BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS
Born: Samana, Dominican Republic
Description: Saxophonist, Teacher, Arranger, USA
Known For: Arranger of the music – “West Side Story” – 1957
Instruments: Saxophone
Music Styles: Jazz
Location: United States of America
Date Born: 24th June 1922
Location Born: Samana
Date Died: 2nd October 2001
Location Died: Croton-on-Hudson, New York, United States of America
CONTACT DETAILS
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BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
Manny Albam
Manny Albam (June 24, 1922 in Samana, Dominican Republic – October 2, 2001 in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, USA) was a jazz baritone saxophone player who eventually became a composer, arranger, producer, and educator. He was well known for his association with United Artists-Solid State Records.
A jazz baritone saxophone player who eventually put the instrument down in favour of a long and respected career as an arranger, writer, and teacher.
He became interested in jazz on hearing Bix Beiderbecke and at sixteen dropped out of school to play for Dixieland trumpeter-leader Muggsy Spanier, but it was his membership in a group led by Georgie Auld that turned Albam’s career around.
The Auld group included saxophonist Budd Johnson, then a primary arranger for the group, and Johnson mentored Albam as an arranger.
By 1950, Albam had put down his baritone sax and began to concentrate strictly on arranging, writing.
He became known for his work for forward-looking bandleaders Charlie Barnet and Charlie Spivak, before moving forward to collaborate with jazzmen as varied as Count Basie, Stan Getz, Bob Brookmeyer (who frequently appeared on Albam’s own albums as a leader.
Albam also found an entree into the classical music world when he arranged Leonard Bernstein’s score for West Side Story in 1957.
By 1964, Albam became musical director for the Solid State Records (jazz label).
Discography
1951 : Stan Kenton: Innovations in Modern Music (Capitol)
1955 : Jazz Workshop (RCA Victor) with Nick Travis, Joe Newman, Thad Jones, Urbie Green, Bob Brookmeyer, Hal McKusick, Al Cohn, Sol Schlinger, Milt Hinton
1956 : The Drum Suite (RCA Victor) with Ernie Wilkins
1957 : The Jazz Greats of Our Time, Vol. 1 (MCA)
1957 : With All My Love (Mercury)
1957 : Jazz Heritage : Jazz Greats of Our Time, Vol. 2 (Coral)
1957 : The Blues is Everybody’s Business (Coral) with Bernie Glow, Phil Woods, Gene Quill, Eddie Costa, Nat Pierce, Billy Bauer
1957 : West Side Story (Coral)
1958 : Sophisticated Lady – The Songs of Duke Ellington (Coral)
1958 : Down Beat Jazz Concert (Fresh Sound Records)
1958 : Jazz New York (Dot) with Donald Byrd, Frank Rehak, Jerome Richardson, Bill Evans, Dick Katz, Addison Farmer, Osie Johnson, Ed Shaughnessy
1958 : Steve Allen’s songs (Dot)
1959 : Something New, Something Blue (Columbia)
1959 : Drum Feast (United Artists)
1960 : Double Exposures (Top Rank)
1961 : Manny Albam and his Orchestra (RCA)
1961 : I Had the Craziest Dream (RCA)
1962 : Jazz Goes to the Movies (Impulse!)
1966 : Brass on Fire (Solid State)
1966 : Introducing the Passion Guitars (Solid State) with Bucky Pizzarelli, Gene Bertoncini, Barry Galbraith, Don Arnone and Howie Collins
1966 : The Soul of the City (Solid State)
1985 : Bud Shank Plays, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Mole Jazz)
1993 : American Jazz Philharmonic (GRP Records)
1997 : Hank Jones And The Meridian String Quartet (Delta)
1997 : Celebrating Sinatra (Blue Note Records)
1999 : If You Could See Us Now (Koch Jazz)
2001 : The Volcanic plus Latin Fire (Fresh Sound Records)
2004 : Jazz Greats of Our Time: Manny Albam’s Complete Recordings (Lonehill Jazz Spain)
2008 : Al Cohn and His Charlie’s Tavern Ensemble (Fresh Sounds Spain)
As arranger[edit]
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With Count Basie
Dance Session Album #2 (Clef , 1954)
Basie (Clef, 1954)
With Al Cohn
Mr. Music (RCA Victor, 1955)
The Natural Seven (RCA Victor, 1955)
That Old Feeling (RCA Victor, 1955)
Four Brass One Tenor (RCA Victor, 1955)
With Curtis Fuller
Cabin in the Sky (Impulse!, 1962)
With Freddie Green
Mr. Rhythm (RCA Victor, 1955)
With Coleman Hawkins
Desafinado (Impulse!, 1962)
With Jimmy McGriff
The Big Band (Solid State, 1966)
A Bag Full of Blues (Solid State, 1967) – composer
With Joe Newman
Salute to Satch (RCA Victor, 1956)
I Feel Like a Newman (Storyville, 1956)
With Freda Payne
After the Lights Go Down Low and Much More!!! (Impulse!, 1964)
With Oscar Peterson
With Respect to Nat (Verve, 1965)
With Zoot Sims
New Beat Bossa Nova (Colpix, 1962)
With Dakota Staton
I Want a Country Man (Groove Merchant, 1973)
With Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick in Valley of the Dolls (Scepter, 1968)