Papers and audiovisual materials documenting Russo's career in music.
Scope and Contents:
The collection includes Russo's original and published music scores, parts and arrangements; audiovisual materials including recordings of broadcasts of Russo's radio show, performances of Russo's compositions, including performances by Duke Ellington, and film and video recordings of Russo's productions in theater and opera; and personal papers such as correspondence, photographs, scrapbooks, publicity files, contracts, etc. Among the most significant items in the collection are experimental jazz arrangements for Stan Kenton in the late 1940s-early 1950s, undated arrangements for Gerry Mulligan, Russo's original arrangement of Duke Ellington's Sacred Concert, scores to his first and second symphonies, and scores and libretti to several early rock operas. The photographs include images of persons such as Ellington, Kenton, and Billy Strayhorn, and photographs by jazz photographers Herman Leonard and William Claxton. 2007 addendum includes correspondence, mostly between Russo and his family; eighteen diaries for 1946-1967 (not all years are present) with sparse entries, some in Italian; and additional music manuscripts, parts, scores and libretti.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into nine series.
Series 1: William Russo's Music
Series 2: Teaching Notes
Series 3: Correspondence
Series 4: Publicity, Programs, and Reviews
Series 5: Posters and Artwork
Series 6: Photographs
Series 7: Books and Lecture Notebooks
Series 8: Memorabilia
Series 9: Audiovisual Materials
Biographical / Historical:
William Russo, renowned American jazz composer, arranger, and founder of the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, had a music career that spanned five decades and included performance, conducting and composition. During his career he worked with such diverse talents as Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Leonard Bernstein, Cannonball Adderly, Yehuidi Menuhin, Dizzy Gillespie, Seiji Ozawa, and Billie Holiday. Although critics acknowledged Russo mainly for his pioneering contributions to the big-band jazz canon, his talents extended to a far wider range of musical styles, creating groundbreaking jazz scores, rock operas, classical works, film scores, and educational textbooks on jazz orchestration and arrangement. In all, he composed over 200 pieces for jazz orchestra with more than 25 recordings of his work. In 1990, Russo received a Lifetime Achievement award from NARAS, the organization that presents the Grammy Awards.
As a young trombonist, Russo studied with Lennie Tristano, the pianist and theorist who became a leader in the progressive jazz movement. During the late 1940s, Russo led the revolutionary Experiment in Jazz band. At age 21, he became one of the chief composers/arrangers for the Stan Kenton Orchestra, one of the most innovative and influential jazz orchestras of the postwar era. In his four years with Kenton, Russo penned such classic Kenton works as "23° North – 82° West," and "Frank Speaking."
Russo made several major jazz recordings under his own name before his classical "Symphony No. 2 in C (TITANS)" received a Koussevitsky award in 1959; it was performed by the New York Philharmonic that same year under Leonard Bernstein, who had commissioned the work. This award marked Russo's "official" entry into the world of classical music. Russo continued to write major symphonic works throughout his career, including his 1992 grand opera, "Dubrovsky."
After his tenure with Kenton, in the early 1950s, Russo led his own successful bands, The Russo Orchestra in New York, and the London Jazz Orchestra, before returning to Chicago to form the Chicago Jazz Ensemble in 1065. With the Ensemble, he presented Duke Ellington's "First Concert of Sacred Music" in 1967. This was one of the rare times when Ellington allowed one of his compositions to be arranged and performed by a jazz orchestra other than his own, and was a reflection of Ellington's respect for Russo. Shortly after this performance, Russo composed a rock cantata, "The Civil War," that led him into the field of rock opera. After concentrating on classical music again in the 1970s, in the late 1980s, Russo began to re-explore the history of jazz through his revived Chicago Jazz Ensemble. In 1995, the Chicago Jazz Ensemble made history with the first-ever complete live performance of Gil Evans' and Miles Davis' "Sketches of Spain" in its original form. Recent Russo works that premiered in Chicago included "Chicago Suite No. 1," and "Chicago Suite No. 2," a recording that was published posthumously in the spring of 2003.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
William Russo Transcription and Arrangement of Duke Ellington's First Concert of Sacred Music, 1967-1968 (AC0406)
Provenance:
Bequeathed to the Smithsonian by William Russo. Papers collected after Russo's death in 2003. The 2007 addendum sent by Russo's sister and daughter were also part of the bequest.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Photographs consist of 16 x 20 inch silver gelatin; selenium-toned archival photographic prints of jazz musicians performing and recording music throughout the United States.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of 16 x 20-inch silver gelatin; selenium- toned archival photographic prints. It is divided into two series.
