Jimmy Mundy: Swing Era Barn-Burner

Like Fletcher Henderson, Don Redman, Edgar Sampson and Sy Oliver, Jimmy Mundy was one of the architects of the swing era in the early 1930s. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1907, Mundy played the tenor saxophone in regional bands, where he developed an ear for arranging and the sound he wanted to hear. [Photo above of Jimmy Mundy]

He first worked as an arranger for Earl Hines in the early 1930s and then joined Benny Goodman in late 1935 after selling the bandleader a chart. Goodman needed a strong, authentic swing arranger who could deliver barn burners. His charts included the hits Sing, Sing, Sing and Airmail Special.

In 1938, after drummer Gene Krupa  left Goodman to form his own band, Mundy followed to arrange for Krupa. Mundy also produced a large number of swing charts for Count Basie in the late 1930s and '40s, and for Artie Shaw, Dizzy Gillespie and Harry James.

In the 1950s, he added Broadway musicals to his repertoire, including The Vamp and Living the Life. In 1959 he moved to Paris to work as musical director of the French Barclay label. After his return to the U.S. in the 1960s, Mundy continued to write into the 1970s. He died of cancer in 1983, at age 75.

In tribute to Jimmy Mundy, here are 15 of my favorite clips showcasing his arrangements:

Here's The Count Steps In at the Savoy in 1937...

Here's Harry James playing Out of Nowhere in 1938...

Here's Count Basie playing Cherokee in 1939...

Here's Judy Ellington with Charlie Barnet singing A Lover Is Blue...

Here's Mundy's nifty arrangement of Tea for Two for Artie Shaw in 1945...

Here's the Jimmy Mundy Orchestra playing Skymaster in 1946...

Here's a V-Disc of the Jimmy Mundy Orchestra playing Fiesta in Blue in 1946...

Here's Harry James playing Snooty Fruity in 1947...

Here's Mundy's masterpiece arrangement of Harry James's Ultra in 1949...

Here's Dizzy Gillespie's big band playing Say When in 1949...

Here's Benny Goodman with Harry James on trumpet playing Mundy's slowed-down arrangement of And the Angels Sing with Martha Tilton on vocal in 1955...

Here's clarinetist Tony Scott playing You're Driving Me Crazy in 1956...

Here's Count Basie with his New Testament band playing Sleepwalker's Serenade in 1957...

Here's Illinois Jacquet playing Banned in Boston in 1962...

And here's Chet Baker playing and singing Ann, Wonderful One in 1964...

Bonus: Here are all of Jimmy Mundy's leadership recordings between 1937 and 1947...