Tall Cotton by Sammy Nestico - Studio Jazz Band 5-22-23

Here's an excerpt from a concert I filmed and edited that features the Studio Jazz Band of El Camino, playing big band music from the swing era. This evening's show was a 21 piece jazz band.
This is the fifth song of the concert, Tall Cotton by Sammy Nestico
This series will feature just the music, and will be in a playlist as each individual piece is up.
Original Full Concert: • Studio Jazz Band 5-22-23
Playlist: • Just The Music: Studio...
The event was directed by David Sills of "The David Sills Quartet" and "The Acoustic Jazz Quartet". He has toured throughout the US, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Italy, Spain, and France. You can hear him on David Benoit's "Conversations."
Enjoy!
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History/Background:
Samuel Louis Nestico (February 6, 1924 - January 17, 2021), better known as Sammy Nestico, was an American composer and arranger. Nestico is best known for his arrangements for the Count Basie orchestra. During World War II, Nestico joined the United States Army and served for five years. After earning his degree, Nestico then returned to the military, where he arranged music for the United States Air Force Band (1950-1963), as well as leading the Glenn Miller Army Air Corps dance band, which would later become known as the Airmen of Note. In 1963, he switched to the Marines and became director and arranger of the United States Marine Band, where he served under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. During his tenure, a composition by Nestico led President Johnson to remark "You call this music?" In 2009, Nestico said in an interview "I didn't answer, although I didn't think [Johnson's] concept of music was worth a damn."
After leaving the military, Nestico became a freelance arranger. He began working as an arranger for Count Basie in 1967, and wrote and arranged all the music for Basie's 1968 LP Basie Straight Ahead. Nestico continued to provide arrangements for Basie until Basie's death in 1984, and four of Nestico's collaborations with Basie earned Grammy Awards. During his career, Nestico composed, arranged, or conducted albums for musicians and singers including Quincy Jones, Phil Collins, Barbra Streisand, Michael Buble, Natalie Cole, Sarah Vaughan, Toni Tennille, Frank Sinatra, and Bing Crosby. In addition, he played trombone, in the big bands of Tommy Dorsey, Woody Herman, Gene Krupa, and Charlie Barnet. He conducted and recorded his arrangements with several leading European Radio Jazz Orchestras, including the BBC Big Band in London, Germany's SWR Big Band and NDR Big Band and the DR Big Band, as well as the Boston Pops Orchestra in America.
Nestico had a long career in the film and television industry. As orchestrator, he worked on nearly seventy television programs, including Mission: Impossible, Mannix, M*A*S*H, Charlie's Angels, and The Mod Squad. He also worked as an arranger for the 81st Academy Awards, as well as some Grammy Awards. He worked as an orchestrator and arranger for the film The Color Purple. Nestico composed commercial jingles for Anheuser-Busch, Zenith, Ford Motor Company, Mattel Toys, Pittsburgh Paint, the National Guard, Dodge, Remington Bank, and Americard.
Nestico published nearly 600 numbers for school groups and many for professional big bands.
In 2021, Nestico died in Carlsbad, California, at the age of 96. He was given a military burial later in 2021.
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