A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music.

Most bandleaders are also performers with their own band. The bandleader role is dependent on a variety of skills, not just musicianship. A bandleader needs to be a music director and performer. Often the bands are named after their bandleaders. Some older bands have continued operating under their bandleaders' names long after the death of the original bandleader.

Noted American bandleaders and their instruments

Harold B. Bachman

Count Basie - piano

Terence Blanchard - trumpet

Will Bradley - trombone

Les Brown - saxophone

James Brown - singer

Dave Brubeck - piano

Cab Calloway - singer

George Clinton - keyboard, vocals

John Coltrane - saxophone

Patrick “Patsy” Conway - cornet

Miles Davis - trumpet

Jimmy Dorsey - saxophone

Tommy Dorsey - trombone

Duke Ellington - piano

Edwin Franko Goldman

Buddy Guy - guitar, singer

Benny Goodman - clarinet

Lionel Hampton - vibraphone, percussion

Bill Haley - guitar, singer

Albert Austin Harding

Emmylou Harris - guitar, singer

Isaac Hayes - singer

Jimi Hendrix - guitar, singer

Woody Herman - clarinet

Buddy Holly - guitar, singer

Elmore James - guitar, singer

BB King - guitar, singer

Jimmie Lunceford - saxophone

Pat Metheny - guitar

Glenn Miller - trombone

Charles Mingus - bass

Rickey Minor - bass

Dave Mustaine - guitar, singer

Mike Ness - guitar, singer-songwriter

Buck Owens - guitar

Jimmy Palao - Violin, Cornet

Gloria Parker - Marimba

George Paxton - tenor saxophone

Tom Petty - singer, guitar

Mike Portnoy - drums

Arthur Pryor - trombone

Buddy Rich - drum kit

Little Richard - piano, singer

Omar Rodríguez-López - guitar, vocals

Billie Joe Armstrong - guitar, vocals, piano

B.A. Rolfe - trumpet

Jon Schaffer - guitar, vocals

Paul Shaffer - keyboards

Artie Shaw - clarinet

Lew Soloff - Trumpet, Flugelhorn

John Philip Sousa - wind instruments

Bruce Springsteen - guitar, singer

Lew Tabackin - tenor saxophone, flute

Gary Tole - trombone

Derek Trucks - guitar

Ernest Tubb - singer-songwriter

Tommy Tucker - piano

Ike Turner - guitar, piano

Rebekah Vangorde - flute

Muddy Waters - guitar, singer

Max Weinberg - drums

Lawrence Welk - accordion

Barry White - singer

Jack White - guitar, singer, drums

Maurice White - percussion

Paul Whiteman - violin

Anna Mae Winburn - singer

Frank Zappa - guitar, singer

British bandleaders

Bert Ambrose

Ian Anderson - flute, guitar, singer

Gary Barlow - singer

Jeff Beck - guitar

Ian Gillan - singer

Acker Bilk - clarinet

John Barry

Ritchie Blackmore - guitar

David Bowie - saxophone, guitar, singer

Gerald Bright - (Geraldo)

Elvis Costello - guitar, singer

Billy Cotton

Stewart Copeland - drummer

Alex Harvey - singer

Ted Heath - trombone

Julian Miles "Jools" Holland - piano

Spike Hughes

Jack Hylton

Yusuf Islam - guitar, singer

Max Jaffa - violin

Elton John - piano, singer

Cab Kaye - drums, guitar, piano, singer

Mark Knopfler - guitar, singer

Geoff Love

Joe Loss

Humphrey Lyttelton - trumpet

John McLaughlin (musician) - guitar

Michael Nyman - piano

Simon Park

Jack Payne

Johnny Pearson

Rod Stewart - singer

Les Reed

Italian bandleaders

Pippo Barzizza

Renato Carosone - piano

Gorni Kramer

Mantovani

Swedish bandleaders

Yngwie J. Malmsteen - guitar

Helmut Jederknüller - drums

Mikael Åkerfeldt - guitar, singer

Dutch bandleaders

Michiel Borstlap

Michiel Braam

Willem Breuker - trumpet

Jack Coenen - trombone, leading the Jack Million Band specialized in the music of Glenn Miller

Tonny Eijk

Pim Jacobs

Erik van der Luijt

Malando - violin

Rogier van Otterloo

André Rieu - violin

Cees Schrama - keyboards

Joop Stokkermans - piano

Lajos Veres - multi-instrumentalist, mostly violin

German bandleaders

Peter Herbolzheimer

Bert Kaempfert

Uli Jon Roth - guitar

Michael Schenker - guitar

James Last - double bass

Max Raabe - singer

Muhammed Suiçmez - guitarist, vocalist

Tobias Sammet - vocalist, bass

French bandleaders

Raymond Lefevre

Paul Mauriat

Franck Pourcel

Belgian bandleaders

Francis Bay

Jack Coenen - trombone, leading the Jack Million Band specialized in the music of Glenn Miller

