Milt Bernhart

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Milt Bernhart.
Photo: William P. Gottlieb .

Milt Bernhart (born May 25, 1926 in Valparaiso , Indiana , † January 22, 2004 in Glendale , California ) was an American trombonist and jazz musician .

Life

The son of Russian immigrants grew up as an orphan in Chicago from 1936 . He played the tuba from 1936 , before turning to the trombone in 1938. He was hired as a trombonist by band leader Buddy Franklin as a teenager . In 1942 he moved to Boyd Raeburn's orchestra and Teddy Powell the following year , before being drafted into the army.

From 1946 to 1951, Bernhart was a soloist and leader in Stan Kenton's ensemble , interrupted by an engagement in Benny Goodman's orchestra (1947–48). El Manicero ( The Peanut Vendor , 1947) and Salute (1950) are among his best known solos on vinyl from this period . Together with other Kenton veterans such as Maynard Ferguson and Shorty Rogers , he joined the Californian Lighthouse All-Stars around Howard Rumsey in 1952 and became one of the most prominent protagonists of West Coast jazz . Until 1954 he played with Shorty Rogers. In 1955 he released one of his few albums of his own with Modern Brass .

From the spring of 1953, Bernhart belonged to Frank Sinatra's permanent studio musicians , with whom he made dozen of recordings by 1977, including the well-known solo in I've Got You Under My Skin ( Capitol , 1956) arranged by Nelson Riddle . In addition, he has worked on hundreds of studio recordings with artists such as Ella Fitzgerald , Louis Armstrong , André Previn , Henry Mancini , Buddy Bregman , Billy May , Sarah Vaughan , Anita O'Day , Antônio Carlos Jobim and Ray Brown . On the concert stage he played for many years in the orchestra of Antonio Morelli , the resident band of the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas .

Bernhart also worked in Hollywood , from 1955 as a permanent member of the Columbia Pictures film orchestra , and appeared on numerous soundtracks as a soloist, including in Der Wilde ( The Wild One , 1953, with Marlon Brando ) and The Man with the Golden Arm ( The Man With The Golden Arm , 1956, with Frank Sinatra ). His trombone could also be heard in TV series such as Peter Gunn (1958–1961).

From the 1970s, Bernhart ran a successful travel agency as a second professional pillar in Hollywood , without giving up music entirely. Until his death in 1985, he toured regularly with Nelson Riddle . Together with some of his old companions, he founded the Big Band Academy Of America in 1986 , and remained its president until his death.

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personal data
SURNAME Bernhart, Milt
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American trombonist and jazz musician
DATE OF BIRTH May 25, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Valparaiso , Indiana
DATE OF DEATH January 22, 2004
Place of death Glendale , California