Bill Finegan

William " Bill" Finegan ( born April 3, 1917 in Newark, New Jersey; † June 4, 2008 in Bridgeport, Connecticut ) was an American arranger, bandleader and pianist of the swing era and the Modern Jazz He led with Eddie Sauter that. Sauter - Finegan Orchestra.

Life and work

Bill Finegan studied privately, at the high school and at the Conservatoire de Paris ( among others, Darius Milhaud ). His career began in 1938 when Tommy Dorsey bought his arrangement on " Lonesome Road " and Glenn Miller played for, which then the young arranger offered him a job. Finegan was 1938-1942 arranger with Glenn Miller and wrote more than 300 arrangements for Miller, including many hits. Later he worked for Tommy Dorsey and then lived from 1948 to 1950, mainly study 's sake, in France and Great Britain.

In 1952 he founded with Eddie Sauter Sauter - Finegan Orchestra, the which was initially planned as a studio band, but until 1958 played in various formations together. In 1957, he parted from Sauter and worked until 1959 with him again, especially for broadcasting and television. Then Finegan worked as a composer of music for advertising and taught at the University of Bridgeport. In addition, Finegan also arranged for the Ames Brothers, Carol Sloane, Sonny Stitt, Mel Lewis and Warren Vache. On the occasion of his 90th birthday, a concert of works by Finegan, but also of his disciples James and Julie Cavadini Chirillo took place in 2007 in the New Jersey City University instead.

Discography

• Eddie Sauter / Finegan Bill: The Sauter Finegan Orchestra - Directions In Music ( RCA, 1952-58 )