Argentine bandleaders

Waldo de los Rios

Ricardo Iorio

Japanese bandleaders

Keisuke Kuwata - guitar, multi-instrumentalist

Toshiko Akiyoshi - piano

Michiro Endo - vocals

Yoshiki - drums, piano

J - bass

Tetsuya - bass

Sakura - drums

Tetsu Takano - vocals, guitar

Kaoru - guitar

Kai - drums

Australian bandleaders

Stuart Lang - cornet

Mark "Slim" Roberts - cornet, trumpet

See also

Bandmaster

* Category:Occupations in music

da:Dirigent (musik) de:Bandleader es:Líder de banda it:Bandleader he:מוביל הרכב hu:Zenekarvezető nl:Orkestleider ja:バンドマスター no:Orkesterleder ru:Бэнд-лидер simple:Bandleader sv:Orkesterledare

name	Cab Calloway
background	solo_singer
birth name	Cabell Calloway III
born	December 25, 1907Rochester, New York, U.S.
died	November 18, 1994Hockessin, Delaware, U.S.
instrument	Vocals
genre	Jazz, blues
occupation	Bandleader, singer-songwriter
years active	1930–1994
website	http://www.cabcalloway.com}}

Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader.

Calloway was a master of energetic scat singing and led one of the United States' most popular African American big bands from the start of the 1930s through the late 1940s. Calloway's band featured performers including trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham, saxophonists Ben Webster and Leon "Chu" Berry, New Orleans guitar ace Danny Barker, and bassist Milt Hinton. Calloway continued to perform until his death in 1994 at the age of 86.

Biography

Early years

Cab Calloway was born in a middle-class family in Rochester, New York, on Christmas Day in 1907 and lived there until 1918, on Sycamore Street. He was later raised in Baltimore, Maryland. His father, Cabell Calloway II, was a lawyer and his mother, Martha Eulalia Reed, was a teacher and church organist. When Cab was young, he enjoyed singing in church. His parents recognized their son's musical talent and he began private voice lessons in 1922. He continued to study music and voice throughout his formal schooling. Despite his parents' and vocal teachers' disapproval of jazz, Calloway began frequenting and eventually performing in many of Baltimore's jazz clubs, where he was mentored by drummer Chick Webb and pianist Johnny Jones.

After graduating from Frederick Douglass High School Calloway joined his older sister, Blanche, in a touring production of the popular black musical revue ''Plantation Days.'' (Blanche Calloway herself would become an accomplished bandleader before her brother, and he would often credit her as his inspiration for entering show business.) Calloway attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, but left in 1930 without graduating.

When the tour ended in Chicago in the fall, Calloway decided to remain in Chicago with his sister, who had an established career as a jazz singer in that city. His parents had hopes of their son becoming a lawyer like his father, so Calloway enrolled in Crane College. His main interest, however, was in singing and entertaining, and he spent most of his nights at the Dreamland Ballroom, the Sunset Cafe, and the Club Berlin, performing as a drummer, singer and emcee.

At the Sunset Cafe he met and performed with Louis Armstrong who taught him to sing in the "scat" style.

Success

The Cotton Club was the premier jazz venue in the country, and Calloway and his orchestra (he had taken over a brilliant but failing band called "The Missourians" in 1930) were hired as a replacement for the Duke Ellington Orchestra while they were touring. Calloway quickly proved so popular that his band became the "co-house" band with Ellington's, and his group began touring nationwide when not playing the Cotton Club. Their popularity was greatly enhanced by the twice-weekly live national radio broadcasts on NBC at the Cotton Club. Calloway also appeared on Walter Winchell's radio program and with Bing Crosby in his show at New York's Paramount Theatre. As a result of these appearances, Calloway, together with Ellington, broke the major broadcast network color barrier.

Like other bands fronted by a singing bandleader, Calloway initially gave ample soloist space to its lead members and, through the varied arrangements of Walter 'Foots' Thomas, provided much more in the way of musical interest. Many of his records were "vocal specialities" with Calloway's vocal taking up the majority of the record.

In 1931 he recorded his most famous song, "Minnie the Moocher". That song, along with "St. James Infirmary Blues" and "The Old Man Of The Mountain," were performed for the Betty Boop animated shorts ''Minnie the Moocher'', ''Snow White'' and ''The Old Man of the Mountain'', respectively. Through rotoscoping, Calloway not only gave his voice to these cartoons, but his dance steps as well. He took advantage of this and timed his concerts in some communities with the release of the films in order to make the most of the attention. As a result of the success of "Minnie the Moocher," he became identified with its chorus, gaining the nickname "The Hi De Ho Man". He also performed in a series of short films for Paramount in the 1930s. (Calloway and Ellington were featured on film more than any other jazz orchestras of the era.) In these films, Calloway can be seen performing a gliding backstep dance move, the precursor to Michael Jackson's "moonwalk"—Calloway said fifty years later, "it was called The Buzz back then." The 1933 film, International House featured Calloway performing his classic song, "Reefer Man," a tune about a man who favors marijuana cigarettes.

