Joe Lipman | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Joseph P. Lippman |
| Born | (1915-04-23)April 23, 1915 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | January 21, 2007(2007-01-21) (aged 91) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
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| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1936–1990 |
| Labels | |
Joseph P. Lippman (April 23, 1915 - January 21, 2007) was an American composer, arranger, conductor, pianist, and songwriter working injazz and traditional pop. His musical career was over five decades long, having started at age 19 with theBenny Goodman orchestra in 1934 and writing for television, films, and Broadway in the 1980s. He composed and arranged forBunny Berigan,Jimmy Dorsey,Sarah Vaughan,Charlie Parker and worked as staff arranger in television forPerry Como andHollywood Palace.
Lipman was bornBoston, Massachusetts on April 23, 1915.[1] He started on the piano at the age of 7. After high school he attended college for two weeks but decided he to become a professional musician. At the age of 19, Lipman moved to New York City and joined theBenny Goodman orchestra on hisLet's Dance radio show in 1934 and 1935 as a pianist.[1] He encountered the arrangements and compositions that Goodman acquired fromFletcher Henderson.[2][3][4] He arranged forVincent Lopez, and worked as pianist and arranger for Bill Staffon in 1935 andIrving Aaronson in 1936, and became pianist and arranger with theArtie Shaw Orchestra in 1936.[5][1] Lipman also played for and recorded with orchestra leaderNathaniel Shilkret in early 1937.
In 1937 Lipman joinedBunny Berigan's band as pianist and remained in that position untilJoe Bushkin took over in 1938.[3] He re-orchestrated Berigan's second version of "I Can't Get Started" (1937).[6][7] These Lipman arrangements included the 1938/39 concept album forRCA-Victor ofBix Beiderbecke's music featuring Berigan on re-arrangements of Beiderbecke's hits from the late 1920s (Bunny Plays Bix).[3][8] On Saturday November 19, 1938, Berigan's group appeared onCBS's radio show,Saturday Night Swing Club with a contingent of nine musicians from his big band playing Lipman's new arrangement of Bix's compositionIn a Mist. From that same album he also arranged "Davenport Blues", "In the Dark", and "Candlelights".[6] Though not a great commercial success, the album was to help Lipman move into a greater position as an arranger for more jazz and dance bands of the era. By the end of 1939 he was not writing arrangements for Berigan's band any longer. His arrangement on "Jazz Me Blues" would be the last he submitted.
Lipman's time with Berigan was successful but tumultuous and short lived; in August 1939 he replacedFreddie Slack to become the pianist and chief arranger forJimmy Dorsey and stayed with the group almost three years.[6][3][1] Unlike his tenure with the Berigan organization, Dorsey's band was already achieving success and had a sound of its own. Lipman wrote a string of titles for the Jimmy Dorsey band, including , "Turn Left", "Turn Right", "Murderistic", "Aurora", "Bar Babble" and "Major and Minor Stomp".[9] He produced more popular dance material that was challenging for the band like that of arrangersJimmy Mundy orJerry Gray. He remained with the Jimmy Dorsey band until February 1942, when he was replaced byJohnny Guarnieri. He wrote hits forGlenn Miller such as "Blue Evening" and was helped by the success of bands led byArtie Shaw andLes Brown.[3][10]
After writing for Les Brown and others during the early 1940s, Lipman was at the forefront of writing and arranging for a new generation of jazz and popular musicians. Bebop was emerging in the work ofCharlie Parker,Dizzy Gillespie, andMiles Davis.
