Boniface Ferdinand Leonard "Buddy" DeFranco (February 17, 1923 – December 24, 2014) was an American jazz clarinetist. In addition to his work as a bandleader, DeFranco led the Glenn Miller Orchestra for almost a decade in the 1960s and 1970s.

Biography

Born in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...

, United States, DeFranco was raised in

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west."." ''City of Philadelphia''. Retrieved November 8, ...

. He was playing the clarinet by the time he was nine years old and within five years had won a national

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 ...

swing contest. He began his professional career just as

swing music Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. Swing bands usually featured soloists who would improvise on the melody over the arrangement ...

and

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 ...

s—many of which were led by clarinetists like

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

, and

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 ...

—were in decline. While most jazz clarinet players did not adapt to this change, DeFranco successfully continued to play clarinet exclusively, and was one of the few

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...

clarinetists. In 1950, DeFranco spent a year 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 ...

's septet. He then led a small combo in the early 1950s which included pianist

Sonny Clark Conrad Yeatis "Sonny" Clark (July 21, 1931 – January 13, 1963) was an American jazz pianist and composer who mainly worked in the hard bop idiom. Early life Clark was born and raised in Herminie, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town east of P ...

and guitarist Tal Farlow. In this period, DeFranco recorded for

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

, Norgran and Verve; the latter two labels were owned by

Norman Granz Norman Granz (August 6, 1918 – November 22, 2001) was an American jazz record producer and concert promoter. He founded the record labels Clef, Norgran, Down Home, Verve, and Pablo and the Jazz at the Philharmonic concert series. Gra ...

. During the years 1960-64, DeFranco released four innovative quartet albums, as co-leader with the accordionist Tommy Gumina. He was

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhyth ...

of the Glenn Miller Orchestra from 1966 to 1974, under the name, "The World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra, Directed By Buddy DeFranco". He also performed with

Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973) was an American jazz drummer, bandleader, and composer. Krupa is widely regarded as one of the most influential drummers in the history of popular music. His drum solo on Benny Goodman ...

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

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 ...

Art Tatum Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever. From early in his career, fellow musicians acclaimed Tatum's technical ability as extraordinary. Tatum a ...

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. As a virtuoso who is considered to be one of the greatest Jazz piano, jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordin ...

, Lennie Tristano, Dodo Marmarosa,

Terry Gibbs Terry Gibbs (born Julius Gubenko; October 13, 1924) is an American jazz vibraphonist and band leader. He has performed or recorded with Tommy Dorsey, Chubby Jackson,Theroux, Gary"Gibbs, Terry".''Grove Music Online''. Oxford University Press. R ...

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

, Eddie Daniels, Andy Firth-musician, Don Burrows, Putte Wickman,

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

and many others, and released dozens of albums as a leader. DeFranco died in

Panama City, Florida Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Route 98 in Florida, U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee, Florida, Tallahassee and Pensacola, Florida, Pe ...

, at the age of 91.

Awards and honors

DeFranco won twenty awards from ''

DownBeat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'' magazine, nine awards from ''

Metronome A metronome () is a device that produces an audible click or other sound at a uniform interval that can be set by the user, typically in beats per minute (BPM). Metronomes may also include synchronized visual motion, such as a swinging pendulum ...

'', and sixteen ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

'' All-Stars awards.

Discography

The Glenn Miller Orchestra Under the Direction of Buddy DeFranco

*''Glenn Miller in Tokyo'' ( CBS Records, 1966) *''Something New (The Tijuana Brass Hits)'' (

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

, 1966) *''In the Mod'' (

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

, 1967) *''The Glenn Miller Orchestra Returns To Glen Island Casino'' (RCA Victor, 1968) *''Makes the Goin' Great'' (

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

, 1968) *''Do You Wanna Dance'' (

Command Records Command Records was a record label founded by Enoch Light in 1959 and, in October that year, was acquired by ABC-Paramount Records. Light produced a majority of the releases in the label's catalog. Origin and history After Grand Award Record ...