Series 1, Duke Ellington, 1955-1960, consists of Duke Ellington performing and recording music in Hollywood and Monterey, California and Las Vegas, Nevada, between 1955 and 1960. The photographs are arranged chronologically by date.
Series 2, Other Jazz Musicians and Singers, 1955-1970, consists of photographs of musicians and singers such as Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Chet Baker, Stan Kenton, Miles Davis, Dinah Washington, Cootie Williams, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gilliespie and Ray Charles. The performers are all photographed with their instruments. Photographs are arranged in chronological order.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into two series.
Series 1: Duke Ellington, 1955-1960
Series 2: Other Jazz Musicians and Singers, 1955-1970
Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of American History:
Duke Ellington Collection, 1928-1988 (AC0301)
Herman Leonard Photoprints, 1948-1993 (AC0445)
Frank Driggs Collection of Duke Ellington Photographic Reference Prints [copy prints], 1923-1972 (AC389)
W. Royal Stokes Collection of Music Publicity Photoprints, Interviews and Posters circa 1970-2003 (AC0766)
Charismic Productions Records of Dizzy Gillespie, 1940s-1993 (AC0979)
Provenance:
Collection purchased on March 31, 1999.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Gloves required with unprotected photographs.
Rights:
Copyright restrictions. Contact staff for information.
Topic:
Musicians -- 1950-1960 -- United States Search this
The collection consists of 235 pieces of music ephemera assembled by an anonymous California musicologist over several decades. The contents include such things as concert ticket stubs; show programs; handbills; publicity stills; record store posters; nightclub souvenirs; autographs; contracts, lobby cards; movie stills; postcards; fan and record industry magazines; sheet music; an oversize RKO theatre owners' advertising book for the 1942 sensation "Syncopation," starring Charlie Barnet, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Gene Krupa, et al; and miscellany such as matchbook covers and novelty promotional pieces. There are just a few letters in the collection. The collection contains materials representing both bands and band members, and individual artists. In many cases, there are only one or a few relevant items. Persons and acts represented include: Ray Anthony, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Barnet, Tex Beneke, Les Brown, Dave Brubeck, Cab Calloway, June Christy, Nat King Cole, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Erroll Garner, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Glen Gray, Fletcher Henderson, Woody Herman, Harry James, Louis Jordan, Sammy Kaye, Stan Kenton, Gene Krupa, Kay Kyser, Frankie Laine, Peggy Lee, Guy Lombardo, Vincent Lopez, Jimmy Lunceford, Gordon MacRae, Freddy Martin, Billy May, Johnny Mercer, Glenn Miller, Vaughn Monroe, Gerry Mulligan, Red Norvo, Patti Page, Buddy Rich, Artie Shaw, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra, Charlie Spivak, Rudy Vallee, Sarah Vaughan, Fred Waring, Chick Webb, Ted Weems, Lawrence Welk, Paul Whiteman, Margaret Whiting, and Benny Goodman. In other cases, the collection contains an item or items (such as menus) that have been autographed. The collection contains autographs or autographed items for the following: Gene Krupa, Jess Stacy, Teddy Wilson, Blue Barron, Eddie Duchin, Shep Fields, Ziggy Elman, Glen Gray Band, Milt Gabler, Horace Heidt, Dick Jurgens, Kay Kyser, Guy Lombardo, Xavier Cugat, Hal McIntyre, Art Mooney, Buddy Morrow, Harry James and "Tiny" Timbrell.
Unrestricted research access on site by appointment.,Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
The Bill Holman Collection consists of original music compositions and arrangements, posters, performance contracts and a photograph dating from 1952 to 1999. The collection is organized into two series: Series 1: Music Manuscripts; and Series 2: Photographs and Business Records.
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into two series.
Series 1: Music Manuscripts, 1952-1999
Series 2: Photographs and Business Records, 1975-1997
Biographical / Historical:
Born Willis Leonard Holman on May 21 in Olive, California, Bill Holman is considered one of the great jazz composers of the last half of the twentieth century. He is best known as one of the architects of the style of jazz defined as "West Coast" and as the major arranger for the Stan Kenton Orchestra from 1952 - 1955.
