Hal Schaefer
Hal Schaefer (born July 22, 1925 in New York City , † December 8, 2012 in Fort Lauderdale , Florida ) was an American jazz pianist and film composer .
Live and act
Schaefer played at the beginning of his career with Stan Kenton , Benny Carter and in Dave Barbour's band Four of a Kind , which accompanied the singer Peggy Lee , and also in the big bands of Harry James and Boyd Raeburn . He also served as a vocal coach for Marilyn Monroe and worked with June Christy . In 1955, during the jazz workshop sessions at RCA Victor, his debut album was created with a program of jazz standards such as Blue Skies or Spring is Here and his own compositions. Further recordings followed in the 1960s; he played in 1964 with his quartet music for the thriller Fail Safe by Sidney Lumet on, but these decided to release the film without a soundtrack. He also worked for Howard Hawks , George Cukor , Walter Lang , Hal Prince, and Otto Preminger . From the beginning of the 1990s he submitted further recordings under his own name; so he recorded a tribute album on the occasion of Marilyn Monroe's 75th birthday in 2000.
In 2009 Hal Schaefer was nominated for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowship of the National Endowment for the Arts . The critic Ken Dryden describes Schaefer as a typical representative of mainstream piano jazz in the style of Dick Hyman , who processes influences from Art Tatum .
Filmography (selection)
- 1950: The Black Avalanche (Director: Mel Ferrer ) - pianist
- 1952: With a song in my heart (Director: Walter Lang) - pianist
- 1954: Rhythm in the Blood (Director: Walter Lang ) - music arrangement, composer
- 1965: Goldfalle (Director: Burt Kennedy ) - composer
- 1977: The Tiger from Taipei (Director: Robert Clouse ) - Composer (as Hal Schaffer )
Discographic notes
- RCA Victor Jazz Workshop (RCA, 1955) with Hal McKusick , Nick Travis , Jimmy Nottingham , Don Lamond , Ed Shaughnessy , Urbie Green , Billy Byers , Sam Marowitz , Milt Hinton , Osie Johnson
- Ten Shades Of Blue (United Artists Records, 1960)
- How Do You Like This Piano Playing? (Summit, 1960, ed. 2009)
- Solo, Duo, Trio (1991) with Jay Anderson , Roy Mosca
- June 1st: A Date to Remember (Summit, 2000)
- World Class Brilliant (Summit, 2011)
Web links
- Web presence
- Hal Schaefer at Allmusic (English)
- Hal Schaefer at Discogs (English)
- Hal Schaefer in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Obituary , New York Times , December 12, 2012
- ↑ Review of the album June 1st: A Date to Remember by Dave Nathan at Allmusic . Retrieved October 30, 2011.
- ↑ There is only one demo single on Colpix Records . See The Hal Schaefer Quintet - Fail Safe at Discogs
- ↑ Review of Ken Dryden's World Class Brilliant album at Allmusic . Retrieved October 30, 2011.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Schaefer, Hal |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz pianist and film composer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 22, 1925 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 8, 2012 |
| Place of death | Fort Lauderdale |