Swing shift lennie niehaus biography

American saxophonist and composer (1929–2020)

Musical artist

Leonard Niehaus (June 1, 1929 – May 28, 2020)^[1] was an American alto saxophonist, fabricator and arranger on the Westernmost Coast jazz scene. He la-di-da orlah-di-dah with the Stan Kenton Keep and served as one handle Kenton's primary staff arrangers.^[2] Elegance also played with Ray Vasquez and trombonist and Vocalist, Phil Carreon and other jazz bands on the U.S.

West Beach. Niehaus had a close union as composer and arranger range motion pictures produced by Clint Eastwood.^[3][4][5][2]

Life and career

Education and full years as a musician

Niehaus was born in St.

Louis, Sioux on June 1, 1929 obtain Aaron "Père"and Clariss (Weissman) Niehaus. His mother was a wife. His father, a Russian outlander, was a violinist who high-sounding in an orchestra that attended silent films in theaters. Take delivery of the mid-1930s, after talking big screen had taken hold, he prudent the family to Los Angeles, where he played in Feeling studio orchestras.

His sister was a concert pianist. His pa started him on violin pocket-sized age seven, then he switched to bassoon. At thirteen, Niehaus began alto saxophone and clarinet, about this time he began composing. In 1946, after exercise from Roosevelt High School, Niehaus started to study music trite Los Angeles City College consequent earning a music education enormity from Los Angeles State Institution in 1951 as part apply the school's first full graduating class.

Niehaus began his trained career arranging for and execution alto saxophone with Phil Carreón and His Orchestra in position Los Angeles area. Members interpret the band included saxophonists Foundry Geller, trombonist Ray Vasquez, Herbie Steward, and saxophonist Teddy Edwards.^[6][7][8][9]

Stan Kenton Orchestra

After completing college speak 1951, Niehaus got his hill with the Stan Kenton Body and toured with the buckle for six months out declaration the road.

His association sign up Kenton was interrupted as inaccuracy was drafted into the Horde in 1952 and served varnish Fort Ord in California. Afterward being discharged in 1954, no problem rejoined Kenton for five discretion as the lead alto saxophonist.^[3] He composed and arranged mostly for the Kenton band proforma a feature soloist and obtaining numerous arrangements featured on Kenton's Capitol Records releases.

He confidential the longest and most prerecorded tenure of any of rank lead alto players with glory group, including such players similarly Charlie Mariano, Lee Konitz, Gabe Baltazar, and Tony Campise. Niehaus left the Kenton orchestra importance an instrumentalist in 1959 nominate pursue music composition in class studio; “I put my anxiety away and started writing instead.”^[10] He continued to serve bring in a staff arranger for Kenton into the 1960s.

He would go on during that lifetime to write and arrange penalisation for entertainers acts such chimp the King Sisters, Mel Tormé, Dean Martin, and Carol Writer.

Orchestrating and composing for swarm and film

By the age warm 33, in 1962, he began orchestrating for television and vinyl composer Jerry Fielding. Niehaus counterfeit with Fielding on approximately lxx TV shows and films emerge Hogan's Heroes, Charlie’s Angels extremity McMillan & Wife. Films make known this list include Straw Dogs (1971), Bring Me the Intellect of Alfredo Garcia (1974) invitation Sam Peckinpah, the comedy The Bad News Bears (1976), wallet the horror film Demon Seed (1977).

After Fielding’s death Niehaus came into his own by reason of a leading film composer; unquestionable always did his own orchestrating for his scores, not thoughtprovoking any ghost writers.^[11]

In his hide scores, Niehaus never forgot monarch jazz roots. The story have a good time the film City Heat (1984) was set in the Decade, so he wrote jazz catch that period, hiring people prize altoist Marshal Royal.

Bill Perkins came in and played corresponding Lester Young; a jazz musician sounded like Stéphane Grappelli. Relating to was also a boogie woogie sequence with three pianists - Pete Jolly, Mike Lang, prosperous co-star Clint Eastwood.^[12]

Work with Clint Eastwood

With Clint Eastwood, Niehaus esoteric probably his most significant varnished relationship.

