Jimmy Dorsey

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Jimmy Dorsey in the film The Fabulous Dorseys (1947)

James "Jimmy" Dorsey (born February 29, 1904 in Shenandoah , Pennsylvania , USA , † June 12, 1957 in New York ) was an American jazz musician and big band leader. He played the saxophone and clarinet ; was stylistically one of the most important alto saxophonists in jazz and was repeatedly cited as defining the style , especially by Charlie Parker and Ornette Coleman .

biography

Jimmy Dorsey was the older brother of Tommy Dorsey (1905-1956), also a well-known jazz musician who played the trombone. In the twenties, both played for some time in Jean Goldkettes and Paul Whiteman's orchestras, with the California Ramblers and in the studio bands The Little Ramblers and The Charleston Chasers . Jimmy Dorsey was also a member of Ted Lewis' orchestra , which also included Don Murray and Benny Goodman at the time.

Since 1927 they have led various studio ensembles as the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra . In April 1934 they formed a permanent orchestra under this name with drummer Ray McKinley, trombonist Glenn Miller and singer Bob Crosby . In May 1935, conflicts between the brothers (Tommy was more choleric, Jimmy more sociable) led to the breakup and the takeover of the orchestra by Jimmy, who continued it as the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra after Tommy simply left one evening during the performance.

In 1935, before the break, the singer Bob Eberly , in 1939 the singer Helen O'Connell (1920-1993) joined them. These two sang some of the band's greatest hits in the early 1940s, arranged by Tutti Camarata , including 1940's The Breeze and I , 1941 Amapola , Green Eyes , Maria Elena , 1942 Tangerine . In 1943 Helen O'Connell left the band.

In 1947, Jimmy and Tommy reconciled while filming the semi-autobiographical film The Fabulous Dorseys . In 1953, Jimmy rejoined Tommy's orchestra, which was renamed The Fabulous Dorseys . In those late years 1954 to 1956, they also had a live music show ( Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey Stage Show , a CBS television show from New York) that also featured Elvis Presley for the first time on television in January 1956, The Doing Heartbreak Hotel sang. In terms of style, the orchestra increasingly oriented itself towards Count Basie through arrangements by Ernie Wilkins and Neal Hefti . After the sudden death of his brother Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey took over the orchestra and conducted it until March 1957 under the name The Fabulous Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra . In this short time he achieved another world success with the title So Rare . In June 1957 Jimmy died of throat cancer in New York, the orchestra was taken over by tenor saxophonist Sam Donahue, who however soon reduced it to a sextet.

In 1983 Jimmy Dorsey posthumously moved into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame .

Filmography (selection)

  • 1936: That Girl From Paris
  • 1941: Birth of the Blues
  • 1942: The Fleet's In
  • 1943: I Dood It
  • 1944: Four Jills in a Jeep
  • 1944: Adventure in a Harem (Lost in a Harem)
  • 1944: Hollywood Canteen
  • 1947: The legendary Dorseys (The Fabulous Dorseys) +
  • 1948: Music Man
  • 1949: Make Believe Ballroom

literature

  • Herb Sanford: Tommy and Jimmy: The Dorsey Years. 1972
  • George T. Simon: The Big Bands . Foreword by Frank Sinatra. 4th edition. New York: Schirmer Books / London: Collier Macmillan Publishers, 1981, pp. 142–157

Web links

Commons : Jimmy Dorsey  - collection of images

Remarks

  1. Before O'Connell, fourteen-year-old Ella Mae Morse was briefly in Dorsey's band; however, he thought the young singer was a seventeen year old. When he found out her real age, he threw her out. She then worked in Freddie Slack's orchestra in 1942 , where she had a hit with “Cow Cow Boogie”.