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Today in Jazz - Benny Carter / Axel Stordahl
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Two of the true giants of jazz were born over the upcoming weekend - Benny Carter and Axel Stordahl. Carter was born August 8 in 1907 and Stordahl was born the same day in 1913. Regrettably neither is still with us, but their influence continues to be felt today.
Benny Carter is perhaps the best-known, as his work through the years has led to his unofficially being titled 'King' (a title conferred on him by saxophonist Ben Webster). Carter was a multi-instument virtuoso, playing saxophone, trumpet and clarinet in addition to being an arranger and bandleader. Beginning in 1922, Carter was continually active both recording and playing live concerts until his death in 2003. Cater was born in New York and spent his early years living near Duke Ellington's star trumpeter Bubber Miley, who inspired him to buy a trumpet. However, he soon switched to saxophone. Carter played in a number of well-known bands of the period beginning in 1924, and first recorded in 1928. He led his first band in 1929. After s short intermission playing with other groups, including a short stint with Fletcher Henderson's big band, he settled in leading his own group and aranging for others. Carter wrote a number of swing standards and arranged several others during this period. He also began playing trumpet again and quickly gained a formidable reputation on the intrument.
Carter moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1940s, where he quickly became a popular and prolific composer and arranger for the film industry. he also was a pioneer in the field of civil rightsd, as he won a number of court battles to enable him to live in then-exclusive neighborhood generally barred to blacks. Carter would continue as a highly in-demand bandleader, studio sideman and arranger until the late 1960s, when he was persuaded to being teaching a class at Princeton. This proved to be highly successful and he would continue to teach off and on at Princeton for the ensuing nine years.Carter's career is remarkable at least partly for tits longevity. He is one of the very few and perhaps the only musician to have reciorded in nine different decades - the 1920s, the 1930s, the 1940s, the 1950s, the 1960s, the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s and finally in the 2000s. This is a credit both to his enduring popularity and to his talent - he was still making new fans when he died in 2003!
Axel Stordahl is less known by name than Carter, but his influence was perhaps even more lasting. It was Stordahl who was Tommy Dorsey's primary arranger when Tommy formed his own band in 1935. Stordahl's arrangements set the tone for that great band and Stordahl is widely credited for helping Frank Sinatra create the style that became his trademark, though Sinatra's phrasings owed much more to Dorsey himself. Stordahl is also known as one of the first U.S. composers who customized his arrangements for a particular singer, so as to bring out the best in that particular performer. The sound he created for Sinatra was marked by 'swirling strings, understated ryhthm an woodwinds' according to his entry in Wikipedia. Stordahl also worked with remowned arranger Nelson Riddle.
In addition to his arranging work, Stordahl also wrote a number of his own songs. The best-known of these is probably 'Day by Day', which was a huge hit for Sinatra in 1946. Sinatra would re-record it in 1961 as well. Stordahl also wrote the theme music for the hit television series McHale's Navy, which ran from 1962 - 1966.
Both Stordahl and Carter made lasting contributions to the jazz world and both are much missed. Happy birthday to Axel Stordahl and Benny Carter!
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