William Grant Still, Artie, etc: do you have these albums?

[kitkat]

I've got a paper to write for my 20th-century music class about someone within our recent listening. I just noticed Still coming up, looked him up on the non-classical section of Allmusic.com, and noticed through that site and readings that he's played with Fletcher, and he arranged for W.C. Handy, Paul Whiteman, and Artie Shaw.

He was more into incorporating spirituals and blues into his classical music than jazz...but it seems he did this jazz arranging work partly because it was an "in" to success as a black composer and also because it was a day job that paid. I'd love to hear if there's a noticeable impact of his style upon jazz pieces (or some old blues pieces) he arranged. Unfortunately, we don't have any of these CDs around, and even if I had more time, my school doesn't Interlibrary Loan things outside of the area except for senior final research papers.

So, does anyone have recordings of versions he arranged, plus some same-album or same-time-period ones that he didn't for comparison? If you could send me MP3s, I'd be eternally grateful.

(Or, if you can help me think of a way to find these recordings fast enough that I'll have time to acquire them, listen to them, and write about them, I'm open to other suggestions.)

Thank you!
-Katie

Afterthought: Does anyone know of (and have recordings of) other black classical, highly trained composers who arranged for blues and jazz?

And in case you're curious, some of the questions I had in mind to approach this from, though I'm not sure I'll be able to find the resources to do so, are:
1. How did jazz play into his fusion of cultures & his creation of a culture to represent in his music?
2. Did the same old exploitative marketing ploys trivialize his music? In other words, was it, in the back of many white listeners' minds, "race music" and almost lumped with jazz/blues, or was it distinctly and consistently classical music?
3. Thinking back on #1, perhaps I should ask not so much what he was listening to as what jazz musicians were inspired by him, and how.

[Jerry_Jelinek]

Afterthought: Does anyone know of (and have recordings of) other black classical, highly trained composers who arranged for blues and jazz?

First I like the coarse paper idea. Hopefully this isn't too late.

I know nothing about William Grant. I'll have to research that one a bit.

But a black composer that fits right down your requirments is Don Redman. Nice little bio on All Music web page for him.

More recent composers might be Gerald Wilson. Even though the All Music bio doesn't describe his formal education, I'm fairly certain he stopped his musical career in the late 50s or early 60s to get a college education in musical composition and arranging.

Jimmie Lunceford is another candidate for study. He actually was a music educator, prior to becoming a band leader. Again All Music Guide has a nice littel bio on Jimmie.

Erskine Hawkins might be on the fringe of what your looking for.

Hazel Scott, though not as significant of a jazz figure might fit your criteria.

Actually Duke Ellington may fit your criteria in some sense. He came from an upper middle class family that strongly encouraged his musical education.

Ernie Wilkins, one of the finest swing arrangers for Count Basie and Harry James might fit your criteria.

These are the names which come to mind. I hope this isn't too later for your paper.

If I can help you out, feel free to drop me a note.

[kitkat]

Actually, it's got to be someone from the composers we listen to in class; the list has a very strong classical tendency and Still is the only one on there of all whom you mentioned. Thanks for the suggestions, though--they might be cool for another day.


edit: oh yeah, i did say that, didn't I (looking @ quote)

[CafeSavoy]

Afterthought: Does anyone know of (and have recordings of) other black classical, highly trained composers who arranged for blues and jazz?

I agree with Jerry that Hazel Scott will be a good choice. And one of her cds is available on Chonogical Classics.



http://www.aaregistry.com/african_ameri ... azel_Scott

June 11


Hazel Scott
Hazel Scott was born on this date in 1920. She was an African-American singer, actress, and musician.

From Port of Spain, Trinidad with the guidance of her mother Alma, she began playing piano at the age of two.
Scott began formal music training after the family had moved to the United States in 1924. She made her American debut at New York’s Town Hall two years later and by 1929 Scott had six scholarships to Julliard School of Music in New York City. Unfortunately she, at fourteen, was under age and instead she joined her mothers All-Woman Orchestra, playing piano and trumpet.

By the time she was sixteen (1936), Scott was a radio star on the Mutual Broadcasting System and playing at the Roseland Dance Hall with the Count Basie Orchestra. In the late thirties, she appeared in the Broadway musical Singing Out the News and after that, Priorities of 1942. Scott’s film credits include Something to Shout About, I Dood it, Tropicana, and The Heat’s On; all in 1943. She worked Broadway Rhythm 1944, and Rhapsody in Blue in 1945.

