[Dixielandjazz] Biull Finegan Obit

[Stephen G Barbone]

June 8, 2008 - NY Times - by Douglas Martin
Bill Finegan, Arranger and Big-Band Leader, Dies at 91

Bill Finegan, who arranged hits for Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey and  
then formed a big band with Eddie Sauter, another legendary arranger,  
that was famed for skill, daring and very, very odd instruments, died  
on Wednesday in Bridgeport, Conn. He was 91.

The cause was pneumonia, said his son, James.

Arrangers, the largely behind-the-scenes masterminds of the big-band  
era, took compositions by bandleaders and others and refashioned them.  
Mr. Finegan heavily arranged Miller’s first big hit, “Little Brown  
Jug,” and virtually everything he recorded in 1938 and 1939. He later  
became a regular arranger for Dorsey.

After the swing era faded, Mr. Finegan started working with Mr.  
Sauter, who had arranged for Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw, among  
others. Mr. Sauter died in 1981.

In forming the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, the two envisioned an  
innovative kind of music, defiant of convention but still inspired by  
musical traditions, especially classical ones.

Wit was implicit, and unexpected instruments were the most conspicuous  
novelty. These included the piccolo, flute, oboe, bass clarinet, harp,  
English horn, recorder, tuba, glockenspiel, tympani, kazoo and not one  
but two xylophones. In their arrangement of “Troika” from Prokofiev’s  
“Lieutenant Kije” suite, Mr. Finegan conveyed the dull pounding of  
distant horses’ hooves by beating out the rhythm on his chest.

At the band’s peak, 21 musicians played 77 instruments, not counting  
Mr. Finegan’s chest.

William James Finegan was born in Newark on April 3, 1917, and grew up  
loving music almost as much as fishing. His son said he played the  
trumpet in high school. After winning an amateur competition, his  
small high school jazz band toured widely.

Dorsey was impressed with Mr. Finegan’s arrangement of “Lonesome Road”  
and recommended him to Miller, who hired him in 1938. In World War II,  
Mr. Finegan served in the Army, then became an arranger for Dorsey.In  
1947 and 1948, Mr. Finegan studied with Stefan Wolpe, the avant-garde  
composer. From 1948 to 1950, Mr. Finegan lived in Europe and studied  
at the Paris Conservatory. He began corresponding with Mr. Sauter, who  
was in a sanitarium recovering from tuberculosis, according to the  
Allmusic Internet guide. They mutually deplored the state of popular  
music.

The two decided to team up, describing their plans in a statement for  
Down Beat and Metronome magazines. They promised “pop music that is  
danceable, listenable and lookable.” They renounced the “too  
convenient rationalization to dub the public as moronic.”

They quickly produced a stream of compositions and arrangements and  
got a recording contract from RCA Victor for some singles. They  
recruited a stable of outstanding musicians.

Wally Kane, who played the clarinet, alto and baritone saxophone, bass  
clarinet, flute and, later, bassoon for the group, described the  
informal approach of the bandleaders in a telephone interview last  
week. There were no first, second or third chairs; rather, every  
musician was given equal prominence. Each arrangement was written with  
individual players in mind.

“Never since that experience have I been handed a piece of music with  
my name on it,” Mr. Kane said.

D.J.’s, desperate for fresh sounds, loved the band. Time magazine  
called it “the most original band heard in the U.S. for years.”

The orchestra, mostly known for recording, finally hit the road, but  
big bands in general were dwindling. The group began a long decline,  
and in 1958 Mr. Sauter and Mr. Finegan gave it up, except for  
occasional short-term revivals, with both going on to various other  
music-related jobs.

“Everything went wrong but the music,” Mr. Finegan once said.

Mr. Finegan’s wife, the former Rosemary O’Reilly, died in 2001. In  
addition to his son, James, of Monroe, Conn., Mr. Finegan is survived  
by his daughter, Helen Dzujna of Shelton, Conn., and three  
grandchildren.