American jazz trumpeter (1924–94)
Shorty Rogers
Birth name Milton Rajonsky Born (1924-04-14 ) April 14, 1924
Great Barrington, Massachusetts , U.S.Died November 7, 1994(1994-11-07) (aged 70)
Van Nuys , California, U.S. Genres Occupation(s) Instrument(s) Years active 1944–1994 Labels
Musical artist
Milton "Shorty " Rogers (born Milton Rajonsky ; April 14, 1924 – November 7, 1994)
[1] was an American jazz musician, one of the principal creators of
West Coast jazz . He played trumpet and
flugelhorn and was in demand for his skills as an arranger.
Biography
Rogers was born in
Great Barrington, Massachusetts , United States.
[1] He worked first as a professional musician with
Will Bradley and
Red Norvo .
[2] From 1947 to 1949, he worked extensively with
Woody Herman and in 1950 and 1951 he played with
Stan Kenton .
[1]
On June 7, 1953, Rogers and his orchestra, including
Johnny "Guitar" Watson , performed for the famed ninth
Cavalcade of Jazz concert at
Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, produced by
Leon Hefflin, Sr. Also featured that day were
Roy Brown and his Orchestra,
Don Tosti and His Mexican Jazzmen,
Earl Bostic ,
Nat "King" Cole , and
Louis Armstrong and his All Stars with
Velma Middleton .
[3]
From 1953 through 1962, Rogers recorded a series of albums for
RCA Victor (later reissued on RCA's
Bluebird label) including Shorty Courts the Count (Shorty Rogers and His Orchestra, 1954), as well as a series of albums for
Atlantic Records with his own group, Shorty Rogers and His Giants, including The Swinging Mr. Rogers (1955), and Martians Come Back (1955),
[2] the album title alluding to the tune "Martians Go Home" which Rogers had composed and performed on The Swinging Mr. Rogers earlier the same year. These albums incorporated some of his more avant-garde music. To some extent they could be classified as "cool" jazz; but they also looked back to the "hot" style of
Count Basie , whom Rogers always credited as a major inspiration.
[4] In 1957, Rogers composed the music for the
Friz Freleng cartoon
Three Little Bops , notably the first
Warner Bros. cartoon short not to have music by either
Carl Stalling or
Milt Franklyn , and scored the music for the
MGM film
Tarzan, the Ape Man two years later. His other film work included the scores to
Fools (1970),
The Teacher (1974),
The Specialist (1975),
Dr. Minx (1975) and
The Return of the Mod Squad (1979).
Rogers died of
melanoma on November 7, 1994, in Van Nuys, California, at the age of 70.
[1]
Discography
As leader
Modern Sounds (
Capitol , 1951 [1955])
Popo (
Xanadu , 1951 [1980])
Shorty Rogers and His Giants (
RCA Victor , 1953)
Cool and Crazy (RCA Victor, 1953)
The Wild One [4-song 45rpm 7" vinyl EP] (RCA Victor EPA-535, 1953)
Shorty Rogers Courts the Count (RCA Victor, 1954)
Bud Shank – Shorty Rogers – Bill Perkins (
Pacific Jazz , 1955)
Collaboration (RCA Victor, 1955)
The Swinging Mr. Rogers (
Atlantic , 1955)
Martians Stay Home (Atlantic, 1955 [1980])
Martians Come Back! (Atlantic, 1955)
Way Up There (Atlantic, 1955 [1957])
Clickin' with Clax (Atlantic, 1956 [1978])
Wherever the Five Winds Blow (RCA Victor, 1956)