Calloway made his "first proper Hollywood movie appearance" opposite Al Jolson in ''The Singing Kid'' in 1936. He sang a number of duets with Jolson, and the film included Calloway's band and cast of twenty-two Cotton Club dancers from New York. According to music historian Arthur Knight, the film aimed in part "to both erase and celebrate boundaries and differences, including most emphatically the color line." He also notes that "when Calloway begins singing in his characteristic style – in which the words are tools for exploring rhythm and stretching melody – it becomes clear that American culture is changing around Jolson and with (and through) Calloway. . ."

Calloway's was one of the most popular American jazz bands of the 1930s, recording prolifically for Brunswick and the ARC dime store labels (Banner, Cameo, Conqueror, Perfect, Melotone, Banner, Oriole, etc.) from 1930–1932, when he signed with Victor for a year. He was back on Brunswick in late 1934 through 1936, when he signed with manager Irving Mills's short-lived Variety in 1937, and stayed with Mills when the label collapsed and the sessions were continued on Vocalion through 1939, and then OKeh through 1942. After the recording ban due to the 1942-44 musicians' strike ended, he continued to record prolifically.

Calloway's vocal style is a blend of hot scat singing and improvisation coupled with a very traditional vaudeville-like singing style. Many of his ballads are devoid of tone bending jazz styling.

In 1941 Calloway fired Dizzy Gillespie from his orchestra after an onstage fracas erupted when Calloway was hit with spitballs. He wrongly accused Gillespie, who stabbed Calloway in the leg with a small knife.

In 1943 Calloway appeared in the high-profile 20th Century Fox musical film, ''Stormy Weather''.

In 1944 ''The New Cab Calloway's Hepsters Dictionary: Language of Jive'' was published, an update of an earlier book in which Calloway set about translating jive for fans who might not know, for example, that "kicking the gong around" was a reference to smoking opium.

Later years

In the 1950s Calloway moved his family from Long Island, New York to Greenburgh, New York, to raise the three youngest of his five daughters.

In his later career Calloway appeared in a number of films and stage productions that utilized both his acting and singing talents. In 1952 he played the prominent role of "Sportin' Life" in a production of the Gershwin opera ''Porgy and Bess'' with William Warfield and Leontyne Price as the title characters. Another notable role was "Yeller" in ''The Cincinnati Kid'' (1965), with Steve McQueen, Ann-Margret and Edward G. Robinson. Calloway appeared on the ''Ed Sullivan Show'' on March 19, 1967 with Chris Calloway. In 1967, Calloway co-starred opposite Pearl Bailey as Horace Vandergelder in an all-black cast change of ''Hello, Dolly!'' on Broadway during its original run. It revived flagging business for the show and RCA released a new cast recording, rare for the time. In 1973–1974, Calloway was featured in an unsuccessful Broadway revival of ''The Pajama Game'' alongside Hal Linden and Barbara McNair.

1976 saw the release of his autobiography, ''Of Minnie The Moocher And Me'' (Crowell). It included his complete ''Hepsters Dictionary'' as an appendix.

Calloway attracted renewed interest in 1980 when he appeared as a supporting character in the film ''The Blues Brothers'', performing "Minnie the Moocher", and again when he sang "The Jumpin' Jive" with the Two-Headed Monster on ''Sesame Street''. This was also the year the cult movie ''Forbidden Zone'' was released, which included rearrangements of, and homages to, Calloway songs written by Danny Elfman, a Calloway fan.

Calloway helped establish the Cab Calloway Museum at Coppin State College (Baltimore, Maryland) in the 1980s, and Bill Cosby helped establish a scholarship in Calloway's name at the New School for Social Research New York City. In 1994, a creative and performing arts school, the Cab Calloway School of the Arts, was dedicated in his name in Wilmington, Delaware.

In 1986, Calloway appeared at World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s ''WrestleMania 2'' as a guest judge for a boxing match between Rowdy Roddy Piper and Mr. T that took place at the Nassau Coliseum. Also in 1986, he headlined to great success a gala ball for 4,000 celebrating the grand opening of one of the top hotels in the US at the time, the Dallas-based Rosewood Hotel Co.'s Hotel Crescent Court in Dallas, Texas. In 1990, he was the focus of Janet Jackson's 1930s-themed music video "Alright", appearing as himself at the end. In the United Kingdom, he also appeared in several commercials for the Hula Hoops snack, both as himself and as a voice for a cartoon (in one of these commercials he sang his hit "Minnie The Moocher"). He also made an appearance at the Apollo Theatre.

In May 1994, Calloway suffered a stroke. He died six months later on November 18, 1994. His body was cremated and his ashes were given to his family. Upon the death of his wife Zulme "Nuffie" Calloway on October 13, 2008, his ashes were interred next to her at Ferncliffe Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.

Honors

In 1993, the University of Rochester presented Calloway with the honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts.

In 1993, he was presented with the National Medal of Arts. In 1998, The Cab Calloway Orchestra (directed by Calloway's grandson C. "CB" Calloway Brooks) was formed to honor his legacy on the national and international levels.

