Hal McKusick
Harold Wilfred "Hal" McKusick (born June 1, 1924 in Medford , Massachusetts , † April 11, 2012 in Sag Harbor (New York) ) was an American jazz musician ( tenor saxophonist , alto saxophonist and clarinetist ) of modern jazz .
Live and act
Hal McKusick grew up in Newton with Ralph Burns as a schoolmate, played in 1942 with Don Bestor and Les Brown , briefly with Woody Herman (1943) and in 1944/45 in the orchestra of Boyd Raeburn and with Tom Talbert and Alvino Rey (1946). Then he moved to the American west coast, where he u. a. worked with Johnny Otis and Buddy Rich . In 1948/49 he played in the Claude Thornhill Orchestra and in 1950/51 with the Terry Gibbs Quintet. Between 1951 and 1956 he worked mostly for Elliot Lawrence and was a sought-after studio musician. During this time he worked with innovators in jazz around Gil Mellé , George Russell ( The RCA Victor Jazz Workshop , 1956) and Jimmy Giuffre . Between 1955 and 1958 he recorded nine albums as a band leader. T. reflect the aesthetics of the third stream .
In the 1960s, Hal McKusick withdrew more from the jazz scene, only occasionally played jazz and more often took part in the recording of commercials. In later years, McKusick taught at Ross School in East Hampton , NY
McKusick's style of saxophone was heavily influenced by Lee Konitz . His favorites on the clarinet were Buddy DeFranco and Lester Young .
Selection discography
As a leader
- Hal McKusick Plays / Betty St. Clair Sings ( Jubilee Records , 1955)
- Hal McCusick Quartet ( Bethlehem Records , 1955) with Barry Galbraith , Milt Hinton , Osie Johnson
- In a Twentieth-Century Drawing Room ( RCA Victor , 1955) with Barry Galbraith, Milt Hinton
- The Jazz Workshop (RCA Victor, 1956) with Jimmy Cleveland , Art Farmer , Garry Galbraith, Milt Hinton, Osie Johnson, Teddy Kotick , Jimmy Raney
- Jazz at the Academy ( Coral Records , 1956)
- Hal McKusick Quintet Featuring Art Farmer (Coral Records, 1957) with Art Farmer, Eddie Costa , Milt Hinton, Gus Johnson
- Triple Exposure ( Prestige Records , 1957) with Billy Byers , Paul Chambers , Eddie Costa, Charlie Persip
- Cross Section - Saxes ( Decca Records , 1958) with Jay Cameron , Bill Evans, Art Farmer, Barry Galbraith, Dick Hafer , Milt Hinton, Paul Chambers , Connie Kay , Charlie Persip, Frank Socolow
As a sideman
- Woody Herman: Songs For Hip Lovers ( Verve Records , 1957)
- Gil Melle: Gil's Guets (Prestige Records, 1956)
- George Russell: Jazz Workshop (RCA, 1956); New York, NY (Decca Records, 1959)
- Hal Schaefer : RCA Victor Jazz Workshop (RCA, 1955)
literature
- Martin Kunzler : Jazz Lexicon. Rowohlt, Reinbek 1988.
- Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide of Jazz on CD . 6th edition. Penguin, London 2002, ISBN 0-14-051521-6 .
Web links
- Works by and about Hal McKusick in the catalog of the German National Library
- Hal McKusick in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Hal McKusick | Biography ( Memento from March 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- Hal McKusick at Allmusic (English)
- Interview 2007 on jazzwax.com
- Obituary by Marcus Woelfle in Jazzzeitung 2012/03
Remarks
- ↑ Obituary (English)
- ↑ During this time he also took part in the obscure Charlie Parker session ( In The Still Of The Night ) with the Gil Evans Orchestra and the Dave Lambert Singers on May 25, 1953
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | McKusick, Hal |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | McKusick, Harold Wilfred |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 1, 1924 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Medford, Massachusetts |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 11, 2012 |
| Place of death | Sag Harbor (New York) |