Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Walter Gilbert Fuller was born on April 14, 1920 in Los Angeles, California and is no relation to the jazz trumpeter and vocalist Walter “Rosetta” Fuller. In the 1930s and 1940s he did extensive work writing and arranging for bandleaders such as Les Hite, Floyd Ray, Jimmie Lunceford, Billy Eckstine, and Tiny Bradshaw.

He also worked with Benny Carter, Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Count Basie, Machito and Tito Puente. Following World War II, Gil found himself increasingly in demand as a bebop arranger along with fellow modern arrangers Tadd Dameron, Gil Evans, and George Russell. Fuller’s work with Dizzy Gillespie was of particular note, yielding the tunes “Manteca”, “Swedish Suite”, and “One Bass Hit”. He is the composer of the jazz standard ballad “I Waited For You”, co-credited with Dizzy Gillespie.

Fuller started his own publishing company in 1957, and while he continued to work with some jazz musicians including Stan Kenton in 1955 and again in the 1960s, he also branched out into film music and pop with Ray Charles, among others.

Arranger Gil Fuller recorded a few albums before he passed away on May 26, 1994 in San Diego, California.

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