Selected awards and recognitions

Grammy history

{| class=wikitable |- ! Year ! Category ! Title ! Label ! Result ! Notes |- align=center | 2008 | Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award | | | Honoree |- align=center | 1999 | Grammy Hall of Fame Award | Minnie the Moocher | Brunswick (1931) | Inducted | Jazz (Single) |- align=center |}

Other honors

{| class=wikitable ! Year ! Category ! Title ! Result ! Notes |- align=center | 1987 | Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame | | Inducted |- align=center | 1967 | Best Performances | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Winner | Hello, Dolly Musical |- align=center |}

Stage appearances

''Porgy and Bess'' (1953)

''Hello, Dolly!'' (replacement in 1967)

''The Pajama Game'' (1973)

''Bubbling Brown Sugar'' (1976)

''Uptown...It's Hot!'' (1986)

Filmography

;Features:

''The Big Broadcast'' (1932)

''International House'' (1933)

''The Singing Kid'' (1936)

''Manhattan Merry-Go-Round'' (1937)

''Stormy Weather'' (1943)

''Sensations of 1945'' (1944)

''Ebony Parade'' (1947)

''Hi De Ho'' (1947)

''Rhythm and Blues Revue'' (1955)

''St. Louis Blues'' (1958)

''Schlager-Raketen'' (1960)

''The Cincinnati Kid'' (1965)

''The Blues Brothers'' (1980)

;Short Subjects:

''Minnie the Moocher'' (1932)

''Snow-White'' (1933) (voice)

''The Old Man of the Mountain'' (1933)

''Betty Boop's Rise to Fame'' (1934) (voice)

''Cab Calloway's Hi-De-Ho'' (1934)

''Cab Calloway's Jitterbug Party'' (1935)

''Hi De Ho'' (1937)

''Mother Goose Goes Hollywood'' (1938)

''Meet the Maestros'' (1938)

''Caldonia'' (1945)

''Basin Street Revue'' (1956)

References

External links

Cab Calloway at Notable Names Database

Cab Calloway at This Joint Is Jumpin'

Cab Calloway complete discography (albums only)

The Official Homepage of The Cab Calloway Orchestra, directed by Christopher Brooks (including a list of all recordings)

The Dreamland Ballroom Website

The Hi de Ho Blog, French website dedicated to Cab, his musicians and the Swing era

YouTube video: Cab Calloway - Reefer Man.

''Jazz, the Rough Guide'' by Ian Carr, Digby Fairweather and Brian Priestly; Penguin Books, 1995; pp. 96–97; ISBN 1-85828-137-7

NPR's "Jazz profiles"

Cab Calloway: 'A Hi De Ho Centennial' another program in NPR's "Jazz Profiles" series

"Cab Calloway: Original Rapper", ''PopMatters'' column (11/2005)

1931 German broadcast recording of a live performance in Cotton Club, New York City

Music from Internet Archive

Category:1907 births Category:1994 deaths Category:African American musicians Category:American dancers Category:American Episcopalians Category:American jazz bandleaders Category:American jazz singers Category:Big band bandleaders Category:Converts to Anglicanism Category:Deaths from stroke Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Jive singers Category:Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) alumni Category:People from Baltimore, Maryland Category:People from New Castle County, Delaware Category:People from Rochester, New York Category:Swing bandleaders Category:Bell Records artists Category:Vocalion Records artists Category:Swing singers Category:Vaudeville performers Category:Scat singers

da:Cab Calloway de:Cab Calloway el:Καμπ Κάλογουεϊ es:Cab Calloway eo:Cab Calloway fr:Cab Calloway io:Cab Calloway it:Cab Calloway he:קאב קאלוויי la:Cab Calloway hu:Cab Calloway nl:Cab Calloway ja:キャブ・キャロウェイ no:Cab Calloway pl:Cab Calloway pt:Cab Calloway ru:Кэб Кэллоуэй sc:Cab Calloway simple:Cab Calloway sk:Cab Calloway fi:Cab Calloway sv:Cab Calloway tl:Cab Calloway zh:凱伯·凱洛威

Arsenio Rodríguez (born ''Ignacio Arsenio Travieso Scull'', Gúira de Macurijes, 31 August 1911 – Los Angeles, 31 December 1970) was a Cuban musician who played the ''tres'' (Cuban guitar), reorganized the conjunto and developed the son montuno, and other Afro-Cuban rhythms in the 1940s and 50s. He claimed to be the true creator of the mambo, and was an important and prolific composer who wrote nearly two hundred song lyrics.

Early life

Rodrígues was born in Güira de Macurijes in Bolondrón, Matanzas Province as the third of fifteen children, fourteen boys and one girl. As a young child, Rodríguez was blinded when a horse (or a mule) kicked him in the head.

Rise to Fame

Later, he became a musician, and eventually became one of the most renowned bandleaders on the island earning him the nickname ''El Ciego Maravilloso'' (the marvellous blind man). His music emphasized Afro-Cuban rhythm as well as the melodic lead of the tres, which he played. In 1936 he played his own compositions with the Sexteto Boston, led by his cousin Jacinto Scull. This disbanded in 1937, and he joined the Septeto Bellamar of cornetist José Interián in 1938. From 1940 to 1947 he led a band in Cuba, ''Arsenio Rodríguez y su Conjunto''.