The Big Shorty Rogers Express (RCA Victor, 1956) - reissue of Cool And Crazy with 4 tracks added on
Shorty Rogers Plays Richard Rodgers (RCA Victor, 1957)
Portrait of Shorty (RCA Victor, 1957)
Gigi in Jazz (RCA Victor, 1958)
Afro-Cuban Influence (RCA Victor, 1958)
Chances Are It Swings (RCA Victor, 1958)
The Wizard of Oz and Other Harold Arlen Songs (RCA Victor, 1959)
Shorty Rogers Meets Tarzan (
MGM , 1960)
The Swingin' Nutcracker (RCA Victor, 1960)
An Invisible Orchard (RCA Victor, 1961 [1997])
The Fourth Dimension in Sound (
Warner Bros. , 1962)
Bossa Nova (
Reprise , 1962)
Jazz Waltz (Reprise, 1962)
Mavis Meets Shorty (Reprise, 1962)
Gospel Mission (Capitol, 1963)
Re-Entry (
Atlas , 1983)
Yesterday, Today and Forever (
Concord Jazz , 1983)
Back Again (Choice, 1984)
[5]
California Concert (
Contemporary , 1985)
America the Beautiful (
Candid , 1991)
Eight Brothers (Candid, 1992)
As sideman
With
Elmer Bernstein
With
Teddy Charles
With
Jimmy Giuffre
With
Stan Kenton
With
Eartha Kitt
St. Louis Blues (RCA Victor, 1958)
With
Perez Prado
Voodoo Suite (RCA Victor, 1955)
With
Pete Rugolo
As arranger
With
Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass
With
Ernie Andrews
Soul Proprietor (Dot, 1968)
With
Chet Baker
With
Elmer Bernstein
With
Les Brown and His Band of Renown
The Young Beat (Capitol, 1963)
With
Bobby Bryant
The Jazz Excursion Into "Hair" (Pacific Jazz, 1969)
With
Bobby Darin
With
Frances Faye
You Gotta Go! Go! Go! (Regina, 1964)
With
Bobbie Gentry
With
Terry Gibbs
With
Jerry Goldsmith
With
Vince Guaraldi
With
Lena Horne
With
Helen Humes
Midsummer Night's Songs (RCA, 1974) with
Red Norvo and His Orchestra
With
Dean Jones
Introducing Dean Jones (Valiant, 1963)
with
Frankie Laine
You Gave Me a Mountain (ABC, 1969)
With
Peggy Lee
With
Harvey Mandel
Righteous (Philips, 1969)
Baby Batter (Janus, 1971)
With
Shelly Manne
With
Carmen McRae
With
The Monkees
With
Michael Nesmith
With
Jack Nitzsche
With
Buddy Rich
With
Bud Shank
With
Mel Tormé
See also
References
External links
Years given are for the recording(s), not first release, except where noted.
As leader or co-leader With
Stan Kenton With
Pete Rugolo Sideman with others Soundtracks Arranger
Christmas Album (Herb Alpert, released 1968)
Chet Baker & Strings (1953–54)
You're the Reason I'm Living (for
Bobby Darin , 1962–63)
Bobby Darin Sings The Shadow of Your Smile (for Bobby Darin, released 1966)
Ode to Billie Joe (for
Bobbie Gentry , released 1967)
Local Gentry (for Bobbie Gentry, released 1968)
The Delta Sweete (for Bobbie Gentry, released 1968)
Reza (for
Terry Gibbs , 1966)
Lena Like Latin (for
Lena Horne , 1963)
In Love Again! (for
Peggy Lee , 1963)
Pass Me By (for Peggy Lee, 1965)
The West Coast Sound (for
Shelly Manne , 1953–55)
My Son the Jazz Drummer! (for Shelly Manne, 1962)
Portrait of Carmen (for
Carmen McRae , 1967)
The Sound of Silence (for Carmen McRae, 1967–68)
The Wichita Train Whistle Sings (for
Michael Nesmith , 1968)
Big Swing Face , 1967)
Buddy & Soul (for Buddy Rich, 1969)
A Spoonful of Jazz (for Bud Shank, 1967)
Comin' Home Baby! (for
Mel Tormé , 1962)
Arranger for
The Monkees
International National Artists People Other