Jack Fina

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jack Fina (* 13. August 1913 in Passaic , † 14. May 1970 in Sherman Oaks, California ) was an American bandleader, pianist , arranger and songwriter in the field of swing and popular music ..

Jack Fina studied at the New York College of Music with August Fraemcke and Elsa Nicilini. He began his music career in the 1930s in Clyde McCoy's band; He finally became known through his membership in the orchestra of Freddy Martin in 1936, heard on his hit "Tonight We Love". For the Freddy Martin band, Fina arranged a swing version of Rimski-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumble Bee under the title "Bumble Boogie", which appeared on RCA Victor , reached # 7 on the Billboard charts and in 1948 in the Walt Disney animated film Melody Time found use. The studio band B. Bumble and the Stingers had a hit with Fina's arrangement of the title in 1961.

After leaving Martin in 1946, Fina formed his own 16-piece band that debuted at the Claremont Hotel; The band's singers were Harry Prime and Gil Lewis. His orchestra became known nationwide through numerous radio broadcasts and recordings for MGM ; it made a guest appearance a. in New York at the Waldorf-Astoria and appeared in several films with her hits "Bumble Boogie" and "Disc Jockey" (1951). Fina also wrote the theme song "Dream Sonata" as well as "Chango" and "Piano Portraits". Members of the orchestra were later known jazz musicians such as Bob Bates , Paul Desmond , Virgil Gonsalves and Herb Geller .

In the 1950s, Fina had to reduce the size of his band and settled in San Francisco . There he ran an artist agency , the Concerto Music & Entertainment Agency, together with his manager Al King . In the early 1960s, Fina played with a smaller ensemble at the Beverly Hills Hotel, where he performed for eight years; In 1966, the album More Great Hits In Boogie Woogie (Dot Records) was created. He also appeared as a soloist on a television show. In 1970 he returned to the Beverly Hills Hotel to perform, suffered a heart attack and died a short time later at his Sherman Oaks home.

Web links

swell

  • Leo Walker: The Big Band Almanac . Ward Ritchie Press, Pasadena. 1978
personal data
SURNAME Fina, Jack
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American pianist, composer and band leader
DATE OF BIRTH August 13, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Passaic
DATE OF DEATH May 14, 1970
Place of death Sherman Oaks, California