Pete Rugolo

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Pete Rugolo, circa December 1946.
Photograph by William P. Gottlieb .

Pete Rugolo (born December 25, 1915 in San Piero Patti , Sicily , † October 16, 2011 in Sherman Oaks , California ) was an American jazz composer and arranger of Italian origin.

Life

Rugolo immigrated to the United States with his family in 1920 and grew up in Santa Rosa , California . Like his father, he first played the baritone saxophone , but then switched to other instruments, in particular the French horn and the piano. After graduating with a bachelor's degree from San Francisco State College , he studied composition with Darius Milhaud at Mills College in Oakland .

After his studies he worked as an arranger for the band of guitarist Johnny Richards. During the Second World War he did his military service in a military band, in which he met Paul Desmond .

After his discharge from the army, Rugolo worked for Stan Kenton , who was leading one of the most advanced big bands at the time . He wrote numerous arrangements and also some of the "Artistry in ..." compositions for this band ("Bass," "Percussion," "Bolero," "Boogie"), then also other original compositions for the Innovations In initiated by Kenton Modern Music Orchestra , where his knowledge of contemporary music helped him break the boundaries between dance hall and concert hall. Rugolo's work for Kenton contributed greatly to the image of progressive jazz at the time. During this time he also approached pop music, which he also oversaw as the musical director of Capitol Records . Although he produced Miles Davis's Birth of the Cool sessions , he wrote arrangements for Nat King Cole , June Christy , Peggy Lee , the Four Freshmen and Harry Belafonte . In 1954 he led his own big band for a short time. He produced musicals for MGM before working as musical director at Mercury Records in the late 1950s and producing a number of records for that record label .

Work for the studios

During the 1960s and 1970s, Rugolo worked primarily for television , including popular shows such as Leave It To Beaver , the thriller series Dr. Kimble - On the Run or An American Family . He also wrote the music for television films and features. His work for the Hollywood studios has often required him to suppress his own style; however, there are some good examples of Rugolo's film and television work. The soundtrack of Without Conscience ( This World, Then the Fireworks . 1997) demonstrates his ability to write demanding and at the same time expressive music.

Discography

  • Introducing Pete Rugolo (1954)
  • Rugolomania (1955)
  • Adventures in Rhythm (1955)
  • Music for Hi-Fi bugs (1956)
  • Percussion at work (1957)
  • Rugolo plays Kenton (1958)
  • Adventures in Sound - Brass (1959)
  • Adventures in Sound - Reeds (1959)
  • Music from outer space
  • Rhythm meets rugolo

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Commons : Pete Rugolo  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Pete Rugolo, award-winning composer and arranger, dies at 95