Robert Graettinger
.jpg)
Photo: William P. Gottlieb (1947 or 1948)
Robert Frederick Graettinger (born October 31, 1923 in Ontario (California) , † March 12, 1957 in Los Angeles ) was an American composer and arranger, best known for his work for Stan Kenton .
life and work
Graettinger studied at the Westlake School of Music in Los Angeles and started as an alto saxophonist and arranger in dance orchestras. Then he worked for Benny Carter , Bobby Sherwood , Alvino Rey and Johnny Richards , among others . He focused primarily on composing. In 1947 he offered his composition Thermopylae to Stan Kenton . Until 1953 he continued to contribute to the repertoire of Kenton's Innovations Orchestra ; at that time he was studying composition with Russell Garcia . Other compositions such as This Modern World , House Of Strings , Incident In Jazz and City of Glass were initially received very ambiguously by the audience. Decades later, precisely these works led Graettinger to receive late recognition. “Nobody had written such complex arrangements before, never before had anyone moved along the borderline between jazz and classical music in such an original and sovereign manner.” Graettinger died of cancer.
On the initiative of Gunther Schuller , some of Graettinger's works were performed again with the Dutch Ebony Band . In addition to the compositions and arrangements of classics performed by Kenton, there are also compositions that have not been performed until then. Graettinger's compositions of a symphonic third stream are characterized by an interesting polystyle with polyphonic density and atonal passages. Kenton's recording of "City of Glass" was included on The Wire's 1998 wirelist for "100 Records That Set the World on Fire (While No One Was Listening)" .
Discography
With Stan Kenton:
- Thermopylae (78) 1947
- Everything Happens To Me (78) 1947
- A Concert in Progressive Jazz (on it "Thermopylae")
- Innovations in Modern Music (then "Incident in Jazz") 1950
- Kenton Presents (on it "House of Strings") 1950
- City of Glass (10 ") 1951
- The Kenton Era (then "Modern Opus" and "You Go to My Head") 1952
- City of Glass / This Modern World 1953
The Ebony Big Band:
- City of Glass: Robert Graettinger 1994
- The Ebony Big Band: Live at the Paradiso - Robert Graettinger 1998
literature
- Leonard Feather , Ira Gitler : The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press, New York 1999, ISBN 0-19-532000-X .
- Liesa Karen Norman, The respective influence of jazz and classical music on each other, the evolution of third stream and fusion and the effects thereof into the 21st century . Dissertation University of British Columbia 2002
Web links
- Robert Graettinger at Allmusic (English)
- The Music of Bob Graettinger
- Meeting Live at the Paradiso
- Stan Kenton Plays Bob Graettinger
Individual evidence
- ↑ ARD Radio Festival 2010: City of Glass ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , August 9, 2010
- ↑ Graettinger's estate is in the University of North Texas (directory, overview)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Graettinger, Robert |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Graettinger, Bob; Graettinger, Robert Frederick |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American composer and arranger |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 31, 1923 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ontario (California) |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 12, 1957 |
| Place of death | los Angeles |