Carl Saunders (August 2, 1942 – February 25, 2023) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and educator who performed with such luminaries as

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though ...

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ...

, Bill Holman,

Clare Fischer Douglas Clare Fischer (October 22, 1928 – January 26, 2012) was an American keyboardist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. After graduating from Michigan State University (from which, five decades later, he would receive an honorary doctorat ...

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 ...

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 ...

Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "the Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arrangement, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roa ...

, and

Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter and actor. His songs include " Diana", “ You Are My Destiny", “Lonely Boy", " Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also wr ...

Career

Born in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, Indiana, Saunders' first five years performing were mostly spent on the road. His uncle was trumpeter

Bobby Sherwood Robert J. Sherwood Jr. (May 30, 1914 – January 23, 1981) was an American guitarist, trumpeter, bandleader, actor and radio host. Early years Sherwood's parents were Bob and Gail Sherwood. When they lived in Kokomo, Indiana, Bob operated a m ...

, who led the popular Sherwood Orchestra that had hits such as "Elks Parade" and "Sherwood's Forest." Saunders's mother Gail (Bobby's sister) sang for the Sherwood Orchestra and

. When Saunders was five, he and his mother settled in Los Angeles, living with his aunt Caroline and her husband, saxophonist Dave Pell. Saunders heard records by the Dave Pell Octet and was influenced by the style and phrasing of trumpeter

Don Fagerquist Donald Alton Fagerquist (February 6, 1927 – January 23, 1974) was a small group, big band, and studio jazz trumpet player from the West Coast of the United States. Career Fagerquist was a featured soloist with several major bands, including Ma ...

. Saunders began playing trumpet in the seventh grade and discovered that he had a natural ability, learning to play by ear without ever having lessons. He played in school bands, and after graduating from high school got a job with Stan Kenton's Orchestra. He auditioned for Kenton's band and was given a choice: wait for the first opening in the trumpet section or join the band the following week as a member of the mellophonium section. He chose the latter and spent much of 1961–62 on the road with Kenton. Saunders has said about the experience with the mellophonium band, "I was developing perfect pitch from playing the trumpet. However, once I joined Kenton to play the mellophone, my whole system got mixed up because the trumpet is in Bb and the mellophonium is in F, so needless to say my confidence in perfect pitch was shaken and I ended up with relative pitch." After spending part of 1962 and 1963 traveling and playing drums with Bobby Sherwood's group, Saunders settled in Las Vegas where, over the next twenty years, he played lead trumpet while performing with

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

, and

. He traveled as a lead player with

and Robert Goulet and worked with Si Zentner,

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 ...

Maynard Ferguson Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often served ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. In 1984, Saunders moved to Los Angeles where he was soon playing lead trumpet with Bill Holman's Orchestra. He has also worked with

Supersax Supersax was an American jazz group, created in 1972 by saxophonist Med Flory and bassist Buddy Clark as a tribute to saxophonist Charlie Parker. The group's music consisted of harmonized arrangements of Parker's improvisations played by a saxo ...

, the big bands of

Bob Florence Bob Florence (May 20, 1932 – May 15, 2008) was an American pianist, composer, arranger, and big band leader. Career A child prodigy, Florence began piano lessons before he was five years old and at seven gave his first recital. Although hi ...

and

Gerald Wilson Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. He arranged music for D ...

, and the Phil Norman Tentet. In 1994, he became a member of the Dave Pell Octet (in Don Fagerquist's old chair). In addition, he was often heard at the head of his own groups. Saunders died on February 25, 2023, at the age of 80.

Discography

* 1995 ''Out of the Blue'' * 2000 ''Eclecticism'' * 2002 ''Be Bop Big Band'' * 2003 ''Salute to Chet Baker'' * 2004 ''The Carl Saunders Sextet: Live in Union Square'' * 2004 ''Plays Henry Mancini'' * 2005 ''Can You Dig Being Dug?'' * 2007 ''The Lost Bill Holman Charts'' * 2014 ''America'' * 2020 ''Jazz Trumpet'' With Bernie Dresel's BBB * ''Live N' Bernin' '' (Monster Music, 2016) * ''Bern Bern Bern'' (DIG-IT. 2018) * '' The Pugilist'' (DIG-IT, 2021) With

* ''

Sophisticated Approach ''Sophisticated Approach'' is an album by the Stan Kenton Orchestra recorded in 1961 and released by Capitol Records.Vosbein, PStan Kenton Discographyaccessed June 8, 2016 In 2006, Sophisticated Approach was digitally remastered and reissued on C ...

'' (Capitol, 1961) * '' Adventures in Blues'' (Capitol, 1961) * '' Stan Kenton! Tex Ritter!'' (Capitol, 1962) with

Tex Ritter Woodward Maurice "Tex" Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a singer, and an actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s. He was the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John Ritter, grandso ...

* '' Adventures In Jazz'' (Capitol, 1963) With

* '' Theme for Monterey'' (MAMA, 1998)

References

External links

Official web site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Carl 1942 births 2023 deaths American jazz composers American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters Musicians from Indianapolis 21st-century American trumpeters American male jazz composers 21st-century American male musicians Summit Records artists