Pete Rugolo(1915-2011)
- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
One of the great arrangers of the Big Band era, Sicilian-born Peter
Rugolo was five years old when his family moved to Santa Rosa,
California. He attended San Francisco College and in the
1930's studied composition under the classical composer Darius Milhaud.
After military service in World War II, he joined
Stan Kenton and His Orchestra,
where he contributed numerous distinctive arrangements and
compositions. He had a critical influence on the progressive image of
the band, which sounded unlike any other in the business. Rugolo and
Kenton formed a very close personal friendship, akin to that of
Duke Ellington and his arranger
Billy Strayhorn.
In 1949, Pete became musical director at Capitol records , where he
produced recording sessions with big name jazz stars, including
Miles Davis (he came up with the
title of Davis's ground-breaking album "The Birth of the Cool"),
Charlie Parker,
Nat 'King' Cole and
Peggy Lee. He continued a part-time
collaboration with Kenton and also arranged for Kenton's former star
vocalist June Christy (her "Something Cool"
album).
The
1950's were a busy decade for Rugolo. He briefly fronted his own band in 1954, featuring Patti Page
as his vocalist. He also had contractual affiliations first with
Columbia Records and then with Mercury Records, writing, among others,
for Sarah Vaughan. By that time,
he had branched out into musical genres other than jazz. At MGM, he was
employed as a staff composer/arranger on a number of musicals,
including Kiss Me Kate (1953) and
Easy to Love (1953). From there he
went on to prolific television work, writing the jazzy theme scores for
popular crime shows like
The Fugitive (1963) and
The Outsider (1968), as well as
westerns
(Alias Smith and Jones (1971))
and numerous TV movies. He was nominated for six Emmy Awards, of which
he won three. Retiring in 1985, Rugolo was honoured in 1993 by
receiving the Golden Score Award from the American Society of Music
Arrangers and Composers.
Rugolo was five years old when his family moved to Santa Rosa,
California. He attended San Francisco College and in the
1930's studied composition under the classical composer Darius Milhaud.
After military service in World War II, he joined
Stan Kenton and His Orchestra,
where he contributed numerous distinctive arrangements and
compositions. He had a critical influence on the progressive image of
the band, which sounded unlike any other in the business. Rugolo and
Kenton formed a very close personal friendship, akin to that of
Duke Ellington and his arranger
Billy Strayhorn.
In 1949, Pete became musical director at Capitol records , where he
produced recording sessions with big name jazz stars, including
Miles Davis (he came up with the
title of Davis's ground-breaking album "The Birth of the Cool"),
Charlie Parker,
Nat 'King' Cole and
Peggy Lee. He continued a part-time
collaboration with Kenton and also arranged for Kenton's former star
vocalist June Christy (her "Something Cool"
album).
The
1950's were a busy decade for Rugolo. He briefly fronted his own band in 1954, featuring Patti Page
as his vocalist. He also had contractual affiliations first with
Columbia Records and then with Mercury Records, writing, among others,
for Sarah Vaughan. By that time,
he had branched out into musical genres other than jazz. At MGM, he was
employed as a staff composer/arranger on a number of musicals,
including Kiss Me Kate (1953) and
Easy to Love (1953). From there he
went on to prolific television work, writing the jazzy theme scores for
popular crime shows like
The Fugitive (1963) and
The Outsider (1968), as well as
westerns
(Alias Smith and Jones (1971))
and numerous TV movies. He was nominated for six Emmy Awards, of which
he won three. Retiring in 1985, Rugolo was honoured in 1993 by
receiving the Golden Score Award from the American Society of Music
Arrangers and Composers.