, with many versions recorded by many artists. A recording by Glen G ...

". After demobilization, Morrow joined

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards " I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary Peop ...

's band, then went into radio freelancing as a studio musician. He began conducting sessions, which introduced him to bandleading.

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

sponsored him as director of his band in 1951. The band's first hit, " Night Train" by Jimmy Forrest, was a hit in rhythm and blues. Morrow's early 1950s records such as "Rose, Rose, I Love You" and "Night Train" appeared on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' magazine charts. "Night Train" reached No. 12 in the U.K. Singles Chart in March 1953. In 1959 and 1960 Morrow's Orchestra released two albums of American television theme songs: ''Impact'' and ''Double Impact'' respectively. Morrow was a member of

The Tonight Show Band The Tonight Show Band is the house band that plays on the American television variety show '' The Tonight Show''. From 1962 until 1992, when the show was known as '' The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'', the band was a 17-piece big band, and ...

. Morrow led the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra from 1977 through September 24, 2010, when he appeared with the band for the final time. Morrow died on September 27, 2010."Deaths in Central Florida: Muni B. Morrow", ''Orlando Sentinel'', Sept 30, 2010

Awards and honors

* Lifetime Achievement Award, International Trombone Association, 2009 *

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America (colloquially known as Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Phi Mu Alpha, or simply Sinfonia) () is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music. The fraternity is open to men "w ...

music fraternity, Rho Tau chapter at Appalachian State University

Discography

* ''Re-enlistment Blues'' (?, 1953) * ''Shall We Dance'' (Mercury, 1955) * ''Golden Trombone'' (Mercury, 1956) * ''Music for Dancing Feet'' (Wing, 1956) * ''A Salute to the Fabulous Dorseys'' (Mercury, 1957) * ''Tribute to a Sentimental Gentleman'' (Mercury, 1957) * ''Night Train'' (RCA Victor, 1957) * ''Dancing Tonight to Morrow'' (RCA Victor, 1958) * ''Let's Have a Dance Party!'' (RCA Camden, 1958) * ''Just We Two'' (Mercury, 1958) * ''Impact'' (RCA Victor, 1959) * ''Double Impact'' (RCA Victor, 1960) * ''Poe For Moderns'' (RCA Victor, 1960) * ''Night Train Goes to Hollywood'' (Mercury, 1962) * ''New Blues Scene'' (United Artists, 1967) * ''Revolving Bandstand'' (RCA, 1974) * ''Big Band Series.Original Recording'' (Picc-a-Dilly, 1980) * ''The Complete R.C.A. Victor Revolving Bandstand Sessions'' (RCA, 1993) * ''Swing the Sinatra Way'' (Hindsight, 1998)

As sideman

With

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

* ''

High Voltage High voltage electricity refers to electrical potential large enough to cause injury or damage. In certain industries, ''high voltage'' refers to voltage above a certain threshold. Equipment and conductors that carry high voltage warrant sp ...

'' (MPS, 1970) * ''Basie's Timing'' (MPS, 1972) With

the Free Design The Free Design was a Delevan, New York-based vocal group, whose music can be described as sunshine pop and baroque pop. Though they did not achieve much commercial recognition during their main recording career, their work later influenced ba ...

* ''Kites Are Fun'' (Project 3 Total Sound, 1967) * ''Stars/Time/Bubbles/Love'' (Project 3 Total Sound, 1970) With

Jackie Gleason John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...

* ''Tis the Season'' (Capitol, 1967) * ''A Taste of Brass for Lovers Only'' (Capitol, 1967) With Urbie Green * ''21 Trombones'' (Project 3 Total Sound, 1967) * ''21 Trombones Rock/Blues/Jazz Volume Two'' (Project 3 Total Sound, 1969) * ''Urbie Green's Big Beautiful Band'' (Project 3 Total Sound, 1974) With

Enoch Light Enoch Henry Light (August 18, 1907 – July 31, 1978) was an American classically trained violinist, danceband leader, and recording engineer. As the leader of various dance bands that recorded as early as March 1927 and continuing through at ...

* ''Volume II'' (Project 3 Total Sound, 1969) * ''Big Hits of the 20's'' (Project 3 Total Sound, 1971) * ''The Big Band Sound of the Thirties'' (Project 3 Total Sound, 1971) * ''Big Band Hits of the 30's & 40's'' (Project 3 Total Sound, 1971) * ''1973'' (Project 3 Total Sound, 1972) * ''The Big Band Hits of the 40s & 50s'' (Project 3 Total Sound, 1973) With

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 ...

* ''Flip Phillips Collates'' (Clef, 1952) * ''Flip'' (Verve, 1961) With Lee Wiley * ''Back Home Again'' (Monmouth Evergreen, 1971) * ''I've Got the World On a String'' (Ember, 1972) With others * Gato Barbieri, '' Chapter Three: Viva Emiliano Zapata'' (Impulse!, 1974) *

, ''South Rampart Street Parade'' (Decca, 1992) *

Marty Gold Martin Gold (December 26, 1915 – January 14, 2011) was an American composer, pianist, and bandleader born in New York City, New York, United States. He was the pianist and arranger for the Korn Kobblers, a popular 1940s novelty group billed as "A ...

, ''Suddenly It's Springtime'' (RCA Victor, 1964) *

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include " Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", " I Write the Songs", " C ...

, ''Singin' with the Big Bands'' (Arista, 1994) *

Galt MacDermot Arthur Terence Galt MacDermot (December 18, 1928 – December 17, 2018) was a Canadian-American composer, pianist and writer of musical theater. He won a Grammy Award for the song "African Waltz" in 1960. His most-successful musicals were '' Ha ...

