Bill Holman

One of the great arrangers, Bill Holman's dense but hard-swinging charts often had so much of value going on that they reward repeated listening. After a stint with <a href="spotify:artist:4SPws2VXOmZIiRTp75mzsb">Charlie Barnet</a> (1950-1951), Holman became well-known for his arrangements for <a href="spotify:artist:27hSR8e34ZM5vj5fUFixyb">Stan Kenton</a> (1952-1956), which helped advance the <a href="spotify:artist:27hSR8e34ZM5vj5fUFixyb">Kenton</a> sound. Although a fine tenor saxophonist, Holman's writing always overshadowed his playing. He concentrated on studio work in the 1960s, but over the years, he also wrote for <a href="spotify:artist:2KSxJY1WxGGVYSmoM0N54P">Woody Herman</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6T4kUHIlszpj944ZXR3yNw">Maynard Ferguson</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6l40OFJhuTbHQ9V12evc9K">Gerry Mulligan</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2jFZlvIea42ZvcCw4OeEdA">Count Basie</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:1pVtwG5Up1OZOEpSHJ4AAs">Buddy Rich</a>, among others. Holman wrote the charts for <a href="spotify:artist:5tTsrGPwQRWUsHR2Xf7Ke9">Natalie Cole</a>'s best-selling Unforgettable album (1991) and led his own part-time big band in the Los Angeles area from 1975 onward. He recorded as a leader for the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Capitol%22">Capitol</a>, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Coral%22">Coral</a> (reissued on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sackville%22">Sackville</a>), <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Andex%22">Andex</a>, and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Hi+Fi%22">Hi Fi</a> labels between 1954-1960, and in the late '80s and early '90s, his Los Angeles band was documented by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22JVC%22">JVC</a>. Bill Holman died on May 7, 2024, at the age of 96. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi

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