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Billy May

The last of the great arrangers who wrote regularly for Frank Sinatra, Billy May had several varied careers in and out of jazz. His first notable gig was as an arranger/trumpeter with Charlie Barnet (1938-1940), for whom he wrote the wah-wah-ing hit arrangement of Ray Noble's "Cherokee." Later, he worked in the same capacities for Glenn Miller (1940-1942) and Les Brown (1942) before settling into staff jobs, first at NBC studios, then at Capitol Records, where he led his own studio big band from 1951 to 1954. His arrangements for Sinatra, beginning with Come Fly With Me (1957) and ending with Trilogy (1979), are often in a walloping, brassy, even taunting swing mode, generating some of the singer's most swaggering vocals. May also did extensive scoring for television, film, and commercials. Although May was largely inactive in the '80s and '90s , he unexpectedly surfaced in 1996 with some typically bright big band charts for comic Stan Freberg's The United States of America, Vol. 2 (Rhino), 25 years after his contributions to Vol. 1. May's charts often featured brisk tempos and intricate brass parts. One distinctive feature of his style is his frequent use of trumpet mute devices; another, a saxophone glissando, is widely known as his "slurping saxes". However, May was also an accomplished writer in slower tempos, sometimes using string arrangements. Good examples of this aspect of his work include his brass chart for "These Foolish Things" on the Cole album Just One Of Those Things and his string arrangement of "April In Paris" on Sinatra's Come Fly With Me album.


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Billy May: The Transcriptions

Billy May: The Transcriptions

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Something happened in the 1950s. Actually two things did. The generation that grew up during the Depression and fought in World War II turned 40 in 1955. Just as they blew out the candles, the long-playing album expanded from 10 inches to 12. Both trends set the table neatly for Frank Sinatra's recording comeback. By the time Columbia producer Mitch Miller had finished with Sinatra in 1951, he was a washed up novelty singer. What's more, the syrupy Columbia ballads ...

Recording

Billy May: 1951-53

Billy May: 1951-53

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Before Frank Sinatra signed with Capitol Records in 1954, the label already had on staff a growing team of arrangers and bandleaders that were pouring the foundation for a neo-swing era. With the shift to longer-playing albums, vocalists and instrumental pop music were in demand by middle-aged couples for whom teenage R&B and classical meant little. To meet the growing demand, Capitol turned to orchestrators like Paul Weston, Nelson Riddle, Les Baxter, Frank De Vol and Skitch Henderson. But perhaps ...

Recording

Billy May in 'Nightmare' (1956)

Billy May in 'Nightmare' (1956)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers


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Music Industry

Billy May on Cherokee and Legacy

Billy May on Cherokee and Legacy

Source: All About Jazz

WILDLY IMAGINATIVE Arranger-Bandleader Billy May Leaves Legacy On Making A Tune Sound Great

The following article on Billy May was originally published in the July 2000 issue of Jazz Connection Magazine. THE WAY BILLY MAY SEES IT, being an arranger requires a good imagination. And May himself has been described by big band critic George T. Simon as “wildly imaginative." May, a huge man with a dry wit that was reflected in much of what he wrote, has ...

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Obituary

Billy May, legendary arranger has died

Billy May, legendary arranger has died

Source: All About Jazz

( from the LA Times ) Billy May, a 1950s bandleader, composer and arranger with a highly distinctive style who worked with such leading recording artists as Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee, died of a heart attack Thursday at his home in San Juan Capistrano. He was 87. May began his career as a trumpeter with the Charlie Barnet Band in 1938. He soon was contributing arrangements characterized by what the New Grove Dictionary of Jazz described as “wailing, 'scooping' ...

Ed Puddick
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