Claude Thornhill (*August 10, 1909 at Terre Haute, Indiana † July 1, 1965, New York City) was an American pianist, arranger and bandleader. August 10 is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 183 days remaining. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... New York, NY redirects here. ... Pianist Claudio Arrau, Carnegie Hall, 1954. ... In popular music an arrangement is a setting of a piece of music, which may have been composed by the arranger or by someone else. ... A bandleader is the director of a band of musicians. ...

As a youth, he was recognized as an extraordinary talent and formed a traveling duo with Danny Polo, a musical prodigy on the clarinet and trumpet from nearby Clinton, Indiana. As a student at Garfield High School in Terre Haute, he played with several theater bands. A child prodigy is someone who is a master of one or more skills or arts at an early age. ... Clinton is a city located in Vermillion County, Indiana. ...

After playing for Paul Whiteman, Benny Goodman, Ray Noble, and Billie Holiday, and arranging "Loch Lomond" and "Annie Laurie" for Maxine Sullivan, in 1940 he founded his Claude Thornhill Orchestra. Danny Polo was his lead clarinet player. Although the Thornhill band was originally a sophisticated dance band it became known for its many superior jazz musicians and for Thornhill's and Gil Evans' innovative arrangements; its "Portrait of a Guinea Farm" has become a classic jazz recording. 1928 Columbia Records label with caricature of Paul Whiteman Paul Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was a popular american orchestral leader. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Ray Noble was a British bandleader, composer, arranger and actor. ... Billie Holiday (April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959), born Eleanora Fagan and later called Lady Day, was an American singer known equally for her difficult life and her emotive, poignant singing voice. ... Maxine Sullivan (May 13, 1911 - April 7, 1987) was an American vocalist. ... Jazz is a musical art form that originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States around the start of the 20th century. ... Gil Evans  (*13 May 1912 at Toronto, Canada  â€  20 March 1988 at Cuernavaca, Mexico); jazz musician and important innovator of big band jazz in the United States as an arranger, composer, bandleader, and pianist; cool jazz, modal jazz, free jazz, jazz rock. ...

The band played without vibrato so that the timbres of the instruments could be better appreciated, and Thornhill encouraged the musicians to develop cool-sounding tones. The band was popular with both musicians and the public; the Miles Davis Nonet was modelled in part on Thornhill's cool sound. The band's most successful records were "Snowfall," "A Sunday Kind of Love," and "Love for Love." Vibrato is a musical effect where the pitch or frequency of a note or sound is quickly and repeatedly raised and lowered over a small distance for the duration of that note or sound. ... Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991) was one of the most distinguished jazz musicians of the latter half of the 20th century. ...

The band ceased operation in 1942 when Thornhill entered the military, where he performed with Artie Shaw's United States Navy band, then was revived from 1946 to 1948 in New York and until 1953 on the road. In the mid1950s Thornhill became Tony Bennett's musical director briefly, then toured with small groups. He offered his big band library to Gerry Mulligan when Gerry formed the Concert Jazz Band, but Gerry regretfully declined the gift, since his instrumentation was different. Artie Shaw (May 23, 1910, New York, New York – December 30, 2004, Thousand Oaks, California) was an accomplished American jazz clarinetist, composer, bandleader and author of both fiction and non-fiction. ... The United States Navy, also known as the USN or the U.S. Navy, is a branch of the United States armed forces responsible for conducting naval operations. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... For other persons named Tony Bennett, see Tony Bennett (disambiguation). ... Gerald Joseph Gerry Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996) was an American jazz musician, composer and arranger best known for his baritone saxophone playing. ...

External link

• Claude Thornhill at All Music Guide
• Christopher Popa, "The Sound Hung Like a Cloud," bigbandlibrary.com[1]