Russell Garcia

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Russell Garcia in Kerikeri, 2009

Russell "Russ" Garcia (* 12. April 1916 in Oakland , California ; † 20th November 2011 in Kerikeri , New Zealand ) was a US-American -neuseeländischer composer , arranger and conductor in the fields of jazz , the pop and film music .

life and work

The musical autodidact had his breakthrough when he had to stand in for a sick colleague during a radio show. After that, Garcia was hired as a composer and arranger by NBC Studios, among others. His better-known works include the tunes for the television series Laredo and A Thousand Miles of Dust . He also worked for the MGM and Universal studios . Garcia's most varied and probably still best-known film music originated from his collaboration with George Pal for Die Zeitmaschine in 1960. Garcia worked in Hollywood for a wide variety of singers and musicians, such as Ella Fitzgerald , Louis Armstrong , Anita O'Day , Mel Tormé , Julie London , Oscar Peterson , Stan Kenton , Maynard Ferguson . In the film sector, Walt Disney , Orson Welles , Jane Wyman , Ronald Reagan , Andy Williams , Judy Garland , Henry Mancini and Charles Chaplin were among his clients; in the jazz sector he worked in particular for Norman Granz and his label The Verve Music Group . In particular, he arranged music for them or conducted the orchestra.

Russell Garcia has contributed to the music in one function or another (arranger, composer or conductor) in many films without being officially named in the credits . His involvement as arranger in Charlie Chaplin's film Rampenlicht from 1952 to this day has remained largely unknown. When the music won an Oscar in the category "Best Film Score" in 1972 , the award went to Chaplin, Ray Rasch and Larry Russell, but not to Garcia, which has led to an incompletely resolved controversy.

Since 1955 Garcia was a follower of the Baha'i religion. In 1966 he sold his belongings and moved away from Hollywood with his wife Gina, although he had built a successful career there. They bought a sailboat with which they crossed the Pacific Ocean . In 1969 they settled in New Zealand. From 2008 the Garcia couple lived in Tangitu Bay, a few kilometers from Kerikeri, where Russell Garcia was still working as a musician. As part of a world tour, he performed on August 29, 2008 in Ried , Austria . Charmed Life: Shaynee Rainbolt Sings Russell Garcia was one of his last CD releases (2009) and includes re-recordings of some of his older tracks. In 2013, Garcia's widow Gina published his memoirs under the title I Have Hundreds of Stories, Some of Them True .

Honors

On Memorial Day weekend 2003, Garcia and Buddy Childers were the guest of honor at the Contemporary Concepts Presented - A 4 Day Jazz Festival Celebrating The West Coast Big Band Sound in Concert in Los Angeles .

On May 27, 2005, the Los Angeles Jazz Institute honored Garcia for his contributions to jazz music over the past 60 years.

Together with his wife Gina, Garcia received The Queen's Service Medal (QSM) in 2009 in recognition of their services to music in New Zealand.

Music albums (selection)

  • 1955: Wigville
  • 1955: Four Horns and a Lush Life
  • 1956: On Four Horns and a Lush Wife
  • 1956: The Johnny Evergreens
  • 1956: Peggy Connelly with Russ Garcia - That Old Black Magic
  • 1956: The Complete Porgy and Bess
  • 1957: Louis Armstrong / Ella Fitzgerald: Porgy and Bess
  • 1957: The Warm Feeling
  • 1957: Listen to the Music of Russell Garcia
  • 1957: Julie London: Make Love to Me
  • 1958: Anita O'Day: Anita Sings the Winners
  • 1959: Ella Fitzgerald: Get Happy!
  • 1959: Jazz Music for Birds and Hep Cats
  • 1959: Fantastica: Music From Outer Space
  • 1960: Stan Getz : Cool Velvet
  • 1960: Swingin 'On the Moon
  • 1960: Soubrette Sings Broadway Hit Songs
  • 1979: Variations for Flugelhorn, String Quartet, Bass & Drums
  • 1986: Jazz Variations
  • 2002: The Unquenchable Flame
  • 2009: Charmed Life: Shaynee Rainbolt SINGS Russell Garcia

Film music (selection)

Fonts

  • Professional Arranger Composer. 2 volumes. Criterion Music Corporation: New York 1954. (English)

literature

  • Randall D. Larson: Past, Present and Future. The Film Music of Russell Garcia. (English, interview published for the first time in soundtrack! )
  • Matthias Büdinger: Russell Garcia. The Man For All Seasons. Part I: The Time Machine. In: Soundtrack! Vol. 6 (1987) No. 23. pp. 25-27. (English)
  • Matthias Büdinger: Russell Garcia. The Man For All Seasons. [Part II.] In: Soundtrack! Vol. 11 (1992) No. 44. pp. 18-21. (English)
  • Janet McAllister: The immortal Russ Garcia. In: New Zealand Listener (2006).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Composer Russ Garcia, 95, dies (English)
  2. ↑ Charmed Life: Shaynee Rainbolt Sings Russell Garcia Booklet for Charmed Life: Shaynee Rainbolt SINGS Russell Garcia (English)
  3. ^ Marc Myers: The Case of the Misplaced Oscar. In: Jazz Wax (September 19, 2008) ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.jazzwax.com
  4. ↑ Composer Russell Garcia is 92 years old and still makes music. (No longer available online.) Bahá'í Congregation in Germany Kdö.R., August 29, 2008, archived from the original on January 18, 2016 ; accessed on January 17, 2016 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bahai.de
  5. ↑ Hollywood legend Russ Garcia delighted with a peace concert. ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.at.bahai.org
  6. ↑ Russell Garcia and Buddy Childers in Concert (English)
  7. ↑ LA Jazz Institute honors Russell Garcia (English)
  8. ↑ 2009 Queen's Service Medal ( Memento of the original dated February 4, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dpmc.govt.nz
  9. ↑ Beck Vass: Honors List. Kids' smiles outshine Tinseltown. In: The New Zealand Herald. December 31, 2008. (English)
  10. ↑ 2009 Investitures at Government House Auckland (English)
  11. ↑ Janet McAllister : The immortal Russ Garcia . New Zealand Listener , January 28, 2006, accessed September 9, 2014 (Full article for subscribers only).
personal data
SURNAME Garcia, Russell
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Garcia, Russ
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American-New Zealand composer, arranger and conductor
DATE OF BIRTH April 12, 1916
PLACE OF BIRTH Oakland , California , United States
DATE OF DEATH November 20, 2011
Place of death Kerikeri , New Zealand