Johnny Richards
Johnny Richards was one of the more progressive-minded arrangers of the 1950s and '60s, turning out big, heavily orchestrated scores with a sometimes unabashed use of dissonance and a good feel for Latin rhythms. His music has been called "provocatively colorful," though in the case of his notoriously portentous "Prologue" for the ego-tripping Stan Kenton, simply the word "provocative" says it all. Richards grew up in Schenectady, NY, learning piano, violin, banjo, and trumpet; his mother was a concert pianist who had studied with Paderewski. He started writing film scores, first in London in 1932-1933, and then in Hollywood for the remainder of the decade, as Victor Young's assistant at Paramount while studying composition with Arnold Schoenberg. From 1940 to 1945, he led a big band and then returned to Los Angeles to arrange for Charlie Barnet and Boyd Raeburn. He also arranged a string album for Dizzy Gillespie in 1950, along with recording dates with Sarah Vaughan, Helen Merrill, and Sonny Stitt. His most famous association was with Kenton, with whom he started arranging in 1952; Kenton's album Cuban Fire! is an outstandingly flamboyant example of Richards' work. Richards continued to lead his own orchestras in 1956-1960 and 1964-1965, recording for Capitol, Coral, Roulette, and Bethlehem, and co-wrote one of Frank Sinatra's signature songs, "Young at Heart."
© Richard S. Ginell /TiVo
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Discography
11 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Walk Softly / Run Wild
Johnny Richards, His Orchestra
Jazz - Released by Vintage Masters Inc. on 1 Aug 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Annotations Of The Muses (Remastered)
Jazz - Released by RevOla on 21 Jul 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Rites of Diablo
Latin America - Released by Music Manager on 7 Feb 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Essential Jazz Masters
Jazz - Released by Vintage Masters Inc. on 15 Mar 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Voodoo - Rare Ritual Sounds & Jazz Interpretations, Vol. 8
Johnny Richards, Richard Hayman and His Orchestra
Latin America - Released by Documents 2 on 11 Aug 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Essential Jazz Collection: Rites Of Diablo
Jazz - Released by Diamond Days on 5 May 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rites of Diablo
Jazz - Released by Lumi Entertainment on 1 Jan 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
What Is There to Say / Estoy Cansado (All Tracks Remastered)
Jazz - Released by Hit Singles Records on 1 Jan 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Young-At-Heart / Neolore (Remastered 2020)
Jazz - Released by Hit Singles Records on 19 Aug 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -