Shorty Rogers
American jazz trumpeter (1924–94)
Shorty Rogers
Birth name Milton Rajonsky Born (1924-04-14 ) April 14, 1924Great Barrington, Massachusetts , U.S.Died November 7, 1994(1994-11-07) (aged 70)Van Nuys , California, U.S. Genres Occupation(s) Instrument(s) Years active 1944–1994 Labels
Musical artist
Milton "Shorty " Rogers (born Milton Rajonsky ; April 14, 1924 – November 7, 1994)[1] was an American jazz musician, one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz . He played trumpet and flugelhorn and was in demand for his skills as an arranger.
Biography
Rogers was born as Milton Rajonsky in Great Barrington, Massachusetts , United States.[1] He worked first as a professional musician with Will Bradley and Red Norvo .[2] From 1947 to 1949, he worked extensively with Woody Herman and in 1950 and 1951 he played with Stan Kenton .[1]
On June 7, 1953, Rogers and his orchestra, including Johnny "Guitar" Watson , performed for the famed ninth Cavalcade of Jazz concert at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, produced by Leon Hefflin, Sr. Also featured that day were Roy Brown and his Orchestra, Don Tosti and His Mexican Jazzmen, Earl Bostic , Nat "King" Cole , and Louis Armstrong and his All Stars with Velma Middleton .[3]
From 1953 through 1962, Rogers recorded a series of albums for RCA Victor (later reissued on RCA's Bluebird label) including Shorty Courts the Count (Shorty Rogers and His Orchestra, 1954), as well as a series of albums for Atlantic Records with his own group, Shorty Rogers and His Giants, including The Swinging Mr. Rogers (1955), and Martians Come Back (1955),[2] the album title alluding to the tune "Martians Go Home" which Rogers had composed and performed on The Swinging Mr. Rogers earlier the same year. These albums incorporated some of his more avant-garde music. To some extent they could be classified as "cool" jazz; but they also looked back to the "hot" style of Count Basie , whom Rogers always credited as a major inspiration.[4] In 1957, Rogers composed the music for the Friz Freleng cartoon Three Little Bops , notably the first Warner Bros. cartoon short not to have music by either Carl Stalling or Milt Franklyn , and scored the music for the MGM film Tarzan, the Ape Man two years later. His other film work included the scores to Fools (1970), The Teacher (1974), The Specialist (1975), Dr. Minx (1975) and The Return of the Mod Squad (1979).
Rogers died of melanoma on November 7, 1994, in Van Nuys, California, at the age of 70.[1]
Discography
As leader
Modern Sounds (Capitol , 1951 [1955])
Popo (Xanadu , 1951 [1980])
Shorty Rogers and His Giants (RCA Victor , 1953)
Cool and Crazy (RCA Victor, 1953)
The Wild One [4-song 45rpm 7" vinyl EP] (RCA Victor EPA-535, 1953)
Shorty Rogers Courts the Count (RCA Victor, 1954)
Bud Shank – Shorty Rogers – Bill Perkins (Pacific Jazz , 1955)
Collaboration (RCA Victor, 1955)
The Swinging Mr. Rogers (Atlantic , 1955)
Martians Stay Home (Atlantic, 1955 [1980])
Martians Come Back! (Atlantic, 1955)
Way Up There (Atlantic, 1955 [1957])
Clickin' with Clax (Atlantic, 1956 [1978])
Wherever the Five Winds Blow (RCA Victor, 1956)
The Big Shorty Rogers Express (RCA Victor, 1956) - reissue of Cool And Crazy with 4 tracks added on
Shorty Rogers Plays Richard Rodgers (RCA Victor, 1957)
Portrait of Shorty (RCA Victor, 1957)
Gigi in Jazz (RCA Victor, 1958)
Afro-Cuban Influence (RCA Victor, 1958)
Chances Are It Swings (RCA Victor, 1958)
The Wizard of Oz and Other Harold Arlen Songs (RCA Victor, 1959)
Shorty Rogers Meets Tarzan (MGM , 1960)
The Swingin' Nutcracker (RCA Victor, 1960)
An Invisible Orchard (RCA Victor, 1961 [1997])
The Fourth Dimension in Sound (Warner Bros. , 1962)
Bossa Nova (Reprise , 1962)
Jazz Waltz (Reprise, 1962)
Mavis Meets Shorty (Reprise, 1962)
Gospel Mission (Capitol, 1963)
Re-Entry (Atlas , 1983)
Yesterday, Today and Forever (Concord Jazz , 1983)
Back Again (Choice, 1984)[5]
California Concert (Contemporary , 1985)
America the Beautiful (Candid , 1991)
Eight Brothers (Candid, 1992)
As sideman
With Elmer Bernstein
With Teddy Charles
With Jimmy Giuffre
With Stan Kenton
With Eartha Kitt
St. Louis Blues (RCA Victor, 1958)
With Perez Prado
Voodoo Suite (RCA Victor, 1955)
With Pete Rugolo
As arranger
With Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass
With Ernie Andrews
Soul Proprietor (Dot, 1968)
With Chet Baker
With Elmer Bernstein
With Les Brown and His Band of Renown
The Young Beat (Capitol, 1963)
With Bobby Bryant
The Jazz Excursion Into "Hair" (Pacific Jazz, 1969)
With Bobby Darin
With Frances Faye
You Gotta Go! Go! Go! (Regina, 1964)
With Bobbie Gentry
With Terry Gibbs
With Jerry Goldsmith
With Vince Guaraldi
With Lena Horne
With Helen Humes
Midsummer Night's Songs (RCA, 1974) with Red Norvo and His Orchestra
With Dean Jones
Introducing Dean Jones (Valiant, 1963)
with Frankie Laine
You Gave Me a Mountain (ABC, 1969)
With Peggy Lee
With Harvey Mandel
Righteous (Philips, 1969)
Baby Batter (Janus, 1971)
With Shelly Manne
With Carmen McRae
With The Monkees
With Michael Nesmith
With Jack Nitzsche
With Buddy Rich
With Bud Shank
With Mel Tormé
See also
References
External links
Years given are for the recording(s), not first release, except where noted.
As leader or co-leader WithStan Kenton WithPete Rugolo Sideman with others Soundtracks Arranger
Christmas Album (Herb Alpert, released 1968)
Chet Baker & Strings (1953–54)
You're the Reason I'm Living (for Bobby Darin , 1962–63)
Bobby Darin Sings The Shadow of Your Smile (for Bobby Darin, released 1966)
Ode to Billie Joe (for Bobbie Gentry , released 1967)
Local Gentry (for Bobbie Gentry, released 1968)
The Delta Sweete (for Bobbie Gentry, released 1968)
Reza (for Terry Gibbs , 1966)
Lena Like Latin (for Lena Horne , 1963)
In Love Again! (for Peggy Lee , 1963)
Pass Me By (for Peggy Lee, 1965)
The West Coast Sound (for Shelly Manne , 1953–55)
My Son the Jazz Drummer! (for Shelly Manne, 1962)
Portrait of Carmen (for Carmen McRae , 1967)
The Sound of Silence (for Carmen McRae, 1967–68)
The Wichita Train Whistle Sings (for Michael Nesmith , 1968)
Big Swing Face , 1967)
Buddy & Soul (for Buddy Rich, 1969)
A Spoonful of Jazz (for Bud Shank, 1967)
Comin' Home Baby! (for Mel Tormé , 1962)
Arranger forThe Monkees
International National Artists People Other