, ''Dude'' (Kilmarnock, 1973) *

Van McCoy Van Allen Clinton McCoy (January 6, 1940 – July 6, 1979) was an American musician, record producer, arranger, songwriter, singer and orchestra conductor. He is known for his 1975 internationally successful song " The Hustle". He has approxima ...

, ''The Disco Kid'' (Avco, 1975) * Moondog, ''Moondog'' (Columbia Masterworks, 1969) *

David "Fathead" Newman David "Fathead" Newman (February 24, 1933 – January 20, 2009) was an American jazz and rhythm-and-blues saxophonist, who made numerous recordings as a session musician and leader, but is best known for his work as a sideman on seminal 1950s an ...

, '' Mr. Fathead'' (Warner Bros., 1976) *

David Ruffin David Eli Ruffin (born Davis Eli Ruffin;Ribowsky, p. 88 January 18, 1941 – June 1, 1991) was an American soul singer and musician most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of the Temptations (1964–68) during the group's "Clas ...

, ''Everything's Coming Up Love'' (Motown, 1976) *

, ''Rhythm Makers'' (Magic 1987) * Joe Thomas, ''Masada'' (Groove Merchant, 1975) *

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and " The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine Grammy Award ...

, ''Summertime'' (CBS, 1984) *

Bob Wilber Robert Sage Wilber (March 15, 1928 – August 4, 2019) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, and band leader. Although his scope covers a wide range of jazz, Wilber was a dedicated advocate of classic styles, working throughout his care ...

& Maxine Sullivan, ''The Music of Hoagy Carmichael'' (Audiophile, 1993)

References

* ''ASCAP Biographical Dictionary,'' Fourth edition, Compiled for the

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

by Jaques Cattell Press,

R.R. Bowker R. R. Bowker LLC (trading as Bowker) is an American limited liability company domiciled under Delaware Limited Liability Company Law and based in Chatham, New Jersey. Among other things, Bowker provides bibliographic information on publishe ...

, New York (1980) * ''The Big Bands,'' revised edition, by George T. Simon,

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...

, New York;

Collier Books Crowell-Collier Publishing Company was an American publisher that owned the popular magazines ''Collier's'', ''Woman's Home Companion'' and '' The American Magazine''. Crowell's subsidiary, P.F. Collier and Son, published ''Collier's Encyclopedia ...

(1974) * ''Biographical Dictionary of Jazz'', by Charles Eugene Claghorn (1911–2005),

Prentice Hall Prentice Hall was an American major educational publisher owned by Savvas Learning Company. Prentice Hall publishes print and digital content for the 6–12 and higher-education market, and distributes its technical titles through the Safari ...

, Englewood Cliffs (1982) * ''Biography Index, A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines'', Volume 2: August, 1949-August, 1952,

H. W. Wilson Company The H. W. Wilson Company, Inc. is a publisher and indexing company that was founded in 1898 and is located in The Bronx, New York. It provides print and digital content aimed at patrons of public school, college, and professional libraries in bot ...

, New York (1953) * ''Biography Index, A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines'', Volume 18: September, 1992-August, 1993,

, New York (1993) * ''The Complete Encyclopedia of Popular Music and Jazz, 1900-1950'', three volumes, by Roger Davis Kinkle (1916–2000),

Arlington House Publishers Arlington House, Inc. (dba as Arlington House Publishers), now-defunct, was an American book publisher of jazz discographies, as well as conservative and anti-communist titles. It was a Delaware corporation from 1964 to 1988 with offices in New R ...

New Rochelle New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state o ...

(1974) (bios located in vols. 2 and 3) * ''Dictionary of Pseudonyms,'' third edition, by Adrian Richard West Room (1933- ), McFarland & Co., Jefferson, NC (1998) * ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', third edition, eight volumes, ed. by

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British writer and entrepreneur. He founded, and was the editor-in-chief of, the '' Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', described by '' The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged". Along w ...

, Grove's Dictionaries, New York (1998) * ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz,'' first edition, two volumes, ed. b
Barry Kernfeld
Macmillan Press, London (1988) * ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz,'' ed. b
Barry Kernfeld
St. Martin's Press, New York (1994) * ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz,'' second ed., three volumes, ed. b
Barry Kernfeld
Macmillan Press, London (2002) * ''The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music,'' ed. by Donald Clarke,

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquir ...

, New York (1989) * ''Who's Who of Jazz: Storyville to Swing Street,'' by

John Chilton John James Chilton (16 July 1932 – 25 February 2016) was a British jazz trumpeter and writer. During the 1960s, he also worked with pop bands, including The Swinging Blue Jeans and The Escorts. He won a Grammy Award for Best Album Notes in 1 ...

, Chilton Book Co., Philadelphia (1972)

Inline citations

External links

Profile of Buddy Morrow at Spaceagepop.com

"Still Swinging" (1994)

* ttps://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/03/nyregion/03morrow.html?ref=obituaries Daniel E. Slotnik, ''Buddy Morrow, Trombonist and Bandleader, Dies at 91'', The New York Times, Oct 2, 2010
Eloísa Ruano González, ''Buddy Morrow, Big-Band Leader, Dies at 91'', Orlando Sentinel, Oct. 2, 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrow, Buddy 1919 births 2010 deaths Musicians from New Haven, Connecticut Jazz musicians from Connecticut Musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American Jews American jazz bandleaders American jazz trombonists Male trombonists Swing trombonists American male jazz musicians The Tonight Show Band members Mercury Records artists RCA Victor artists 21st-century American Jews