Biography
Credited as either Bob Hardaway or Robert Hardaway, this woodwind specialist anchored the upper ranks of Los Angeles studio work for decades across the twentieth century. His command extended across an unusually broad palette of reed and flute instruments, among them bass clarinet, English horn, and alto flute, on sessions spanning the Partridge Family, Dinah Washington, Bonnie Raitt, and the Eddie Shu/Bob Hardaway Jazz Practitioners. Marriage to vocalist Pinky Winters notwithstanding, Hardaway could still point to nothing quite matching the legacy of his father, J.B. "Bugs" Hardaway, who originated the cartoon figures Bugs Bunny and Woody Woodpecker.
Hollywood training began with early guidance from film composer Darrell Caulkner. Core technique developed during service in an Air Force band, an interval that prompted him to compose and conduct the touring revue Air Force Frolics. After discharge he resumed studies at a Los Angeles college and entered professional ranks as a section player in established big bands, among them the Ray McKinley orchestra. Billy May supplied the first documented solo feature, captured on the Capitol album Bachanalia.
Mid-1950s Decca dates led by Jerry Gray further raised his profile as a featured voice on the standards "Thou Swell" and the gentler "Baby's Lullaby" as well as the driving "Kettle Drum." Demand followed from other leaders, placing Hardaway in the lead saxophone chair of the Woody Herman band during 1956 and alongside Stan Kenton, Les Elgart, Benny Goodman, Alvino Rey, and Med Flory. Capitol material from the Herman association preserves his ability to deliver a Blues Groove.
Discographies list nearly seventy-five jazz sessions involving Hardaway between 1949 and 1995. Parallel activity encompassed vocalists and vocal ensembles outside jazz, typically alongside first-call players such as bassist Carol Kaye. Early-1970s dates with Lulu and Bonnie Raitt, together with Neil Diamond’s 1977 release I’m Glad You’re Here with Me Tonight, illustrate that range, while his modern-jazz credentials remained current through projects such as the 1983 album Introducing Roger Neumann’s Rather Large Band. Harry Nilsson and Doris Day round out the roster of artists who drew on his contributions.
Hollywood training began with early guidance from film composer Darrell Caulkner. Core technique developed during service in an Air Force band, an interval that prompted him to compose and conduct the touring revue Air Force Frolics. After discharge he resumed studies at a Los Angeles college and entered professional ranks as a section player in established big bands, among them the Ray McKinley orchestra. Billy May supplied the first documented solo feature, captured on the Capitol album Bachanalia.
Mid-1950s Decca dates led by Jerry Gray further raised his profile as a featured voice on the standards "Thou Swell" and the gentler "Baby's Lullaby" as well as the driving "Kettle Drum." Demand followed from other leaders, placing Hardaway in the lead saxophone chair of the Woody Herman band during 1956 and alongside Stan Kenton, Les Elgart, Benny Goodman, Alvino Rey, and Med Flory. Capitol material from the Herman association preserves his ability to deliver a Blues Groove.
Discographies list nearly seventy-five jazz sessions involving Hardaway between 1949 and 1995. Parallel activity encompassed vocalists and vocal ensembles outside jazz, typically alongside first-call players such as bassist Carol Kaye. Early-1970s dates with Lulu and Bonnie Raitt, together with Neil Diamond’s 1977 release I’m Glad You’re Here with Me Tonight, illustrate that range, while his modern-jazz credentials remained current through projects such as the 1983 album Introducing Roger Neumann’s Rather Large Band. Harry Nilsson and Doris Day round out the roster of artists who drew on his contributions.
Albums