Holman began playing clarinet in junior high school and tenor saxophone while in high school eventually leading his own band. After serving in the Navy and studying engineering, he chose a career in music instead and attended Westlake College of Music in California from 1948-1950. While attending Westlake, he studied counterpoint with Russ Garcia and one hallmark of a Holman work continues to be the distinguished use of that compositional element.
While performing as a tenor and baritone saxophonist for Charlie Barnet & His Orchestra in 1951, Holman submitted his first composition for a name band to Woody Herman. Originally titled Prez Conference in honor of Lester Young, the piece - which featured solos for four tenors - was recorded in 1954 with a baritone and trumpet introduction and ending tagged on by Herman and re-titled Mulligantawny Stew.
From 1952 - 1954, Holman performed in the reed section of the Stan Kenton Orchestra and there he received international recognition. Within six months, Kenton encouraged Holman's voice as a composer and arranger and he quickly became a principal. His distinctive swinging approach was always evident resulting in songs still beloved by Kenton fans all over the world such as Stomping At The Savoy and Whats New. Taking advantage of his clout in the industry, Stan Kenton facilitated Holman's first recording as a leader in 1954 (Kenton Presents Jazz B Bill Holman: Bill Holman Octet) as one in a series of Capitol recordings featuring Kenton's sidemen as bandleaders. Unfortunately, this was not released until five years later. After returning to the West Coast in 1955, Holman continued as a Kenton staff arranger until 1956 and contributed compositions and arrangements on an occasional basis until the late 1950s.
Upon his return to Los Angeles, California in 1955, Holman B as an instrumentalist, composer and arranger B helped shape the sound later dubbed West Coast Jazz. At first, Holman worked in small groups for others including Conte Candoli (1955), Shelly Manne (1955), and Art Pepper (1957) but in 1957 Holman longed to Amake a statement@ for himself and formed his own big band. The band eventually recorded three albums that have become collector=s items among jazz aficionados: The Fabulous Bill Holman (1957), Big Band In A Jazz Orbit, (1958) and Bill Holman's Great Big Band. (1960) Holman continued to work in small group settings as well recording Jive For Five with a quintet co-led by Mel Lewis and Jazz Erotica (re-titled in CD release as West Coast Jazz) in an octet featuring Richie Kamuca.
In 1960, Holman entered into a twenty-seven year hiatus from recording. However, he remained active in the business and was continually sought out as a composer and arranger for both jazz and popular music. His arrangements for Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie, Woody Herman, and Shorty Rogers, among others, are considered the pinnacle of jazz composition and orchestration. Holman=s occasional forays into film, television and popular music include Aquarius as recorded by the Fifth Dimension and The Association=s Never My Love and Cherish. A long relationship with the Tonight Show band directed by Doc Severinson (1967 B 1992) developed eventually awarding him with his first Grammy award for an arrangement of Billy Strayhorn=s Take The >A= Train.
Bill McKay, the co-owner of a Los Angeles night club Donte's, encouraged Holman to re-form his band in 1975 leading to his legendary rehearsal band which still meets most weeks at the Hollywood Musician=s Union. However, the Bill Holman Band did not record until the release of World Class: The Bill Holman Big Band in 1987, followed by A View From the Side. (for which Holman earned a Best Instrumental Composition Grammy for the title track) in 1995. Although Holman's arranging style matured, his characteristic use of line writing, unison sections, uneven bar lengths, and reference for rhythm were distilled and refined rather than complicated in the interim.
Beginning in 1980, Holman received regular commissions from the WDR band in Cologne Germany including ones for extended works and special programs featuring noted jazz instrumentalists such as Lee Konitz, Al Cohn and Phil Woods. Since 1990, he has been conducting that renowned Orchestra. In 1997, Holman embarked on what has become an annual European trip B as a composer/conductor for the Netherlands Metropole Orchestra B and in that same year recorded Further Adventures with them. Holman continues to work extensively in Europe and in 2001 will conduct orchestras in Sweden, Austria and the Netherlands.
Continually sought after by contemporary vocalists, Holman supplied the arrangements (with the exception of the title tune) for Natalie Cole=s 1991 Unforgettable B a tribute to her father Nat King Cole. He continues to provide settings for elite jazz vocalists including Tony Bennett and Carmen McRae. Holman remains active. In 1998, he received a composer=s grant from the International Association of Jazz Educators. The Bill Holman Band still rehearses weekly and appears periodically in the Los Angeles area. Brilliant Corners: The Music of Thelonius Monk is a big band and arrangers tour-de-force and garnered Holman his third Grammy award in 1997.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
