Robert Graettinger
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Robert Frederick Graettinger (31 October 1923 - 12 March 1957) was an American composer, best known for his work with Stan Kenton.
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Early life and work
Graettinger grew up in Ontario, California, learning to play the saxophone in high school. While at school he also began arranging music. In the 1940s he played alto sax with Benny Carter among others. Around this time he focused more on composing.
Stan Kenton period
In 1947 he offered a short composition, "Thermopylae", to Stan Kenton, who decided to record it. Graettinger then came up with "City of Glass", a four-part tone poem. At this time he was studying composition under Russell Garcia.
Graettinger's radical polystylistic soundworld, with its polyphonic density and bracing atonality, while drawing on ideas previously explored by the likes of Charles Ives, Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copland and even Arnold Schoenberg, still remains truly distinctive. He died aged only 34, of lung cancer.
Discography
Capitol Recordings by Stan Kenton:
- "Thermopylae" (78) 1947
- "Everything Happens To Me" (78) 1947
- A Concert in Progressive Jazz (includes "Thermopylae")
- Innovations in Modern Music (includes "Incident in Jazz") 1950
- Kenton Presents (includes "House of Strings") 1950
- City of Glass (10") 1951
- The Kenton Era (includes "Modern Opus" and "You Go to My Head") 1952
- City of Glass/This Modern World 1953
The Ebony Big Band:
- City of Glass: Robert Graettinger 1994
- The Ebony Big Band: Live at the Paradiso - Robert Graettinger 1998
Further reading
Robert Badgett Morgan: The Music and Life of Robert Graettinger, University of Illinois, 1974.
Irwin Chusid: "Songs in the Key of Z" (ISBN 1-901447-11-1), chapter 18
W.F. Lee: Stan Kenton: Artistry in Rhythm, Los Angeles, 1980.
