Jimmy Mundy (28 June 1907–24 April 1983) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
tenor saxophonistThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, is the most common type of saxophone. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble clef,...
, arranger, and
composerA composer is a person who creates music, usually by musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of...
, best known for his arrangements for
Benny GoodmanBenjamin David Goodman was an American jazz musician, clarinetist and bandleader, known as "King of Swing", "Patriarch of the Clarinet", "The Professor", and "Swing's Senior Statesman"....
,
Count BasieWilliam "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Widely regarded as one of the most important jazz bandleaders of his time, Basie led his popular Count Basie Orchestra for almost 50 years...
and
Earl HinesEarl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines, was "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz".-Early life:...
.
Mundy was born in
Cincinnati, OhioCincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. The municipality is located north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border. The population within city limits was estimated to be 333,336 in 2008, making it the state's third largest city...
, and gained his arranging skills in the 1920s while playing with local bands led by
Erskine TateErskine Tate was an American jazz violinist and bandleader.Tate moved to Chicago in 1912 and was an early figure on the Chicago jazz scene, playing with his band, the Vendome Orchestra, at the Vendome Theater, which was located at 31st and State Street...
, Tommy Miles, and
Carroll DickersonCarroll Dickerson was a Chicago and New York-based dixieland jazz violinist and bandleader, probably better known for his extensive work with Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines or his more brief work touring with King Oliver....
. In 1932 he joined Earl Hines for four years, originally as a saxophonist, but swiftly developing a reputation as an arranger.
Jimmy Mundy (28 June 1907–24 April 1983) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
tenor saxophonistThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, is the most common type of saxophone. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble clef,...
, arranger, and
composerA composer is a person who creates music, usually by musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of...
, best known for his arrangements for
Benny GoodmanBenjamin David Goodman was an American jazz musician, clarinetist and bandleader, known as "King of Swing", "Patriarch of the Clarinet", "The Professor", and "Swing's Senior Statesman"....
,
Count BasieWilliam "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Widely regarded as one of the most important jazz bandleaders of his time, Basie led his popular Count Basie Orchestra for almost 50 years...
and
Earl HinesEarl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines, was "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz".-Early life:...
.
Mundy was born in
Cincinnati, OhioCincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. The municipality is located north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border. The population within city limits was estimated to be 333,336 in 2008, making it the state's third largest city...
, and gained his arranging skills in the 1920s while playing with local bands led by
Erskine TateErskine Tate was an American jazz violinist and bandleader.Tate moved to Chicago in 1912 and was an early figure on the Chicago jazz scene, playing with his band, the Vendome Orchestra, at the Vendome Theater, which was located at 31st and State Street...
, Tommy Miles, and
Carroll DickersonCarroll Dickerson was a Chicago and New York-based dixieland jazz violinist and bandleader, probably better known for his extensive work with Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines or his more brief work touring with King Oliver....
. In 1932 he joined Earl Hines for four years, originally as a saxophonist, but swiftly developing a reputation as an arranger. After selling one of his arrangements to Benny Goodman in 1935, Goodman hired him away from Hines, and Mundy became Goodman's staff arranger.
Mundy was also a significant supplier of arrangements to Count Basie (from about 1940 to 1947), as well as writing for
Gene KrupaGene Krupa was an influential American jazz and big band drummer and composer, known for his highly energetic and flamboyant style.-Biography:...
,
Paul WhitemanPaul Whiteman was an American bandleader and orchestral director.Leader of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s, Whiteman's recordings were immensely successful, and he was dubbed the "King of Jazz." In 1924, Whiteman commissioned and debuted George Gershwin's...
,
Dizzy GillespieJohn Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, singer, and composer.Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
(in 1949),
Charlie SpivakCharlie Spivak was an American trumpeter and bandleader, best known for his big band in the 1940s....
,
Harry JamesHarry Haag James was an American musician and bandleader. James was an instrumentalist of the swing era, employing a bravura playing style that made his trumpet work identifiable...
, and many others. He briefly led his own band in 1939, but after
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he returned to arranging for Basie, James, and others.
In 1959, Mundy moved to
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where he was musical director for
Barclay RecordsBarclay Records is a French record label, which was founded round 1954 by Eddie Barclay alias Edouard Ruault...
, returning to the U.S. in the 1960s. He continued an active career as a writer into the 1970s.
Discography
- 1937–1947: Jimmy Mundy 1947–1947 (Classics)
- 1958: On a Mundy Flight (Epic)
- 2002: Fiesta in Brass (Golden Era)
Sources and external links
- Ian Carr, Digby Fairweather, & Brian Priestley. Jazz: The Rough Guide. ISBN 1-85828-528-3
- Richard Cook & Brian Morton. The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD 6th edition. ISBN 0-14-051521-6
- Scott Yanow
Scott Yanow is an American jazz commentator, known for many contributions to the Allmusic website, for writing ten books on jazz and for reviewing jazz recordings for over 30 years.-Biography:...
, Swing Miller Freeman Books, 2000
- Jimmy Mundy — brief biography by Scott Yanow, for AllMusic