Manny Albam: New York Big-Band Scene

The East Coast arranger, composer and conductor is little-known today

Manny Albam was a New York jazz orchestral master. Today, sadly, his name and the popularity of his standout leadership albums are fading, which is unfortunate. They swing and are superb.

The musicians who who made their living recording primarily in New York remembered Albam fondly when I interviewed them in the 2000s. Hal McCusick, Bob Brookmeyer, So…