Neil hefti biography

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Hefti’s arrangement swung, was complex enough to keep the band interested in playing it, and most importantly accessible enough to have broad appeal with the record buying public.

The tempo is paramount and, despite being taken at a slow tempo, it swings throughout; it’s the simple theme played impeccably by the whole orchestra that makes the piece so memorable though.

Recorded on the 21st and 22nd November 1957 and released in January of the following year, the impact of the album was such that Hefti picked up two Grammy awards for his work on The Atomic Mr.

Basie. As we’ll discover in this article, perhaps no arranger had such a wide reach as Neal Hefti, whose work spanned 4 decades.

During this time, Manne recalled that when relaxing in between gigs Hefti would sit in their room with a piece of manuscript paper humming parts for different instruments and writing them down.

Key to this was Neal Hefti, who was readily able and willing to embrace the fundamentals of bebop into his writing and arrangements and had been following closely the playing in this new music of one of his early idols, Dizzy Gillespie.

Growing in confidence and ability, Hefti began to compose more original material as well as arranging the music of others for Herman’s Herd and composed the tunes ‘Blowin’ Up A Storm’ and ‘Apple Honey’ that became firm favourites in the band’s shows.

Hefti’s arrangements encompassed music from many different types of jazz, and his writing of the bebop vernacular for big band was second to none.

He died in October 2008 at the age of 85, leaving behind a legacy of recorded work that will continue to be recorded and loved for many more years to come.

Essential Neal Hefti Songs

Regardless of whether you’ll be hearing these for the 1st of 10,000th time, here are 10 Neal Hefti classics to dive into on your favourite listening platform…

  • Splanky
  • Buttercup
  • Lil Darlin’
  • Flight of the Foo Birds
  • The Kid from Red Bank
  • Teddy the Toad
  • Lonely Girl
  • Cute
  • Girl Talk
  • The Batman Theme Tune

What’s your favourite?

Over just three decades, the composer-arrangerturned out masterful bop, swing and film charts with a distinctly jaunty and jovial feel. He knew how to write simple, catchy melodies and bring strings together with horns and reeds in a way that kept the music hip and light. Interested?

Willing to accept that the music scene was changing and that bebop was a new and vital musical force that was not about to disappear soon, Herman and his band began to incorporate the new music into their repertoire and charts.

His contributions as a jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger continue to be celebrated and appreciated in the music industry.

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He was perhaps best known for composing the theme music for the Batman television series of the 1960s, and for scoring the 1968 film The Odd Couple and the subsequent TV series of the same name.

He began arranging professionally in his teens, when he wrote charts for Nat Towles.

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Neal Hefti

American jazz trumpeter, composer, theme song writer and arranger
Date of Birth: 29.10.1922
Country: USA

Content:
  1. Biography of Neal Hefti
  2. Early Life
  3. Early Career
  4. Move to Los Angeles
  5. Successful Career
  6. Legacy

Biography of Neal Hefti

Neal Paul Hefti was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger.

Although he played in the trumpet section, this was when his arranging began to take precedence over his playing.

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Hefti married the band’s singer, Frances Wayne, in 1945, but neither of them remained long in the group thereafter, as they settled in New York, with the idea that Hefti would focus on being a freelance studio musician and arranger.

He listened to bebop musicians like Dizzy Gillespie in clubs, often sneaking in through the kitchen since he couldn't afford to be a paying customer.

neil hefti biography

He was also able to take fragments from one source and develop the idea further into full-blown compositions. This turned out to be a fortunate decision as Hefti met Woody Herman and joined his jazz band as a trumpeter.

The title tune for Batman TV show would also become a top ten hit for Hefti as well as the instrumental pop group, The Marketts.

He performed, recorded, and worked with the best musicians, including Frank Sinatra. The composition was written by Hefti for big band and string orchestra as a through composed piece with no solos.

During the recording sessions, alto saxophonist and bebop legend Charlie Parker was present and upon hearing the arrangement expressed an interest in being a guest soloist on the tune.

When writing ‘Repetition’, Neal Hefti had left no space in the arrangement for an improvised solo, but in the original liner notes to the album, producer Norman Granz recalls that:

“Parker actually plays on top of the original arrangement: that it gels as well as it does, is a tribute both to the flexible arrangement of Hefti and the inventive genius of Parker to adapt himself to any musical surrounding”.

Neal Hefti and Count Basie

In a big opportunity for him, in 1950 Hefti welcomed in the new decade by working for Count Basie and his Orchestra.

Whilst he started out as a trumpeter from a poor family in Nebraska, he ended up the talk of Hollywood, via years spent redefining the large ensemble sound in jazz with many of the famous big bands of the 40s and 50s, along with fellow luminaries like Don Redman, Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn.

Not convinced?

Everybody in the music business loved Neal Hefti. Hefti died Saturday at his home in Toluca Lake, said his son, Paul.