- Van Alexander
Alexander Van Vliet Feldman, better known by his
stage name Van Alexander (b. 1915) is an American bandleader, arranger, and composer.Alexander led bands and arranged from high school, and studied composition in college. He landed a job selling arrangements to
Chick Webb in the middle of the 1930s. One of these, "A-Tisket, A-Tasket ", became a hit for Webb andElla Fitzgerald , and subsequently became one of her signature tunes. Alexander later arranged othernursery rhyme s for jazz performance, such as "Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone?" and "Got a Pebble in My Shoe".In the late 1930s he formed his own band and played theaters into the 1940s. Later in the 1940s, he was hired by
Bing Crosby to work inHollywood , and worked extensively as a composer, arranger, and conductor forfilm score s. He wrote a textbook on film arrangement in 1950 called "First Arrangement", andJohnny Mandel studied under him. Alexander's scores includefilm noir titles such as "Baby Face Nelson", "The Big Operator", and "The Private Lives of Adam and Eve"; he also provided music for television shows such as "Hazel", "The Farmer's Daughter", "Bewitched", "I Dream of Jeannie", "Dennis the Menace", and "The Wacky World of Johnathan Winters". He arranged and conducted forvariety show s starringMickey Rooney ,Gordon MacRae ,Dean Martin , andJimmy Stewart . Additionally, he was involved in recording sessions withKay Starr ,Dakota Staton ,Paul Whiteman ,Benny Goodman ,Dinah Shore ,Doris Day , andPeggy Lee .Alexander won several
Emmy award s for his television scores, and was presented with the Henry Mancini Award for Lifetime achievement fromASCAP .References
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Eugene Chadbourne , [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:g9ftxqq5ld6e~T1 Van Alexander] atAllmusic
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