Gene Roland

Gene Roland ( born September 15, 1921 in Dallas, Texas; † August 11, 1982 in New York City, New York ) was an American jazz composer, arranger and musician.

Life and work

Roland was a multi-instrumentalist (piano, trumpet, trombone, valve trombone, Mellophone, soprano saxophone), but will remain primarily as an arranger and composer in the bands of Stan Kenton in memory.

Roland studied 1940-1942 Music at North Texas State Teacher 's College along with Jimmy Giuffre and first worked in 1944 for Kenton, played trumpet and delivered arrangements. He briefly worked for Lionel Hampton and Lucky Millinder, around 1945 back to Kenton, this time as a trombonist and composer / arranger ( he comes to the arrangement Kenton's top title, "Tampico "). He also played piano and wrote music for the 1946 Woody Herman band in 1946, in the then Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Jimmy Giuffre and Herbie Steward and played as Woody Herman's Four Brothers Second Herd celebrated successes.

In the late 1940s, Gene Roland worked as a trombonist for Georgie Auld, trumpeter for Count Basie, Charlie Barnet and Lucky Millinder and wrote pieces for the big bands of Claude Thornhill and Artie Shaw. After briefly cooperated with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker in the form of a sample band, he wrote in 1951 arrangements for Kenton and 1956-1958 for Woody Herman, for his band, he delivered a total of 65 arrangements. To 1956 he was involved in the sessions Paul Quinichettes for the " Dawn " label, 1957, he participated in the album A Swinging Introduction to Jimmy Knepper with; Album provided a rare opportunity to hear Roland as a singer ( " Gee, Baby, Is not I Good to You" ).

In the early 1960s, Roland was a driving force in the " Mellophonium band" Kenton and played in addition soprano saxophone in the orchestra. In the 1960s and 1970s, Roland worked mainly as a composer, worked in 1967 with the Radiohus Orchestra in Copenhagen and continued writing for Stan Kenton; next he had his own formations, in which he played trumpet, piano and tenor saxophone.

In addition to his recording activities for Kenton he took a half for the album "Dawn " label on in the years 1957 and 1959. In 1963 he arranged pieces for an octet, which appeared on the label Brunswick Records.

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