Composer-arranger Johnny Mandel told me a few years ago that Tiny Kahn was among his favorite arrangers. As Johnny put it, no one could craft a flag-waver like Kahn, with huge build, drive and swing. Johnny and Kahn go back to 1944, when both were in Henry Jerome's band. Both also arranged for Woody Herman and Elliot Lawrence in the early 1950s.
Kahn also was a fabulous drummer (sticks and brushes) and cymbal stylist, as evidenced by his work behind Stan Getz on Live at Storyville from October 1951. As for drums on barn-burners, one only needs to listen to Kahn with Chubby Jackson's big band in 1949, on his own Father Knickerbopper and Tiny's Blues.
Sadly, Kahn's writing and playing genius would be short-lived. He died on Aug. 19, 1953 of a heart attack at age 29 while vacationing on Martha's Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts.
Yesterday, I listened to eight of Kahn's wonderful arrangements for Elliot Lawrence's big band: TNT, Blue Room, My Heart Stood Still, Jeepers Creepers, Who Fard That Shot?, Walkin' My Baby Back Home, Alone Together and Maybe. The first five are from Elliot Lawrence Plays Tiny Kahn & Johnny Mandel, from January 1956, while the last three are from Lawrence's Swinging at the Steel Pier in June 1956. The personnel on Kahn & Mandel features Nick Travis, Bernie Glow, Al Derisi and Stan Fishelson (tp); Eddie Bert, Urbie Green and Paul Selden (tb); Tony Miranda (fhr); Sam Marowitz and Hal McKusick (as); Al Cohn, Zoot Sims and Eddie Wasserman (ts); Charlie O'Kane (bar) Elliot Lawrence (p) Buddy Jones (b) and Sol Gubin (d). Now that's a New York band!
Kahn's arrangements are tightly written and explosive, with a firm, swinging narrative that invariably rises up and explodes. Hugely exciting music.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find three of the tracks above on Elliot Lawrence: Swinging at the Steel Pier here. The other five are on Elliot Lawrence Swings Cohn and Kahn here.
JazzWax clips: Here's Tiny Kahn's arrangement of his TNT for Elliot Lawrence...
Here's Kahn's arrangement of Blue Room, with saxophonist Al Cohn featured...
Here's Kahn's arrangement of Walkin' My Baby Back Home live at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City....
Kahn also was a fabulous drummer (sticks and brushes) and cymbal stylist, as evidenced by his work behind Stan Getz on Live at Storyville from October 1951. As for drums on barn-burners, one only needs to listen to Kahn with Chubby Jackson's big band in 1949, on his own Father Knickerbopper and Tiny's Blues.
Sadly, Kahn's writing and playing genius would be short-lived. He died on Aug. 19, 1953 of a heart attack at age 29 while vacationing on Martha's Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts.
Yesterday, I listened to eight of Kahn's wonderful arrangements for Elliot Lawrence's big band: TNT, Blue Room, My Heart Stood Still, Jeepers Creepers, Who Fard That Shot?, Walkin' My Baby Back Home, Alone Together and Maybe. The first five are from Elliot Lawrence Plays Tiny Kahn & Johnny Mandel, from January 1956, while the last three are from Lawrence's Swinging at the Steel Pier in June 1956. The personnel on Kahn & Mandel features Nick Travis, Bernie Glow, Al Derisi and Stan Fishelson (tp); Eddie Bert, Urbie Green and Paul Selden (tb); Tony Miranda (fhr); Sam Marowitz and Hal McKusick (as); Al Cohn, Zoot Sims and Eddie Wasserman (ts); Charlie O'Kane (bar) Elliot Lawrence (p) Buddy Jones (b) and Sol Gubin (d). Now that's a New York band!
Kahn's arrangements are tightly written and explosive, with a firm, swinging narrative that invariably rises up and explodes. Hugely exciting music.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find three of the tracks above on Elliot Lawrence: Swinging at the Steel Pier here. The other five are on Elliot Lawrence Swings Cohn and Kahn here.
JazzWax clips: Here's Tiny Kahn's arrangement of his TNT for Elliot Lawrence...
Here's Kahn's arrangement of Blue Room, with saxophonist Al Cohn featured...
Here's Kahn's arrangement of Walkin' My Baby Back Home live at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City....
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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