He then went to New York where he hoped to get cured from his blindness but was told that his optic nerves had been completely destroyed. This experience led him to compose the bolero ''La Vida es un Sueño'' (Life is a dream). He went on to play with percussionist Chano Pozo and other great musical artists of what became Latin Jazz like Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, and Mario Bauza.

Arsenio's bassist and close friend for eight years Alfonso "El Panameño" Joseph as well as other members of Arsenio's band, such as Julian Lianos, who performed with Arsenio at the Palladium Ballroom in New York during the 1960s, have had their legacies documented in a national television production called ''La Epoca'', expected to be released in theaters across the US in September 2008 and in Latin America in 2009. He had much success in the US and migrated there in 1952 one of the reasons being the better pay of musicians.

Innovations

Rodríguez improved the sonority of the Cuban septetos by using two or three trumpets instead of one, and introduced a piano, and later a conguero (conga drummer). His bongo player played the cencerro during montunos, which raised the sound level still further. These larger groups (8-12 musicians) were called conjuntos. Rodríguez also added a new repertoire and a variety of rhythms and harmonic concepts to enrich the son, the bolero, the guaracha and some fusions, such as the bolero-mambo and the bolero-son. Similar changes had been made somewhat earlier by the Lecuona Cuban Boys, who (because they were mainly a touring band) had less influence in Cuba. The overall 'feel' of the Rodríguez conjunto was more African than other Cuban conjuntos.

Rodríguez' claim to have invented the mambo is not really convincing, if by mambo he meant the big-band arrangements of Pérez Prado. Rodríguez was not an arranger: his lyrics and musical ideas were worked over by the group's arranger. The compositions were published with just the minimal bass and treble piano lines. To achieve the big-band mambo such as by Prado or Tito Puente requires a full orchestration where the trumpets play counterpoint to the rhythm of the saxophones. This, a fusion of Cuban with big-band jazz ideas, is not found in Rodríguez, whose musical forms are set in the traditional categories of Cuban music: the bolero, the son, the guaguancó and their various fusions. He wrote La fonda de el bienvenido, Mami me gusto, papa upa.

Later life and death

At the end of the 1960s the mambo craze petered out, and Rodríguez continued to play in his typical style, although he did record some boogaloo numbers, without much success. As times changed, the popularity of his group declined. He tried a new start in Los Angeles. He invited Joseph to fly out to Los Angeles with him but died only a week later. Arsenio died in 1970 and his body was returned for burial to New York. There is much speculation about his financial status during his last years, but Mario Bauza denied that he died in poverty, arguing that Rodríguez had a modest income from royalties.

Tributes

Of the many tributes to Arsenio Rodríguez four are of special interest. The first, in 1972, was a Larry Harlow LP ''Tribute to Arsenio Rodríguez'', Fania 404. On this, five of the numbers had been recorded earlier by Rodriguez' conjunto. Later, in 1994, The Cuban band Sierra Maestra recorded a CD ''Sierra Maestra: Dundunbanza!'', World Circuit WCD 041. This had four Rodríguez numbers at full length. Jazz guitarist Marc Ribot recorded two albums made mostly of Rodríguez' compositions or songs in his repertoire called ''Marc Ribot y los Cubanos Postizos'' and ''Muy Divertido!''.

Arsenio Rodriguez is mentioned in a national television production called ''La época'', about the Palladium-era in New York, and Afro-Cuban music. The film discusses Arsenio's contributions, and features some of the musicians he recorded with. Others interviewed in the movie ''840AM Interview'' include the daughter of legendary Cuban percussionist Mongo Sanatamaria – Ileana Santamaria, bongocero Luis Mangual and others.

References

There is a useful discography in García, David F. 2006. ''Arsenio Rodríguez and the transnational flows of Latin popular music''. Philadelphia. p147 et seq. This includes 78rpm, LPs and CDs.

Category:1911 births Category:1970 deaths Category:Burials at Ferncliff Cemetery Category:Cuban musicians Category:Blind musicians Category:Cuban songwriters Category:Bandleaders Category:Tres players

cs:Arsenio Rodríguez de:Arsenio Rodríguez es:Arsenio Rodríguez fr:Arsenio Rodriguez gl:Arsenio Rodríguez ru:Родригес, Арсенио

This is a list of people whose names in English are commonly appended with the phrase "''the Great''", or who were called that or an equivalent phrase in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes such as ''e Bozorg'' and ''e azam'' in Persian and Urdu respectively.

In Persia, the title "the Great" at first seems to be a colloquial version of the Old Persian title "Great King". This title was first used by the conqueror Cyrus II of Persia.

