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Thursday, October 16, 2008

Neal Hefti 1922-2008

Standard of the Day bids farewell to Neal Hefti, who passed away suddenly last Saturday at age 85. Hefti was a jazz trumpeter, composer and arranger who broke in during the 1940s with the likes of Charlie Barnet and Woody Herman. He arranged for everyone from Count Basie to Mel Torme, including two great albums of standards for Frank Sinatra, Sinatra-Basie (1961) and Sinatra & Swingin' Brass (1962). He also served as conductor on some of the Chairman's 1960s TV specials. Hefti did extensive composition work for films and TV, including most famously the theme songs for The Odd Couple and Batman TV series.

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