Alan Raph
| Alan Raph | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1933 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz, classical |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, arranger, conductor |
| Instruments | Trombone |
| Years active | 1955–2010 |
| Associated acts | Danbury Brass Band, American Opera Association, Bolshoi Ballet, Diana Ross, Joffrey Ballet, Lena Horne, Mel Tormé, NBC Opera Company, Paul Whiteman, Philip Glass, Quincy Jones |
Alan Raph (b. New York City in 1933) is a bass trombonist, composer, arranger, and conductor who founded and conducts the Danbury Brass Band. He has recorded with many popular musicians and for television, movies, and ballet.[1]
Life
Raph was born in New York City to Marion McGuire and Ted Raph. His father was a jazz trombonist in the 1920s and 1930s. Raph married Theresa Capp in South Bend, Indiana on October 5, 1957.[2] In 1978 he married Mary Ann O'Connor[3] with whom he has a daughter.[4]
Education and professional life
Raph graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education. He then studied Music Education at Teachers College Columbia University where he received a Masters of Arts degree. He has studied privately with Nadia Boulanger, John Mehegan, Simon Karasick, and Gabriel Masson.[1]
He was a charter member of the American Symphony Orchestra for which he played the trombone (tenor and bass trombone), euphonium, tuba, and bass trumpet. He was for many years the bass trombone player on first call with New York City recording studios.[5]
He has performed under the direction of Leopold Stokowski, with the Gerry Mulligan Concert Jazz Band and the Chamber Brass Players. As a freelance trombonist, he has recorded albums with artists including Quincy Jones, Don Sebesky, Philip Glass, the NBC Opera Company, Eugene Ormandy, Paul Whiteman and his Palais Royale Orchestra, the Ballet Bolshoi Theatre, Diana Ross, Lena Horne and Mel Torme. He has also recorded music for many movies and television shows including Sesame Street, The Cosby Show, Name That Tune, The Godfather, The Producers, Midnight Cowboy, Hamburger Hill, Bananas, Kundun, Fog of War, Secret Window, and Taking Lives.[1][5]
He was a professor at the Teachers College of Columbia University in New York City, as well as instructor and associate professor at Queens College of the City University of New York.[1] He is the founder, music director, and conductor of the Danbury Brass Band, for which he has composed and arranged many pieces. The volunteer band is composed of trumpets, cornets, French horns, trombones, euphoniums, tubas and percussion.[6][7][8] The band has performed abroad in Australia, Bermuda, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.[9]
He has composed for the Joffrey Ballet Company. He also arranged several songs for the Broadway musical Rockabye Hamlet (1976). Raph is a member of ASCAP.[1][7]
Raph is known for his low range playing.[10] He was awarded the Most Valuable Player award by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.[5]
Compositions
Works for wind band
- Variations on a Theme by Handel, for trombone and band
Ballets
- Trinity, premiered in 1970 by the Joffrey Ballet Company
- Sacred Grove on Mt. Tamalpais, premiered in 1971 by the Joffrey Ballet Company
Chamber Music
- Burlesque, for trombone ensemble
Pedagogical Works
- 26 Etudes for Bass Trombone
- Classic Vintage Studies for Trombone
- Diversified Trombone Etudes
- Introductory Melodious Etudes, for two trombones and piano
- Melodious Etudes for Performance
- Recital Pieces for Unaccompanied Trombone
- The Double Valve Bass Trombone
- Trombonisms
Media
- Alan Raph: trombone tips - warmups
- Alan Raph: trombone tips - high notes
- Alan Raph: trombone tips - Bumble Bee
- Alan Raph: trombone tips - very low notes
- Alan Raph: trombone tips - The Bartok glissando
- Alan Raph: trombone tips - staccato & legato
- Alan Raph: trombone tips - double (& triple) tonguing
- Alan Raph: trombone tips - Reading jazz notation
Publications
- Dance Band Reading and Interpretation, Warner Brothers Publication, 2002. 44 p., ISBN 978-0-757-92625-9
- With Bucky Milam: "Le" Trombone, AR Publishing Co., 1983. ISBN 978-0-9705815-0-1
Discography
With J. J. Johnson
- Goodies (RCA Victor, 1965)
With Lee Konitz
- Chicago 'n All That Jazz (Groove Merchant, 1975)
With Gerry Mulligan
- Walk on the Water (DRG, 1980)
Bibliography
- Michael Cuscuna, Michel Ruppli: The Blue Note label : a discography, Revised and expanded edition, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2001, 913 p.
- Wolfgang Suppan, Armin Suppan: Das Neue Lexikon des Blasmusikwesens, 4. Auflage, Freiburg-Tiengen, Blasmusikverlag Schulz GmbH, 1994, ISBN 3-923058-07-1
- Michel Ruppli, Ed Novitsky: The Mercury labels : a discography, Vol. V: record and artist indexes, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1993, 882 p.
- E. Ruth Anderson: Contemporary American composers - A biographical dictionary, Second edition, Boston: G. K. Hall, 1982, 578 p., ISBN 978-0-816-18223-7
- Jaques Cattell Press: ASCAP biographical dictionary of composers, authors and publishers, Fourth edition, New York: R. R. Bowker, 1980, 589 p., ISBN 0-835212-83-1
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Alan Raph". Trombone Page of the World. September 16, 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
- ↑ "Marriage Record for Alan Raph". Retrieved August 1, 2016.
- ↑ "1959-77 Connecticut Marriage File". Hartford, Connecticut: Connecticut Department of Public Health.
- ↑ "Alan Raph interview 1 of 8". Retrieved 31 July 2016.
- 1 2 3 "Alan Raph". Kendor Music Inc. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
- ↑ "The Palace Danbury". Retrieved 1 August 2016.
- 1 2 "Danbury Brass Band parties the night away". NewsTimes. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
- ↑ "Danbury Brass Band makes music Down Under". The News-Times. September 15, 2004. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
- ↑ "Alan Raph". Retrieved September 23, 2016.
- ↑ "BEYOND BOUNDARIES". Retrieved 1 August 2016.