ABC Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels bef ...

, 1969) *''Recorded Live, Royal Festival Hall, London, England'' (

Paramount Records Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson (guitarist), Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson. Early years Paramoun ...

, 1971) *''The Best Of The Glenn Miller Orchestra Newly Recorded In Stereo'' (

Columbia House Columbia House was an umbrella brand for Columbia Records' mail-order music clubs, the primary iteration of which was the Columbia Record Club, established in 1955. The Columbia House brand was introduced in the early 1970s by Columbia Records ...

, 1972) *''Skitch & Company'' (Army Reserve, 1973) *''The Ultimate 'In Stereo' Collection'' (Swing Rewind Records, 2016)

As leader

* ''Cool & Quiet'' with Lennie Tristano (Capitol, 1953) * ''The Progressive Mr. DeFranco'' (Norgran, 1954) * ''Pretty Moods'' (Norgran, 1954) * ''The Artistry of Buddy DeFranco'' (Norgran, 1954) * '' Buddy DeFranco and Oscar Peterson Play George Gershwin'' (Norgran, 1954) * ''The Buddy DeFranco Wailers'' (Norgran, 1956) * ''Sweet and Lovely'' (Verve, 1956) * ''In a Mellow Mood'' (Norgran, 1956) * ''Mr. Clarinet'' (Norgran, 1956) * ''Jazz Tones'' (Norgran, 1956) * ''Buddy DeFranco Plays Benny Goodman'' (Verve, 1957) * ''The Art Tatum Buddy DeFranco Quartet'' (Verve, 1958) * ''Cross Country Suite'' (Dot, 1958) * ''Generalissimo'' (Verve, 1958) * ''Buddy DeFranco and the Oscar Peterson Quartet'' (Verve, 1958) * ''Live Date!'' (Verve, 1958) * ''Buddy DeFranco Plays Artie Shaw'' (Verve, 1958) * ''Cooking the Blues'' (Verve, 1958) * ''Bravura'' (Verve, 1959) * ''Pacific Standard Swingin'! Time'' with Tommy Gumina (Decca, 1960) * ''Presenting'' with Tommy Gumina (Mercury, 1961) * ''Kaleidoscope'' with Tommy Gumina (Mercury, 1962) * ''Pol.Y.Tones'' with Tommy Gumina (Mercury, 1963) * ''The Girl from Ipanema'' with Tommy Gumina (Mercury, 1964) * ''

Blues Bag ''Blues Bag'', subtitled ''Leonard Feather's Encyclopedia Of Jazz - Jazz Of The '60s, Vol. 2'', is an album by clarinetist Buddy DeFranco recorded in Los Angeles in late 1964 and released by the Vee-Jay Records, Vee-Jay label the following year.C ...

