Bill Holman (musician)

Willis Leonard Holman (born May 21, 1927), known also as Bill Holman, is an American composer/arranger, conductor, saxophonist, and songwriter working primarily in the jazz idiom.

Although he has performed and recorded as a tenor saxophonist, Holman is best known as an arranger.^[1]^[2] Through his acquaintance with Gene Roland, Holman was auditioned by Stan Kenton and hired as a tenor sax player around 1951.^[1]

Kenton was apparently attracted to Holman's ability to integrate counterpoint and dissonance in subtle yet distinctive ways, and for his knack for making the usually unswinging Kenton band "swing" in its own particular fashion. Holman became Kenton's chief arranger, and wrote much of Kenton's 1950s repertoire; including one of Kenton's finest albums, Contemporary Concepts. He continued to write for Kenton, on and off, throughout the 1960s and 70s.

In addition to his work for Kenton, Holman has provided charts for Woody Herman, Doc Severinsen, Buddy Rich, Terry Gibbs, Count Basie, Harry James, Gerry Mulligan's Concert Jazz Band and others. He formed his own California-based band in 1975 and continues to perform with it in the U.S. and worldwide. His 1997 recording Brilliant Corners/The Music of Thelonious Monk won a Grammy award.^[3]

in 1969, Ella Fitzgerald recorded "Give Me the Simple Life" with Holman's arrangement on her live album Sunshine of Your Love.

Bill Holman is also credited with brass arrangements on The Fifth Dimension's 1969 album, The Age of Aquarius.

He received his honorary doctorate through Elmhurst College of Illinois.

Recordings

As leader

The Fabulous Bill Holman - Andex, 1958
In a Jazz Orbit - Coral, 1958
Bill Holman's Great Big Band - Capitol, 1961
The Norwegian Radio Band Meets Bill Holman - Taurus Records, 1987
Bill Holman Band - JVC, 1988
A View from the Side - JVC, 1995
Brilliant Corners, the Music of Thelonious Monk - JVC, 1997
Further Adventures (with The Netherlands Metropole Orchestra) - KOCH Jazz, 1997
Big Band Live - Jazzed Media, 2005 (2006 Grammy nominee)
Jazz in Concert (with the SWR Big Band) - Hammsler, 2005
Hommage - Jazzed Media, 2007 (2008 Grammy nominee)

As composer

New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm (Stan Kenton Orchestra) - Capitol, 1952
Kenton Showcase: The Music of Bill Holman - Capitol, 1954 (CD 2000)

As arranger

Contemporary Concepts (Stan Kenton Orchestra), Capitol, 1955, (selections 1-6) (CD 2002)
Adventures In Jazz (Stan Kenton Orchestra), Capitol, 1962 (CD 1999)

With Maynard Ferguson