The Persian title was inherited by Alexander III of Macedon (336–323 BC) when he conquered the Persian Empire, and the epithet "Great" eventually became personally associated with him. The first reference (in a comedy by Plautus) assumes that everyone knew who "Alexander the Great" was; however, there is no earlier evidence that Alexander III of Macedon was called "''the Great''".

The early Seleucid kings, who succeeded Alexander in Persia, used "Great King" in local documents, but the title was most notably used for Antiochus the Great (223–187 BC).

Later rulers and commanders began to use the epithet "the Great" as a personal name, like the Roman general Pompey. Others received the surname retrospectively, like the Carthaginian Hanno and the Indian emperor Ashoka the Great. Once the surname gained currency, it was also used as an honorific surname for people without political careers, like the philosopher Albert the Great.

As there are no objective criteria for "greatness", the persistence of later generations in using the designation greatly varies. For example, Louis XIV of France was often referred to as "The Great" in his lifetime but is rarely called such nowadays, while Frederick II of Prussia is still called "The Great". A later Hohenzollern - Wilhelm I - was often called "The Great" in the time of his grandson Wilhelm II, but rarely later.

Rulers

Abbas I of Persia (1571-1629), Shah of Iran

Akbar (1542-1605), ruler of the Mughal Empire of South Asia, mainly India

Alain I of Albret (1440-1522), French aristocrat

Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), King of Macedonia, Persia, Greece, Egypt, and all of Mesopotamia

Alexander I of Georgia (1386–1446), King of Georgia

Alfonso III of León (c. 848-910), King of León, Galicia and Asturias

Alfred the Great (848/849-899), King of Wessex

Antiochus III the Great (c. 241–187 BC), ruler of the Seleucid Empire

Ashoka the Great (c. 304–232 BC), Indian emperor of the Maurya dynasty

Ashot I of Iberia “the Great”(died 826/830), presiding prince of Iberia (modern Georgia),

Askia Mohammad I (c. 1442–1538), ruler of the Songhai Empire

Bhumibol Adulyadej (born 1927), King of Thailand

Bolesław I Chrobry (967-1025), sometimes called "the Great", first King of Poland

Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the following section)

Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (1736-1809), founder and ruler of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (in what is now Thailand)

Cnut the Great (c. 985 or 995-1035), King of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden

Casimir III the Great (1310-1370), King of Poland

Catherine the Great (1729-1796), Empress of Russian

Chandragupta II (reigned 375-413/415), also known as Vikramaditya, ruler of the Gupta empire in India

Charlemagne (died 814), King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans

Chulalongkorn (1853-1910), King of Siam (now Thailand)

Chlothar II (584-629), King of Neustria and King of the Franks

Conrad, Margrave of Meissen (c. 1097-1157), Margrave of Meissen

Constantine I (c. 272-337), Roman Emperor

Cyrus the Great (c. 600 BC or 576 BC–530 BC), founder and ruler of the Persian or Achaemenid Empire

Darius the Great (550 – 486 BC), third ruler of the Persian Empire

Devapala (died 850), ruler of the Pala Empire in the Indian subcontinent

Dionysius I, Greek tyrant of Syracuse

Ferdinand I of León and Castile (c. 1015–1065), King of León and Count of Castile

Frederick the Great (1712-1786), King of Prussia

Genghis Khan (1162?-1227), founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire

Gero (c. 900–965), ruler of Marca Geronis, a very large march in Europe

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (1594-1632), King of Sweden, founder of the Swedish Empire, and noted military leader

Gwanggaeto the Great, King of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea

Hanno the Great, the name of three leaders of Carthage, in the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd centuries BC

Henry I, Duke of Burgundy (946–1002)

Henry IV of France (1553-1610), King of France and King of Navarre

Herod the Great (73/74 BC-4 BC), King of Judea

Hugh the Great (898-956), Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris

Hugh Magnus of France (1007-1025), co-King of France

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Rajendra Chola I (reigned 1014-1044), Tamil King of India

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Emmy the Great, folk singer

Matteo Rosso the Great, Roman politician and father of Pope Nicholas III

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See also

Epithet

List of monarchs by nickname

List of nicknames of European Royalty and Nobility: G-I

James, son of Zebedee, also known as James the Greater, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus

Ajax (mythology), called Ajax the Greater

Notes

Category:Monarchs Great, List of people known as The Category:Greatest Nationals Category:Epithets

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name	Gene Krupa
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	Eugene Bertram Krupa
born	January 15, 1909Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
died	October 16, 1973Yonkers, New York, U.S.
instrument	Drums
genre	JazzSwingDixielandBig band
occupation	DrummerComposerBandleader
years active	1920s – mid 1960s, with intermittent performances in the 1970s
associated acts	Eddie CondonBenny GoodmanLouie BellsonAnita O'Day }}

Gene Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973) was an influential American jazz and big band drummer and composer, known for his highly energetic and flamboyant style.

Biography

Eugene Bertram Krupa was born in Chicago, Illinois, the youngest of Anna (Oslowski) and Bartlomiej Krupa's nine children. Bartlomiej was an immigrant from Poland, and Anna was born in Shamokin, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. His siblings were Clarence, Eleanor, Casimir, Leo, Peter and Julius.

