Axel Stordahl

Axel Stordahl (actually Odd Stordahl; born August 8, 1913 on Staten Iceland, New York, † August 30, 1963 in Encino, California ) was an American trumpeter, arranger and bandleader, the young especially through his years of collaboration with the Frank Sinatra was known.

Life

Stordahl, son of Norwegian immigrants, began his career in the 1930s as a trumpeter and arranger in various smaller orchestras before he was obliged in 1935 by Tommy Dorsey, who soon made ​​him his principal arranger. Particularly well adapted his charts to the voice of Frank Sinatra, who joined as a singer to Dorsey in January 1940 and had his first number - one hit a few months later with the arranged by Stordahl I'll Never Smile Again.

In January 1942, Stordahl arranged Sinatra's first solo recordings ( four pieces that came out on the RCA sublabel Bluebird ), and when Sinatra seven months later the Dorsey band left to start his solo career, Stordahl went with him. Of the nearly 300 recordings that Sinatra made ​​for Columbia from 1943 to 1952, about three-quarters of Stordahl were arranged; this includes Sinatra's first concept album The Voice Of Frank Sinatra ( 1946). He also worked in the 1940s as an arranger and orchestra leader in hundreds of Sinatra radio shows, in some of Sinatra's first musical films, as well as Sinatra's first own TV show ( 1950-1952 ).

Stordahl was one of the first arrangers who cut their arrangements entirely on a certain vocalists, and his strings saturated, characterized by restrained rhythm orchestrations were the basis for those romantic sound with which Sinatra in the forties caused a sensation and became an international star. Sinatra's later companion Don Costa summed it up by saying, Stordahl had " the pop song in modern music history " brought in.

Stordahl also composed himself a number of songs that Day By Day is probably the best known.

As Sinatra in 1953 moved to Capitol, Stordahl took over again the orchestral accompaniment at the first session in early April, before the end of April then Sinatra teamed up with Nelson Riddle. Stordahl, who had married in 1951, the singer June Hutton, meanwhile, worked except for his wife, among others, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Dinah Shore, Peggy Lee and Doris Day. In addition, he also published some instrumental albums under his own name.

As Sinatra signed him in the fall of 1961 for his last Capitol album Point Of No Return again as an arranger, Stordahl was already terminally ill with cancer. Nearly two years later, he succumbed at the age of 50 years of his illness.

Discography

Albums under his own name

  • The Lure Of The Blue Mediterranean ( Decca, 1959)
  • And Jasmine Jade ( Dot, 1960)
  • The Magic Islands Revisited ( Decca, 1961)
  • Guitars Around The World ( Decca, 1963)

Albums with Frank Sinatra

  • The Voice Of Frank Sinatra (Columbia, published in 1946)
  • Songs By Sinatra (Columbia, 1947)
  • Christmas Songs By Sinatra (Columbia, 1948)
  • Frankly Sentimental (Columbia, 1949)
  • Dedicated To You (Columbia, 1950)
  • Point Of No Return ( Capitol, 1962)
Encino, Los Angeles Columbia Records Capitol Records Integrated Authority File
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