'' (Vee Jay, 1965) * ''Crosscurrents'' with Lennie Tristano (Capitol, 1972) * ''Free Sail'' (Choice, 1974) * ''Black Magic'' with Helen Forrest (Shamrock, 1975) * ''Love Affair with a Clarinet Vol. 2'' (Famous Solos, 1976) * ''Sessions, Live'' (Callipe, 1976) * ''Borinquin'' (Sonet, 1976) * ''Waterbed'' (Choice, 1978) * ''Buddy DeFranco with Jim Gillis'' (Classic Jazz, 1978) * ''Closed Session'' (Verve, 1979) * ''Buddy DeFranco'' (Famous Solos, 1980) * ''Like Someone in Love'' (Progressive, 1980) * ''Jazz Party: First Time Together'' with Terry Gibbs (Palo Alto, 1981) * ''Eastern Exposure'' (Silver Crest, 1982) * ''Buddy DeFranco Presents John Denman'' (Lud, 1983) * ''Now's the Time'' with Terry Gibbs (Tall Tree, 1984) * ''Mr. Lucky'' (Pablo, 1984) * ''Hark'' with Oscar Peterson (Pablo, 1985) * ''Groovin'' (Hep, 1985) * ''Chicago Fire'' with Terry Gibbs (Contemporary, 1987) * ''Holiday for Swing'' with Terry Gibbs (Contemporary, 1988) * ''Garden of Dreams'' with Martin Taylor (ProJazz, 1988) * ''Memories of You: A Tribute to Benny Goodman'' with Terry Gibbs, Herb Ellis (Contemporary, 1991) * ''Kings of Swing'' with Terry Gibbs, Herb Ellis (Contemporary, 1992) * ''Five Notes of Blues'' (Musidisc, 1992) * ''Modern Clarinets: Museum of Modern Jazz'' (Verve, 1993) * ''The Buenos Aires Concerts'' (Hep, 1995) * ''Free Fall'' (Candid, 1996) * ''You Must Believe in Swing'' with Dave McKenna (Concord Jazz, 1997) * ''Do Nothing Till You Hear from Us!'' with Dave McKenna (Concord Jazz, 1999) * ''The Champs'' with Putte Wickman (Gazell, 1999) * ''Terry Gibbs and Buddy DeFranco Play Steve Allen'' (Contemporary, 1999) * ''Gone with the Wind'' (Storyville, 1999) * ''The Three Sopranos'' (hr-musik.de, 2001) * ''Cookin' the Books'' (Arbors Records, 2003) * ''Charlie Cat 2'' (Arbors, 2007) * ''Cookin with Eiji Kitamura, Kiyoshi Takeshita (Jazz Cook, 2008) * ''Down for Double'' with John Burnett Swing Orchestra (Delmark Records, 2010)

As sideman

With

* ''Yes Indeed!'' (RCA Victor 1956) * ''Tribute to Dorsey, Vol. 2'' (RCA Victor, 1957) * ''Tommy Dorsey's Greatest Band'' (20th Fox, 1959) With

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and bandleader. He worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, an ...

* ''The Lionel Hampton Quintet'' (Clef, 1954) * ''Album #2'' (Clef, 1955) * ''Lionel Hampton and His All Stars'' (Columbia, 1957) With others *

, ''Sky Liner'' (MCA, 1976) *

, ''Blues by Basie'' (Columbia, 1956) * Les Brown, ''Jazz Song Book'' (Coral, 1960) *

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 ...

, ''Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Jerome Kern & Johnny Mercer Songbooks'' (Verve, 1976) *

Stan Getz Stan Getz (born Stanley Gayetski; February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wis ...

, ''Stan Getz Blues'' (VSP, 1966) *

, ''Ladylove'' (United Artists, 1962) * Billie Holiday, ''Live in Cologne 1954'' (Jazzline, 2014) * Rolf Kuhn, ''Affairs'' (Intuition, 1997) *

Herbie Mann Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz Flute, flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet ...

, ''Big Band Mann'' (VSP, 1966) *

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, pianist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing t ...

, ''Chet Baker Gerry Mulligan Buddy DeFranco'' (GNP, 1957) * Joe Negri, ''Uptown Elegance'' (MCG, 2004) * Flip Phillips, ''Flip Philllips Celebrates His 80th Birthday at the March of Jazz 1995'' (Arbors, 2003) * Tullio De Piscopo, ''Live in Zurich at Moods Club'' (Rai Trade, 2004) * Buddy Rich, ''Buddy Rich at JATP'' (VSP, 1966)

References

External links

* * *
Buddy DeFranco Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2004) {{DEFAULTSORT:Defranco, Buddy 1923 births 2014 deaths American jazz bandleaders American jazz clarinetists American people of Italian descent Bebop clarinetists Musicians from Camden, New Jersey Jazz musicians from Philadelphia Post-bop clarinetists Statesmen of Jazz members Hep Records artists Verve Records artists Contemporary Records artists Mercury Records artists Pablo Records artists Concord Records artists Arbors Records artists NEA Jazz Masters