Les Elgart

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Lester E. "Les" Elgart (* 3. August 1917 in New Haven , Connecticut ; † 29. July 1995 in Dallas , Texas ) was an American jazz - trumpet player and bandleader of the Swing and Easy Listening .

Les Elgart began to play the trumpet as a teenager; at the age of 20 he appeared as a professional musician. He came to New York in the early 1940s and played in the bands of Raymond Scott , Charlie Spivak and Harry James, and occasionally in his brother Larry's band , who played alto saxophone. In 1945 they formed the short-lived Les & Larry Elgart Ensemble for which Nelson Riddle , Ralph Flanagan and Bill Finegan wrote arrangements. Due to the recording ban of the musicians' union, the band fell apart in 1946. In 1952 the two brothers worked together again. a. at the New York Pennsylvania Hotel and recorded a number of EPs and albums with her orchestra for Columbia Records ; Her best-known tracks included "Heart of My Heart", "Sophisticated Swing" and "Bandstand Boogie", which Dick Clark used as the theme song for American Bandstand . Later in the 1950s, with the orchestra's waning success, Les Elgart stopped performing but continued to record. In 1963 he made further recordings with his brother in collaboration with arrangers such as Charles Albertine and Bobby Scott , whose material tended more towards easy listening . Les Elgart finally separated from his brother in the 1960s and moved to Texas. He worked in the music business until his death from a heart attack and occasionally put together orchestras.

Many later well-known jazz musicians played in his various orchestras, such as Billy Bean , Jay Cameron , John Drew , Joe Puma , Eddie Shu , as well as the later band leader Jerry Wald .

Discography

Columbia Records
  • Prom Date , Columbia EP (1954)
  • Campus Hop , Columbia EP (1954)
  • More of Les , Columbia EP (1955)
  • Sophisticated Swing , Columbia CL-536 (1953)
  • Just One More Dance , Columbia CL-594 (1954)
  • The Band of the Year , Columbia CL-619 (1954)
  • The Dancing Sound , Columbia CL-684 (1954)
  • For Dancers Only , Columbia CL-803 (1955)
  • The Elgart Touch , Columbia CL-875 (1955)
  • The Most Happy Fella , Columbia CL-904 (1956)
  • For Dancers Also , Columbia CL-1008 (1956)
  • Les & Larry Elgart & Their Orchestra , Columbia CL-1052 (1958)
  • Sound Ideas , Columbia CL-1123 / CS-8002 (1958)
  • Les Elgart On Tour , Columbia CL-1291 / CS-8103 (1959)
  • The Great Sound of Les Elgart , Columbia CL-1350 / CS-8159 (1959)
  • The Band With That Sound , Columbia CL-1450 / CS-8245 (1960)
  • Designs For Dancing , Columbia CL-1500 / CS-8291 (1960)
  • Half Satin Half Latin , Columbia CL-1567 / CS-8367 (1960)
  • It's De-Lovely , Columbia CL-1659 / CS-8459 (1961)
  • The Twist Goes To College , Columbia CL-1785 / CS-8585 (1962)
  • Best Band On Campus , Columbia CL-1890 / CS-8690 (1962)
  • Big Band Hootenany , Columbia CL-2112 / CS-8912 (1963)
  • Command Performance , Columbia CL-2221 / CS-9021, (1964)
  • The New Elgart Touch , Columbia CL-2301 / CS-9101, (1965)
  • Elgart au Go-Go , Columbia CL-2355 / CS-9155, (1965)
  • Sound of the Times , Columbia CL-2511 / CS-9311, (1966)
  • Warm and Sensuous , Columbia CL-2591 / CS-9391 (1966)
  • Girl Watchers , Columbia CL-2633 / CS-9433, (1967)
  • Wonderful World of Today's Hits , Columbia CL-2780 / CS-9580 (1967)
Blue Heaven Records
  • Do You Remember When Les Elgart & His Orchestra Played Walkin 'My Baby Back Home

swell

  • George T. Simon : The Golden Era of Big Bands ("The Big bands"). Hannibal-Verlag, Höfen 2004, ISBN 3-854-45243-8 .
  • Leo Walker: The Big Band Almanac . Ward Ritchie Press, Pasadena 1978.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Elgart, Les
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Elgart, Lester E.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz trumpeter and big band leader
DATE OF BIRTH August 3, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH New Haven , Connecticut
DATE OF DEATH July 29, 1995
Place of death Dallas , Texas