Krupa studied with Sanford A. Moeller and began playing professionally in the mid 1920s with bands in Wisconsin. He broke into the Chicago scene in 1927, when he was picked by MCA to become a member of "Thelma Terry and Her Playboys," the first notable American Jazz band (outside of all-girl bands) to be led by a female musician. The Playboys were the house band at ''The Golden Pumpkin'' nightclub in Chicago and also toured extensively throughout the eastern and central United States.

Krupa made his first recordings in 1927, with a band under the leadership of banjoist Eddie Condon and Red McKenzie: along with other recordings beginning in 1924 by musicians known in the "Chicago" scene such as Bix Beiderbecke, these sides are examples of "Chicago Style" jazz. The numbers recorded at that session were: "China Boy", "Sugar", "Nobody's Sweetheart" and "Liza". The McKenzie - Condon sides are also notable for being some of the early examples of the use of a full drum kit on recordings. Eddie Condon describes what happened in the Okeh Records studio on that day (in 'We Called It Music' - pub: Peter Davis, 1948):

Krupa's big influences during this time were Tubby Hall and Zutty Singleton. The drummer who probably had the greatest influence on Gene in this period was the great Baby Dodds. Dodds' use of press rolls was highly reflected in Gene's playing.

Quietly we waited for the playback. When it came, pounding out through the big speaker, we listened stiffly for a moment. We had never been an audience for ourselves...Rockwell came out of the control-room smiling. 'We'll have to get some more of this... (Rockwell nodded towards Krupa): didn't bother the equipment at all,' he said. 'I think we've got something,'.

Krupa also appeared on six recordings made by the Thelma Terry band in 1928 In 1929, he was part of the Mound City Blue Blowers sessions, that also included Red McKenzie, Glenn Miller, and Coleman Hawkins, which produced "Hello Lola" and "One Hour", which Krupa was credited with co-writing.

In 1929 he moved to New York City and worked with the band of Red Nichols. In 1933, Krupa first played with Benny Goodman. He became part of the Benny Goodman trio, the first popular integrated musical group in the United States. In 1934 he joined Benny Goodman's band, where his featured drum work made him a national celebrity. His tom-tom interludes on their hit "Sing, Sing, Sing" were the first extended drum solos to be recorded commercially. In 1938, Krupa performed with the Goodman Orchestra in the famous Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert.

After a public fight with Goodman at the Earl Theater in Philadelphia, Krupa left Goodman to launch his own band and had several hits with singer Anita O'Day and trumpeter Roy Eldridge.

In 1939, Gene Krupa and his Orchestra appeared in the Paramount movie ''Some Like It Hot,'' which starred [Bob Hope & Shirley Ross], performing the title song, "Blue Rhythm Fantasy," and "The Lady's in Love with You." Krupa made a memorable cameo appearance in a pivotal scene of the 1941 film ''Ball of Fire,'' in which he and his band performed an extended version of the hit "Drum Boogie," which he composed with trumpeter Roy Eldridge.

thumb|300px|Gene Krupa Drive in Yonkers, NYIn 1943, Krupa was arrested for possession of two marijuana cigarettes and was given a three-month jail sentence. Krupa was not a wealthy man and spent most of his savings defending himself of this charge and fell into a depression for several months, believing his career to be over. Then, Goodman invited him to perform with his orchestra. Audiences welcomed Krupa's performances, and while the reunion would never last, Krupa was performing again, thanks to this nudge.

Krupa soon formed his second orchestra. This one was notable for its large string section, and also featured Charlie Ventura on sax. It was one of the largest dance bands of the era, sometimes containing up to forty musicians. He also invited another drummer into the band so that he could take breaks and lead the orchestra from the front. However, audiences were not paying to see him conduct, and he gradually accepted this.

The end of the swing era

As the 1940s closed, large orchestras fell by the wayside: Count Basie closed his large band and Woody Herman reduced his to an octet. Krupa also gradually cut down the size of the band in the late 1940s, and from 1951 on led a trio or quartet, often featuring the multi-instrumentalist Eddie Shu on tenor sax, clarinet and harmonica. He appeared regularly with the ''Jazz At the Philharmonic'' shows.

