Albert "Andy" Gibson (November 6, 1913 – February 11, 1961) 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 ...
trumpeter, arranger, and
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and def ...
.
Career
Gibson played violin early on before settling on trumpet. Although he played professionally in many orchestras, he did not solo and worked more often as an arranger. His associations include Lew Redman (1931),
Zack Whyte (1932–33),
McKinney's Cotton Pickers
McKinney's Cotton Pickers were an American jazz band, founded in Detroit, Michigan, United States in 1926, and led by Bill McKinney (drummer), Bill McKinney, who expanded his Synco Septet to ten players. Cuba Austin took over for McKinney on drum ...
(1934–35),
Blanche Calloway,
Willie Bryant, and
Lucky Millinder
Lucius Venable "Lucky" Millinder (August 8, 1910 – September 28, 1966) was an American swing music, swing and rhythm and blues, rhythm-and-blues bandleader. Although he could not read or write music, did not play an instrument and rarely sang ...
. He quit playing in 1937 to arrange and compose full-time, working with
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life.
Born and raised in Washington, D ...
,
Count Basie
William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...
,
Cab Calloway
Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he became a popular vocalist of the Swing music, swing era. His niche ...
,
Charlie Barnet
Charles Daly Barnet (October 26, 1913 – September 4, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader.
His major recordings were "Nagasaki", "Skyliner", "Cherokee", "The Wrong Idea", "Scotch and Soda", "In a Mizz", and "South ...
, and
Harry James
Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band to great commercial success from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947, but ...
. He led a
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 ...
while serving in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
from 1942-45.
After his discharge, he continued working with Barnet but focused primarily on
R&B music. He was musical director for
King Records from 1955–60 and recorded four songs as a leader in 1959 which were released by
RCA Camden RCA Camden was a budget record label of RCA Victor, originally created in 1953 to reissue recordings from earlier 78rpm releases. The label was named "Camden", after Camden, New Jersey where the offices, factories and studios of RCA Victor and its ...
. He composed "I Left My Baby" (popularized by
Count Basie
William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...
), "The Great Lie", and "
The Hucklebuck
"The Hucklebuck" (sometimes written "The Huckle-Buck") is a jazz and R&B dance tune first popularized by Paul Williams and His Hucklebuckers in 1949. The composition of the tune was credited to Andy Gibson, and lyrics were later added by Roy ...
".
Andy Gibson died from a heart attack on February 11, 1961, in Cincinnati.
''Billboard''
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Discography
* ''Mainstream Jazz'' (RCA Camden, 1960)
As arranger
With Count Basie
William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...
*'' The Count!'' (Clef, 1952 955
Year 955 ( CMLV) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* August 10 – Battle of Lechfeld: King Otto I ("the Great") defeats the Hungarians (also known as Magyars) near Augsburg (Germa ...
See also
* List of jazz arrangers
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or devel ...
References
*Scott Yanow
Scott Yanow (born 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.
Life and career
Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles.
Beginning in 1974, Yanow was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles and was the jazz e ...
, Andy Gibsonat Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
1913 births
1961 deaths
American jazz trumpeters
American male trumpeters
People from Zanesville, Ohio
20th-century American trumpeters
Jazz musicians from Ohio
20th-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians
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