Melvin James "Sy" Oliver (December 17, 1910 – May 28, 1988) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

arranger, trumpeter, composer, singer and bandleader.

Life

Sy Oliver was born in

Battle Creek, Michigan Battle Creek is a city in northwestern Calhoun County, Michigan, United States, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a tota ...

, United States. His mother was a piano teacher, and his father was a multi-instrumentalist, who demonstrated

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

s at a time when instrument was seldom played other than by marching bands. Oliver left home at 17 to play with Zack Whyte and his Chocolate Beau Brummels and later with Alphonse Trent. He sang and played trumpet with these bands, becoming known for his "growling" horn playing. He also began arranging with them. He continued singing for the next 17 years, making many recordings when he was with

Jimmie Lunceford James Melvin Lunceford (June 6, 1902 – July 12, 1947) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era. Early life Lunceford was born on a farm in the Evergreen community, west of the Tombigbee River, near Fulton, ...

and with his own band. With Lunceford, from 1933 to 1939, he recorded more than two dozen vocals. From 1949 to 1951, he recorded more than a dozen with his band. With

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombone, trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-to ...

, he recorded very few vocals. In 1941, he sang with

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classical tr ...

, on his own compositions "Yes Indeed" and "Swingin' on Nothin'". He also sang with The Sentimentalists on the 1944 recording of his arrangement of "Chicago". Oliver arranged and conducted many songs for

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

from her Decca years. As a composer, one of his most famous songs was " T'ain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)", which he co-wrote with

Trummy Young James "Trummy" Young (January 12, 1912 – September 10, 1984) was an American trombonist in the swing era. He established himself as a star during his 12 years performing with Louis Armstrong in Armstrong's All Stars. He had one hit with his ...

in 1939. In 1933, Oliver joined

's band as a trumpet player, arranger and songwriter. He contributed many hit arrangements for the band, including "My Blue Heaven" and "Ain't She Sweet", as well as his original composition "For Dancers Only", which eventually became the band's theme song. He was co-arranger with pianist Ed Wilcox; Oliver primarily taking the up-tempo numbers, Wilcox the ballads. Oliver's arrangements "were a dashing parade of innovation that rivaled Ellington's for consistency and originality." In 1939, when band leader

decided he wanted a swing band, his first step was to hire Oliver as an arranger away from Lunceford for $5,000 more a year. Oliver then became one of the first

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

with a prominent role in a white band when he joined

. ( Fletcher Henderson, another African American composer/arranger, had joined the

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

orchestra as the arranger a few years earlier.) He led the transition of the Dorsey band from

Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...

to modern

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

. His joining was instrumental in Dorsey luring several jazz players, including Buddy Rich, to his band. With Dorsey, Oliver continued sharing arranging duties with other arrangers, primarily Axel Stordahl, Oliver doing up-tempo tunes, Stordahl ballads. As James Kaplan put it, "Tommy Dorsey's band got a rocket boost in 1939 when Dorsey stole Lunceford's great arranger Sy Oliver." His arrangement of " On the Sunny Side of the Street" was a big hit for Dorsey in 1946, as were his compositions "Yes, Indeed!" (a

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

-jazz tune that was later recorded by

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

), " Opus One" (originally titled as "Opus No. 1", but changed to suit the lyric that was added later), "The Minor Is Muggin'", and "Well, Git It". Oliver left Dorsey after seven years, in 1946, and began working as a freelance arranger and as music director for Decca. On June 26, 1950, Sy Oliver and his Orchestra recorded the first American version of " C'est si bon" ( Henri Betti, André Hornez, Jerry Seelen) and " La Vie en rose" ( Louiguy, Édith Piaf,

Mack David Mack David (July 5, 1912 – December 30, 1993) was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning the period between the early 1940s and the early 1970s. David was credited with writing ...

) for

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

. One of his more successful efforts as an arranger was the 1961

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

album, '' I Remember Tommy'', a combined tribute to their former boss. In 1974, he began a nightly gig with a small band at the

Rainbow Room The Rainbow Room is a private event space on the 65th floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza at Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Run by Tishman Speyer, it is among the highest venues in New York City. The Rainbow Room was design ...

in New York. He continued that gig until 1984, with occasionally time off to make festival or other dates, including at the Roseland Ballroom in New York. He retired in 1984. Oliver died in New York City at the age of 77.

Discography

* ''Sway It with Flowers'' (Brunswick, 1956) * ''Sentimental Sy'' (Dot, 1958) * ''77 Sunset Strip and Other Selections'' with Frankie Ortega (Jubilee, 1959) * ''Back Stage'' (Dot, 1959) * ''Dance Music for People Who Don't Dance Any More'' (Riverside, 1961) * ''What Can I Say?'' with Val Anthony (L.I.M.S., 1966) * ''Yes Indeed'' (Black and Blue, 1973) * ''Annie Laurie'' (Jazz Legacy, 1978) * ''Easy Walker'' (Jazz Legacy, 1979)

As sideman

With

* ''Lunceford Special'' (Columbia, 1967) * ''Stomp it Off'' (Decca, 1992) * ''Rhythm is Our Business'' (Decca, 1996) * ''Swingsation'' (GRP, 1998) With others *

, ''Satchmo Serenades'' (Decca, 1952) *

, ''What Is This Thing Called Love?'' (Victor, 1942) *

, ''Ella: The Legendary Decca Recordings'' (GRP, 1995) *

, ''The Popular Frank Sinatra'' (Megaforce, 2015) * Caterina Valente, ''Plenty Valente'' (Decca, 1957) *

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, and actress whose career spanned seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local r ...

, '' Miss Wonderful'' (Decca, 1959) — arranger, conductor *

, '' Dream Street'' (Capitol Records, 1957) — arranger, conductor *

with the Sy Oliver Orchestra, "The Siamese Cat Song" (''Lady and the Tramp'' soundtrack, Walt Disney Records, 1955) — bandleader

References

External links

Sy Oliver Papers
the collection of his personal scores and papers, in th
Music Division
o
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

an interview with Les Tompkins, 1974. *
Sy Oliver recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. {{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, Sy 1910 births 1988 deaths American male jazz composers American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters American music arrangers American jazz bandleaders American big band bandleaders Jubilee Records artists Bell Records artists Entertainers from Battle Creek, Michigan Jazz musicians from Michigan Jazz arrangers 20th-century American trumpeters 20th-century American male musicians New York Jazz Repertory Company members Black & Blue Records artists Columbia Records artists Decca Records artists Capitol Records artists Bluebird Records artists 20th-century American jazz composers 20th-century African-American musicians

Life

Discography

As sideman

See also

References

External links