Lloyd Vernon "Skip" Martin (May 14, 1916, in

Robinson, Illinois Robinson is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,713 at the 2010 census, up from 6,822 in 2000. Geography Robinson is in the center of Crawford County at . Illinois Route 33 passes thro ...

– February 12, 1976, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

) 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 m ...

saxophonist, clarinetist, and

music arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

Background

Martin was active principally as an arranger for some of the most popular

swing jazz Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. The name derived from its emphasis on the off-beat, or nominally weaker beat. Swing bands ...

bands of the 1930s and 1940s. He worked 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 ...

Charlie Barnet Charles Daly Barnet (October 26, 1913 – September 4, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His major recordings were "Skyliner", " Cherokee", "The Wrong Idea", "Scotch and Soda", "In a Mizz", and "Southland Shuffl ...

(1939–40), Benny Goodman (1941), and Glenn Miller (1941–42); doubling as a

reedist A reed (or lamella) is a thin strip of material that vibrates to produce a sound on a musical instrument. Most woodwind instrument reeds are made from ''Arundo donax'' ("Giant cane") or synthetic material. Tuned reeds (as in harmonicas and ac ...

with the last three. In the Goodman orchestra he played

alto sax The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B ten ...

alongside Gus Bivona and recorded with the legendary trumpeter Cootie Williams in the early 1940s as well. Later in the 1940s he worked with Les Brown (memorably the big-band chart for ''

I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" is a popular song copyrighted in 1937 by its composer, Irving Berlin, and first recorded by (i) Ray Noble (January 5, 1937), Howard Barrie, vocalist, and (ii) Red Norvo (January 8, 1937), Mildred Bailey, vocali ...

''), then moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

in the 1950s, where he did extensive work as a staff and freelance orchestrator, studio conductor (e.g. Astaire's ''

Royal Wedding ''Royal Wedding'' is a 1951 American musical comedy film directed by Stanley Donen, and starring Fred Astaire and Jane Powell, with music by Burton Lane and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. Set in 1947 London at the time of the wedding of Princess ...

'', 1951) and popular song arranger (often for Tony Martin,

The Pied Pipers The Pied Pipers is an American popular singing group originally formed in the late 1930s. They had several chart hits through the 1940s, both under their own name and in association with Tommy Dorsey and with Frank Sinatra. Origins Originally ...

, the Andrews and De Castro sister groups, or

Barbara Ruick Barbara Ruick (December 23, 1930 – March 3, 1974) was an American actress and singer. Early years Ruick was the daughter of actors Lurene Tuttle and Melville Ruick, and grew up acting out scenes with dolls, employing her mother as an ...

). Martin also recorded three albums as a leader and produced material for West Coast jazz and swing concept albums (e.g. 1959's ''Scheherajazz'' with Gus Bivona) for Somerset Records. In 1963 he joined Nelson Riddle on a dream team of arrangers working on the Sinatra- Burke compilation albums for the ambitious Reprise Musical Repertory Theatre project, featuring the singing members of the Rat Pack, plus Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney and

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...

. In Hollywood, Martin was one of the team of orchestrators contributing to '' Singin' in the Rain'' (1952) and ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also bo ...

'' (1955). He frequently shared arrangement credits with

Conrad Salinger Conrad Salinger (August 30, 1901, Brookline, Massachusetts – June 17, 1962, Pacific Palisades, California) was an American arranger, orchestrator and composer, who studied classical composition at the Paris Conservatoire. He is credited wit ...

, such as on ''

Summer Stock In American theater, summer-stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock th ...

'' (1950), ''

Kiss Me Kate ''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical written by Bella and Samuel Spewack with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off-sta ...

'' (1953) and ''

Funny Face ''Funny Face'' is a 1957 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Stanley Donen and written by Leonard Gershe, containing assorted songs by George and Ira Gershwin. Although having the same title as the 1927 Broadway musical ''Funny ...

'' (1957). He was the sole credited orchestrator for

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

's comeback vehicle '' A Star Is Born'' (1954), which contains many arrangements by him of Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin ballads, principally " The Man that Got Away" and "It's a New World".

References

* Barry Kernfeld, "Skip Martin". '' Grove Jazz'' online.
The Internet Movie Database
*''

Billboard (magazine) ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the mus ...

'' *Grudens, Richard, ''Chattanooga Choo Choo: The Life and Times of the World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra'', Celebrity Profiles Publishing, 2004, pp. 126–127.

External links

* *
Scheherajazz Live World Premiere Fall/Winter 2016Scheherajazz Features Music Ensembles - Eastern Washington University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Skip 1916 births 1976 deaths American jazz clarinetists American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists American music arrangers People from Robinson, Illinois RCA Victor artists 20th-century American saxophonists Jazz musicians from Illinois 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Glenn Miller Orchestra members Shortridge High School alumni