During this time in one of the years most fabulous social events, Scott married the popular preacher and politician Adam Clayton Powell Jr., though they separated several times and divorced in 1956. During the early 1950s, she became the first Black woman to have her own television show, but due to accusations of being a communist; her show was canceled. Scott defended her position in fund-raising events; fighting for groups in the name of equal rights.

She was widely recognized for her efforts in the struggle for racial freedom and justice. She was once quoted: "What justification can anyone have who comes to hear me and then objects to sitting next to another Negro?." In 1967, after living in Paris, she returned to America and appeared on the television shows Julia and The Bold Ones. In 1978, she was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. Hazel Scott continued to perform until her death in 1981.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazel_Scott

Hazel Scott
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Hazel Dorothy Scott (1920 – 1981) was a jazz and classical pianist and singer. She was born in Trinidad but raised in New York City from the age of four. She performed extensively on piano as a child, then trained at the Juilliard School.

She was known for improvising on classical themes and also played bebop, blues, and ballads. She appeared in five motion pictures and was the first African American woman to have her own television show. However, she also publicly opposed McCarthyism and racial segregation, and the show was cancelled in 1950 when she was accused of being a Communist sympathizer.

Her most successful recording was "Tico Tico." Her album Relaxed Piano Moods, with Charles Mingus and Max Roach, is the most highly regarded by critics today.

She married Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. in 1945.

http://entertainment.msn.com/artist/?artist=142330

Biography

Though she didn't call it third stream, and it wasn't associated with the genre, Hazel Scott was another musician who found a successful way to blend jazz and classical influences. Scott took classical selections and improvised on them, a practice dating back to the ragtime era. Such numbers as "Hungarian Rhapsody, no. 2" (Liszt) backed by "Valse in D Flat Major, op. 64 no. 1" (Chopin) were audience ... Read MoreThough she didn't call it third stream, and it wasn't associated with the genre, Hazel Scott was another musician who found a successful way to blend jazz and classical influences. Scott took classical selections and improvised on them, a practice dating back to the ragtime era. Such numbers as "Hungarian Rhapsody, no. 2" (Liszt) backed by "Valse in D Flat Major, op. 64 no. 1" (Chopin) were audience favorites, even if some critics suggested they smacked of gimmickry (which sometimes they did). Scott was also a good bebop soloist, nice ballad interpreter, fair blues player, and underrated vocalist. Her nightclub act was often more appealing than her albums, where the absence of mitigating circumstances like an audience and club setting resulted in her compositions getting more scrutiny than they could stand. Scott studied classical piano at Juilliard from the age of eight, while also playing jazz in clubs. She became an attraction at downtown and uptown branches of Cafe Society in the late '30s and early '40s. Scott had her own radio show in 1936, appeared on Broadway in 1938, and was in five films during the '40s, among them Rhapsody in Blue. She wrote such songs as "Love Comes Softly" and "Nightmare Blues." Scott later had her own television show and was married to Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Their highly visible, high-profile relationship degenerated under the heat of a nationwide obsession with Powell's activities, influence, and behavior, finally ending in divorce. Scott recorded for Decca, Signature, Tioch, and Columbia, but made her finest jazz album for Charles Mingus' Debut label, Relaxed Piano Moods, in 1955. Mingus and Max Roach joined Scott on this session. It's her only date currently available on CD. ~ Ron Wynn and Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide

[Mr Awesomer]

Looks like she was a hottie as well. Back off Teddy!

[kitkat]

Does anyone have any of these albums? They all credit Still as arranger, but I don't own any and can't look at the liner notes to find out which songs.

Happy Feet: A Tribute to Paul Whiteman
Begin the Beguine
(Artie Shaw) In Hollywood, vol. 2
Hilights from (Artie Shaw) Self Portrait
Swing Legends: 22 Classic Hits (Artie Shaw)
(Artie Shaw) Self Portrait
Morning Song

Less important would be knowing what track(s) he played sax on in this Fletcher Henderson album and how many he was among (i.e. whether you'd even be able to hear him).

Also, if you know of any resources to read about his involvement with Black Swan Records, that'd be nice. He held some pretty important positions, but everything that I've found discussing Black Swan is a quick summary that mentions him only briefly. Everything discussing him only mentions Black Swan very briefly.

[Jerry_Jelinek]

Katie,

I'm out of town right now and thus away from my discography resources.

I can probably get you a good amount of discography.

Can you wait until the weekend?

[kitkat]

I'm a student. Why would I think of some useful research method more than two days before the project is due?

Thank you, though.