Manny Albam
Albums
For this project from 1959, reissued by the Spanish Fresh Sound label in 2005, four notable arrangers contribute two arrangements apiece: one for a bluish standard and [more]
![Jazz Workshop [Bonus Tracks]](/cache/JHS/h3/130x130_on-sale_h37127panv0.png)
As an arranger and bandleader, the works of Manny Albam seem better appreciated by jazz musicians than by record labels and the jazz-buying public. This RCA Victor LP [more]
Appearances
As a leader, Charlie Parker recorded for Savoy and Dial during 1945-1948 and then for Verve exclusively (at least in the studios) during 1949-1954. This [more]
Stan Getz was one of the all-time great tenor-saxophonists. Throughout his career, Getz's beautiful tone was featured in many different [more]
Arthur Fiedler, one of the best-selling conductors in history and director of the Boston Pops for 50 years, summed up his uniquely programmed concerts [more]
![Clean Head's Back in Town [Rhino]](/cache/JHS/e4/130x130_e45207p23i1.jpg)
While this two-CD set does cover a lot of the material Maynard Ferguson recorded between the mid-'50s and late '90s, it suffers from a chronological imbalance that [more]
counts as 2
That Coleman Hawkins jumped on the jazz/bossa nova bandwagon craze initiated by Stan Getz in 1962 was a bit of a surprise to his fans, but that he was [more]
It is a jazz band that can be danced to - that is, while you're not listening to this most swinging, most rollicking of jazz-band bands going today.
![King of Swing [Clef]](/cache/JHS/f1/130x130_on-sale_f150994ova5.png)
Following a brief lull earlier in the 1950s, Count Basie had rebuilt his big band by the time of this trio of studio sessions originally recorded for Clef. Among the musicians [more]
For this project from 1959, reissued by the Spanish Fresh Sound label in 2005, four notable arrangers contribute two arrangements apiece: one for a bluish standard and [more]
The title Swing Is Here would have been more appropriate for the 1930s instead of 1960 when this album was originally issued, and the big-band era had long since waned. Yet [more]
Freddie Green seldom led sessions and seldom played lead. Instead, he formed part of the classic rhythm section that gave the Count Basie band its steady pulse. This rare date finds [more]
Biography
- Born Jun 24th 1922 in Samana, Dominican Republic
- Died Oct 2nd 2001 in New York, NY
During a career that spanned seven decades, composer and arranger Manny Albam collaborated with a who's who of jazz greats including Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, and Stan Getz. He also developed successive generations of new talent as co-founder and musical director of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop. Albam was born June 24, 1922. His parents were en route from their native Russia to their new home in New York City, and his mother went into labor while their ship was outside of the Dominican Republic port of Samana. At the age of seven Albam discovered jazz after hearing a Bix Beiderbecke record, and soon after began playing the alto saxophone; at 16 he dropped out of school following an invitation to join Muggsy Spanier's Dixieland combo, and later played with Georgie Auld, an experience that also afforded Albam his first shot at arranging under the tutelage of bandmate Budd Johnson. Albam next gigged behind Charlie Barnet, from there signing on with Charlie Spivak. During his two years with Spivak, his arranging skills flourished, and he generated an average of two arrangements per week. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, Albam returned to the Barnet stable, and as his interest in writing and arranging grew, he effectively retired from performing in 1950, a decision that coincided with the last gasps of the big band era. Albam quickly emerged as a sought-after freelancer, composing and arranging material for many of the bop era's brightest talents. His tight, brisk arrangements favored subtlety over flash, while his writing exhibited a wry sense of humor. Albam eventually signed to headline his own LPs for labels including Mercury, RCA Victor, and Dot, bringing together musicians including Phil Woods, Al Cohn, and Bob Brookmeyer for acclaimed easy listening efforts including The Blues Is Everybody's Business and The Drum Suite. His 1957 jazz arrangement of Leonard Bernstein's score to {#West Side Story} so impressed Bernstein that the maestro invited Albam to write for the New York Philharmonic. The offer prompted Albam to study classical composition under Tibor Serly, later yielding such works as the luminous "Concerto for Trombone and Strings." Albam also wrote for feature films, television, and even advertising jingles, and in 1964 signed on as musical director for Sonny Lester's fledgling Solid State label, which two years later issued his jazz suite The Soul of the City. By that time Albam was increasingly channeling his energies into teaching, however. After stints with the Eastman School of Music, Glassboro State College, and the Manhattan School of Music, in 1988 he co-founded the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop, assuming the title of musical director from Brookmeyer three years later. Albam died of cancer on October 2, 2001. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
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