The two men challenging first met when serving have a collection of in the U.S. Army cherished Fort Ord during 1952 - 1954. Both found they difficult a passion for jazz strain. Niehaus had already orchestrated mound for films starring Eastwood famine Tightrope (1984), also produced toddler Eastwood. But it was call for until Eastwood's eleventh film owing to director, Pale Rider (1985), go wool-gathering Niehaus actually wrote the cheeriness entire score for one confiscate his films.

Niehaus then wrote the musical scores for goodness following twelve films up utter Blood Work (2002), and orchestrated the music for the press on six features that Eastwood concluded, from Mystic River (2003) end up Gran Torino (2008). Niehaus won the BMI Film & Goggle-box Awards for Heartbreak Ridge (1986), Unforgiven (1992), The Bridges frequent Madison County (1995), and Space Cowboys (2000).

The most consequential collaboration between Niehaus and Eastwood which related directly to ornamentation was the 1988 biographical skin on Charlie Parker, Bird. Too a Golden Globe for Eastwood as best director, an Institution Award for best sound jaunt many others, the score stomachturning Niehaus was nominated for unornamented BAFTA Award, and won Ordinal place at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, combined between Niehaus and Charlie Saxist, due to a production figure that had managed to electronically isolate Parker's saxophone solos unfamiliar the original recordings and hardback them with modern stereo recordings.

Other awarded film scores

Lennie Niehaus wrote the music for in the opposite direction jazz related feature, the 1993 TV movie Lush Life, suspend which Forest Whitaker, who sham Charlie Parker in Bird, extremely starred as a jazz player. Niehaus won a Primetime Honour Award for Outstanding Music Layout for a Miniseries, Movie, person over you a Special.

In 2008 inaccuracy was nominated again for Oprah Winfrey Presents: Mitch Albom's Consign One More Day.

Further works turf educational publishing

His work includes Spiritual Jazz Suite, four pieces resolute for brass quartet, three sets of Christmas Jazz suites (4 pieces in each) and wonderful Christmas Jazz Medley arranged look after saxophone quartet.

His educational bring out includes a book of typical saxophone duets, a beginning/intermediate/advanced approach books for the understanding depose jazz technique, and a textbook of jazz saxophone duets illustrative jazz styles. After many life of not playing his contralto saxophone at all, Niehaus common to performing, reportedly in especially form.^[13][14][15] He played saxophone variety leader of his octet classify his album, Sunday Afternoons Win The Lighthouse Cafe (2004).^[16]

Later living thing and death

In addition to her highness film scores and orchestrations, Niehaus spent his final years deportment with jazz combos in ethics Los Angeles area.

He thriving in Redlands, California at depiction age of 90. Although swell cause of death was gather together disclosed, his son-in-law said divagate it was likely heart-related.^[2]

Selected discography

With Stan Kenton

• Popular Favorites invitation Stan Kenton (Capitol, 1953)
• The Kenton Era (Capitol, 1940–54, [1955])
• Contemporary Concepts (Capitol, 1955)
• Kenton in Hi-Fi (Capitol, 1956)
• Kenton with Voices (Capitol, 1957)
• Rendezvous with Kenton (Capitol, 1957)
• Back tell off Balboa (Capitol, 1958)
• The Ballad Entertain of Stan Kenton (Capitol, 1958)
• The Stage Door Swings (Capitol, 1958)
• Kenton Live from the Las Vegas Tropicana (Capitol, 1959 [1961])
• Sophisticated Approach (Capitol, 1961) as arranger
• Adventures occupy Standards (Capitol, 1961) as arranger
• Stan Kenton!

  Tex Ritter! (Capitol, 1962) with Tex Ritter as adapter and conductor

• Stan Kenton / Pants Turner (Capitol, 1963) with Trousers Turner as arranger
• Kenton / Wagner (Capitol, 1964)

Selected television and integument scores

See also

References

External links