Krupa also had a fleeting brush with Hollywood. Along with his musical sequence in the 1941 film comedy hit Ball of Fire, he also delivered a cameo appearance in the 1946 screen classic ''The Best Years Of Our Lives''. His athletic drumming style, timing methods and cymbal technique evolved during this decade to fit in with changed fashions and tastes, but he never quite adjusted to the Be-Bop period. In 1954, Krupa returned to Hollywood, performing, along with Louis Armstrong, "Basin Street Blues" in Jimmy Stewart's bio-pic ''The Glenn Miller Story''. He also joined fellow Benny Goodman alumni Harry James, Teddy Wilson, and Lionel Hampton in ''The Benny Goodman Story'', starring Steve Allen. In 1959, the movie biography ''The Gene Krupa Story'' was released, with Sal Mineo portraying Krupa and a cameo appearance by Red Nichols. Rainn Wilson writes for Turner Classic Movies about this film, which was most unusual for a biopic in its era. Wilson says, "More fact than fiction, The Gene Krupa Story avoids sugarcoating Krupa's life and takes a warts-and-all approach which gives the film an emotional honesty that other screen biographies often lack. In fact, Mineo's portrayal of Krupa is so needy, egocentric, manic and ruthlessly ambitious that you may find yourself rooting for his comeuppance which he receives in spades, starting with a drug bust for marijuana. Dave Frishberg, a pianist who played with Krupa, was particularly struck by the accuracy of one key moment in the film. "The scene where the Krupa character drops his sticks during the big solo, and the audience realizes that he's "back on the stuff." I remember at least a couple of occasions in real life when Gene dropped a stick, and people in the audience began whispering among themselves and pointing at Gene."

Krupa continued to perform even in famous clubs in the 1960s like the Metropole, near Times Square in New York City, often playing duets with African American drummer Cozy Cole. Increasingly troubled by back pain, he retired in the late 1960s and opened a music school. One of his pupils was Kiss drummer Peter Criss. He occasionally played in public in the early 1970s until shortly before his death. Krupa married Ethel Maguire—twice, in fact; the first marriage lasted from 1934–1942; the second one dates from 1946 to her death in 1955. Their relationship was dramatized in the biopic about him. Krupa remarried in 1959 (to Patty Bowler). He died of leukemia and heart failure in Yonkers, New York at the age of sixty-four. He was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Calumet City, Illinois.

Legacy

Many consider Krupa to be one of the most influential drummers of the 20th century, particularly regarding the development of the drum kit. Many jazz historians believe he made history in 1927 as the first kit drummer ever to record using a bass drum pedal. Others, however, believe this was done earlier by Baby Dodds. His drum method was published in 1938 and immediately became the standard text. He is also credited with inventing the rim shot on the snare drum.

Krupa in the 1930s prominently featured Slingerland drums. At Krupa's urging, Slingerland developed tom-toms with tuneable top and bottom heads, which immediately became important elements of virtually every drummer's set-up. Krupa also developed and popularised many of the cymbal techniques that became standards. His collaboration with Armand Zildjian of the Avedis Zildjian Company developed the modern hi-hat cymbals and standardized the names and uses of the ride cymbal, the crash cymbal, the splash cymbal, the pang cymbal and the swish cymbal.

Krupa was featured in the 1946 Warner Bros. cartoon ''Book Revue'' in which a rotoscoped version of Krupa's drumming is used in an impromptu jam session.

The 1937 recording of Louis Prima's "Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)" by Benny Goodman and His Orchestra featuring Gene Krupa on drums was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

In 1978, Gene Krupa became the first drummer inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame.

Krupa was mentioned in the Simpsons episode "Hurricane Neddy", when Ned Flanders parents are being told they must control Ned, Ned's father responds "We can't do it man! That's discipline! That's like tellin' Gene Krupa not to go "Boom boom bah bah bah, boom boom bah bah bah, boom boom boom bah bah bah bah, boom boom tss!"".

Rhythm, the UK's best selling drum magazine voted Gene Krupa the third most influential drummer ever, in a poll conducted for its February 2009 issue. Voters included over 50 top-name drummers.

Discography

Benny Goodman: ''The Famous Carnegie Hall Concert 1938'' (Columbia)

''Drummin´ Man'' (Charly, 1938–41) with Roy Eldridge, Anita O'Day, Benny Carter, Charlie Ventura

''Drum Boogie'' (Columbia, 1940–41)

''Uptown'' (Columbia, 1941–1949)

''Lionel Hampton/Gene Krupa'' (Forlane, 1949) with Don Fagerquist, Frank Rehak, Frank Rosolino, Roy Eldridge

''The Exciting Gene Krupa'' (Enoch's Music, 1953) with Charlie Shavers, Bill Harris, Willie Smith, Ben Webster, Teddy Wilson, Herb Ellis, Ray Brown, Israel Crosby

''Krupa and Rich'' (Verve, 1955) with Roy Eldridge, Dizzy Gillespie, Illinois Jacquet, Flip Phillips, Oscar Peterson, Herb Ellis, Ray Brown, Buddy Rich

''Gene Krupa Big Band: Drummer Man featuring Anita O'Day & Roy Eldridge'' (Verve, 1956)

References

External links

Gene Krupa at traditional-jazz.com

The Gene Krupa Reference Page

Gene Krupa Drummerworld Page

''Let Me Off Uptown: A Gene Krupa Biography'' by John Twomey

Category:1909 births Category:1973 deaths Category:American jazz drummers Category:American jazz bandleaders Category:American people of Polish descent Category:American musicians of Polish descent Category:Big band bandleaders Category:Big band drummers Category:Cancer deaths in New York Category:Deaths from leukemia Category:Dixieland drummers Category:Musicians from Chicago, Illinois Category:RCA Victor artists Category:Verve Records artists Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Swing drummers

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