In 1948 vocalistSarah Vaughan contracted withColumbia Records, and Lipman was hired to arrange the song "Black Coffee" for her. His arrangement and rendering by Vaughan delivered a moody dirge about a woman's lonely fate. "Black Coffee" rose to No. 13 on theBillboard magazine pop chart in June 1949.[11] He arranged a long list of hits that boosted Vaughan's popularity in the U.S. and U.K. Other songs he arranged for her included "Tonight I Shall Sleep With a Smile on My Face",You're Mine You", "You Taught Me to Love You Again", "Summertime", "While You're Gone", and "Bianca". In 1951 he arranged four songs forDedicated to You, an album of duets between Vaughan andBilly Eckstine. He was contracted to write an arrangement "et (Jet, My Love)" forNat King Cole in late 1950.[12] In April 1951 he arranged and conducted theCapitol Records sessions forMel Torme to record the two sides "Who Sends You Orchids" and "(I'm Sending You a) Bunch of Love".[13]
Lipman's reputation as a conductor and arranger grew as he contracted withMGM. On June 18, 1954, MGM issued the albumManhattan Serenade by Joe Lipman and his Orchestra.[14]
Lipman was the musical director on the recording of theEileen Barton No. 1 hit "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake" in 1949.Kay Thompson was paired with Lipman as her arranger and musical director in the recording studio. The 1955 albumKay Thompson Sings shows Lipman as a theatrical musical arranger. Popular singers and entertainers he wrote and arranged for through MGM during this time includeVic Damone,Betty Madigan,Kay Armen,Bill Tabbert,Jan August,Ginny Gibson,Ella Mae Morse,Fran Warren, andBob Crosby.
Charlie Parker and his producerNorman Granz organized recording sessions in 1949 and 1950 that would culminate in the albumCharlie Parker with Strings.[15] While arranger Jimmy Carroll designed the first set of tracks, Lipman was contracted to arrange the second session (studio recordings of July 1950).[16] These were Parker's most popular songs during his lifetime and were admitted to theGrammy Hall of Fame in 1988. With the success of first singles released from theParker with Strings sessions, Granz and Parker agreed to record Parker in a big band session.[17][18] The sessions were recorded from July 5, 1950 to March 25, 1952 and arranged by Lipman with Parker's approval, comprisingCharlie Parker Big Band with two tracks added from earlier sessions.[16][19] Singles appeared on the radio and record stores, but the album wasn't released until 1954.
After successes with Vaughan, Cole, and Parker, Lipman was hired to write arrangements for Perry Como's first album,So Smooth, the beginning of a long, successful collaboration. Lipman worked on Como's staff from 1957 to 1962 forPerry Como's Kraft Music Hall. He also worked onThe Pat Boone Chevy Showroom and withConnie Francis. After ten unsuccessful singles, Francis went into the studio with Lipman and his orchestra.[20] The result was a version of the 1923 song "Who's Sorry Now", and it was released on New Year's Day during a telecast of Dick Clark'sAmerican Bandstand. It was a hit in the U.S. and U.K. Lipman was musical director on the singles "Carolina Moon", "I'm Sorry I Made You Cry", "You Were Only Fooling" and "Lock Up Your Heart".
By early 1963, Perry Como was uncertain if he would continue making regular television appearances and eventually would end his long running weekly series.[21] His uncertainty caused Como's conductorMitchell Ayres to accept an offer to become the conductor for a television show in Los Angeles. Ayres asked Lipman to become staff arranger, so Lipman moved in 1963 and worked on the television variety programThe Hollywood Palace, which premiered in early 1964. The show had a six-year run from January 1964 through February 1970 (194 episodes). With different guest hosts every week, the show competed withThe Ed Sullivan Show.The Hollywood Palace mimicked avaudeville variety stage production being donelive to tape atThe Hollywood Palace Theater. Lipman was required to write arrangements every week for the telecast. In 1966 he received anEmmy Award nomination for his orchestration and arranging work.[22]
His career includes orchestrations and ghost writing for Broadway shows, film scores, and television shows. He co-wrote the arrangements withHenri René for the 1964 releaseDavid Merrick Presents Hits from His Broadway Hits featuringJohn Gary andAnn-Margret. He worked on the orchestration staff forLionel Newman andJerry Herman to produce the 1969Academy Award winning film score for the musicalHello Dolly! Also notably during this time, Lipman was the main orchestrator forSammy Davis Jr.sSammy Stops the World (1978) television special which was an adaptation of the hit musicalStop the World – I Want to Get Off. Lipman would earn a second Emmy nomination for "Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction" in 1980 forThe Big Show.[22]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Hollywood Palace | Individual Achievements In Music - Arranging | Nominated |
| 1980 | The Big Show | Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction | Nominated |
| Year | Award | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Best Music, Score of a Musical Picture | Hello Dolly! | Won |
WithBunny Berigan
WithPerry Como
WithBenny Goodman
WithGisèle MacKenzie
WithDavid Merrick
WithCharlie Parker
WithArtie Shaw
WithSarah Vaughan
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