Billy May
The last of the great arrangers who wrote regularly for Frank Sinatra, Billy May had several varied careers in and out of jazz. His first notable gig was as an arranger/trumpeter with Charlie Barnet (1938-1940), for whom he wrote the wah-wah-ing hit arrangement of Ray Noble's "Cherokee." Later, he worked in the same capacities for Glenn Miller (1940-1942) and Les Brown (1942) before settling into staff jobs, first at NBC studios, then at Capitol Records, where he led his own studio big band from 1951 to 1954. His arrangements for Sinatra, beginning with Come Fly With Me (1957) and ending with Trilogy (1979), are often in a walloping, brassy, even taunting swing mode, generating some of the singer's most swaggering vocals. May also did extensive scoring for television, film, and commercials. Although May was largely inactive in the '80s and '90s , he unexpectedly surfaced in 1996 with some typically bright big band charts for comic Stan Freberg's The United States of America, Vol. 2 (Rhino), 25 years after his contributions to Vol. 1. The veteran arranger died quietly at home on January 22, 2004 at the age of 87.
© Richard S. Ginell /TiVo
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The May Parade
Jazz - Released by Turntable Recordings on 17 Jul 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Main Title Theme from "The Man with the Golden Arm" (UK Chart Top 40 - No. 9)
Film Soundtracks - Released by Music Manager on 25 Sep 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Deep River
Gogi Grant, Billy May, His Orchestra, His Chorus
Pop - Released by Vintage Jukebox on 7 Jul 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Always
Jazz - Released by Black & Partner Licenses LLC on 25 Dec 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Back In The Game
Jazz - Released by the music game companys on 9 Aug 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Easy listening - Jazz
Jazz - Released by Music Manager on 31 Jul 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Greatest Hits Collection
Jazz - Released by Music Manager on 19 May 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Remind and Reflecting
Jazz - Released by Sandmann & Walther on 28 Aug 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Splash Of Color
Jazz - Released by Sandmann & Walther on 28 Aug 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Man At His Leisure
Jazz - Released by classics & more on 18 Jul 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo