Boyd Raeburn born 27 October 1913

Boyd Albert Raeburn (October 27, 1913 – August 2, 1966) was an American jazz bandleader and bass saxophonist.

Though not well remembered today bandleader Boyd Raeburn blazed trails in progressive jazz that took his music in directions beyond even those explored by such adventurous types as Stan Kenton and Tom Talbert. Raeburn, however, did not start out to be a jazz innovator. For many years he operated a successful society orchestra before making a big leap into the unknown.

Born in Faith, South Dakota, Boyd Raeburn moved to Chicago where he was educated at the University of Chicago. Here the music bug bit him and he formed a dance band which performed at the 1933 Chicago World Fair. The music was evidently of its time, and fot the remainder of the decade, he led a society dance band. In the 1940s, he re-organized his outfit, first playing swing (1942-1944), then more innovative jazz (1944-1950).

In 1944 he scrapped his dance orchestra completely and formed a forward-looking swing band that included at various times such players as Sonny Berman, Al Cohn, Benny Harris, the Johnny Hodges-influenced Johnny Bothwell, Serge Chaloff, Roy Eldridge, Trummy Young, and Handy on piano, playing arrangements from George Williams, Eddie Finckel, and Handy. The group overall was influenced by Count Basie, but they were also the first to record Dizzy Gillespie's "Night in Tunisia"; Dizzy even guested with the band.

                               

The new group wowed the critics, producing sounds far more modern than any other orchestra of its day. Unfortunately a fire at the Palisades Amusement Park in New Jersey destroyed the band's book and some of its instruments.

Raeburn reorganized in 1945 and took his group a step further, relying on composer and arranger George Handy, who wrote extremely complex and dissident charts. Handy's work, however, did not go over well with the public, and eventually he was replaced by Johnny Richards and Ralph Flanagan. Johnny Mandel joined the orchestra in 1945.

Even though it was a constant struggle to keep the orchestra together, Raeburn's band actually grew in size during 1946, with reed players doubling on woodwinds and the addition of French horns and a harp. Such players as Lucky Thompson, Dodo Marmarosa, Ray Linn, and Buddy DeFranco were among the many who passed through the band.

His band had three themes: "Man with a Horn", "Raeburn's Theme" and "Over the Rainbow". Vocalists included David Allen, Don Darcy, Johnny Darcy, June Christy (at that time known as Sharon Leslie), and Ginny Powell, whom Raeburn later married. He was previously married to Lorraine Anderson, with whom he had one child; that union ended in divorce.

Several well-known jazz bandleaders helped Raeburn out every time his band went bankrupt, among them Billy Eckstine, Jack Teagarden and especially Duke Ellington, all of whom believed in what he was doing and helped to revive his career, but it just wasn’t enough.

Raeburn organized shot-​lived touring outfits in 1949 and 1950, with Powell as vocalist. After working mostly as an arranger in the early 1950s, he returned to his roots in 1956 and formed a new dance orchestra. Powell again served as vocalist.  Raeburn was invited by Columbia Records to make three albums with an 

orchestra of top New York session players. A&R man, Mitch Miller, insisted that he record fairly bland arrangements of other bands’ hits from the 1940s. Not only did the records not sell well, but former Raeburn fans who did buy them were bitterly disappointed.

Unsuccessful in resurrecting his career he left the music business entirely. He pursued business interests in New York and the Bahamas where he moved to with his wife in 1959 who sadly she passed away later that year. During 1965 Raeburn was involved in a serious automobile accident. He survived but later died in Lafayette, Los Angeles, August 2, 1966 after suffering a heart attack.

Boyd’s earlier bands are represented on sessions for Musicraft and Savoy, radio transcriptions put out by Circle, and broadcasts released by IAJRC and Hep. His son, Bruce Boyd Raeburn of New Orleans, is the curator of the William Ransom Hogan Archive of New Orleans Jazz at the Tulane University in New Orleans.

(Edited from Parabrisas, All Music & artmusiclounge)