Jazz / Cool
Recorded: September, 1955
Hal McKusick - Clarinet, Sax (Alto)
Hal McKusick
Active Decades: '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s
Born: Jun 01, 1924 in Medford, MA
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Cool
A fine cool-toned altoist and an occasional clarinetist, Hal McKusick worked with the big bands of Les Brown, Woody Herman (1943), Boyd Raeburn (1944-1945), Alvino Rey (1946), Buddy Rich, and Claude Thornhill (1948-1949). In the 1950s, in addition to his work with Terry Gibbs and Elliot Lawrence, he was a busy and versatile studio musician. During 1955-1958, McKusick recorded nine albums of material as a leader for Jubilee, Bethlehem, Victor, Coral, New Jazz, Prestige, and Decca. Those small-group recordings, although basically cool bop, sometimes used very advanced arrangements, including charts by George Handy, Manny Albam, Gil Evans, Al Cohn, Jimmy Giuffre, and particularly George Russell.
---Scott Yanow, All Music Guide |
