Phil Kraus

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Philip C. "Phil" Kraus (* 1918 in New York City ; † January 13, 2012 in Houston ) was an American jazz and studio musician ( percussion , marimba , vibraphone , xylophone ), who also wrote instrumental textbooks emerged.

Live and act

Kraus started playing the xylophone at the age of eight and received a scholarship to study at the Juilliard School at the age of 17 . From 1939 he played in the studio band of the New York radio station WNEW, next to it with band colleagues in a nightclub . During the Second World War he served in the US Army from 1941, where he worked in an army band on Irving Berlin's This Is the Army . In the post-war years he worked as a busy studio musician in New York, where he contributed the marimba riff to Ben E. King's recordings for his hit "Spanish Harlem"; in King's other successful title " Stand By Me " he played Guiro . He was a member of the studio bands on TV shows by Jackie Gleason , Ernie Kovacs , Perry Como and Ed Sullivan , as well as the studio bands on the Command (from Enoch Light ) and Time (from Bob Shad ) labels . He can also be heard as a percussionist on recordings by Billie Holiday , Carole King , Ray Charles and Tim Hardin's debut album (1966). He has also played in the orchestras of Quincy Jones , Benny Goodman , Neal Hefti , Hugo Montenegro , Oliver Nelson , Lalo Schifrin , Cal Tjader and Doc Severinsen . He was also a member of the orchestra that accompanied Marilyn Monroe in Madison Square Garden's song Happy Birthday, Mr. President to John F. Kennedy . He also appeared on the soundtracks of the movies Midnight Cowboy , Carrie - Des Satan's Youngest Daughter and The Godfather . In the field of jazz he was involved in 162 recording sessions between 1939 and 1996. a. also with George Barnes ( Guitar Galaxies , 1962), George Benson , Cozy Cole , Maynard Ferguson , Coleman Hawkins / Billy Byers , Freddie Hubbard , Eddie Sauter / Stan Getz ( Mickey One 1965). Jimmy Smith ( The Cat , 1964) and Grover Washington junior .

Kraus released several drum LPs under his own name for the Golden Crest label in the 1950s , including The Percussive Phil Kraus and Conflict - A High Fidelity Study In Percussion . In 1955 he worked with percussionists such as Harry Breuer and Terry Snyder on the album Speed ​​the Parting Guest . This was followed by productions with Bobby Rosengarden , such as Like - Bongos !, Hollywood Sound Stage, Percussion: Playful & Pretty and Hot Line for Sound . Kraus also wrote five textbooks on percussion, including the three-volume Modern Mallet Method . In 1978 he retired as a studio musician and lived in Houston, where he still taught percussion at Rice University and was HR manager of the Houston Symphony , from 1981 of the Houston Pops until its dissolution in 1994. He played the vibraphone in local jazz combos until the 2000s.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Obituary for Local 802
  2. ↑ Tom Lord Jazz Discography
  3. ^ Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD . 6th edition. Penguin, London 2002, ISBN 0-14-051521-6 and Bielefeld catalog 1985 and 2001
  4. ↑ Information on Phil Kraus and Bobby Rosengarden at Space Age Musicmaker
personal data
SURNAME Kraus, Phil
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kraus, Philip C.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz and studio musician
DATE OF BIRTH 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH January 13, 2012
Place of death Houston