Les & Larry Elgart

Les Elgart, a trumpeter, and his brother Larry, who played alto and soprano saxophone, guided one of the more successful swing ensembles throughout the 1950s. Their polished, meticulously scored approach sustained the fading big-band format on the charts a bit longer than expected, while later reunions frequently veered into prevailing easy-listening styles. Born on August 3, 1918, in New Haven, CT, Les was joined by Larry, who arrived on March 20, 1922, in nearby New London; both parents were pianists, so the siblings began studying music in their early teens and had turned professional before each reached age 20. In the early 1940s they occasionally shared bandstands, then launched their own orchestra in 1945 with assistance from leading arrangers Nelson Riddle, Ralph Flanagan, and Bill Finegan. Several obstacles soon converged—the Musicians’ Union recording strike, waning interest in live swing, leadership disputes, and the conclusion of World War II—prompting dissolution in 1946 and sending the brothers on separate freelance paths through any available orchestras.

They rejoined forces in 1952, bringing along arranger Charles Albertine, whom Larry had discovered. Exploiting fresh recording techniques, they developed a subtler, lighter texture that emphasized compact brass and reed sections while omitting piano and most improvisation. The 1953 LP Sophisticated Swing codified this approach, and a string of subsequent Columbia releases over the following years performed strongly. Peak sellers included 1956’s The Elgart Touch and the next year’s For Dancers Also, both climbing into the Top 15 on the album charts; singles fared less prominently, though a theme from “The Man With the Golden Arm” charted modestly and their original “Bandstand Boogie” was adopted by Dick Clark for American Bandstand. Les increasingly managed business affairs and eventually withdrew from performance by the late 1950s, relocating to California and leaving Larry in musical control. Shifting to RCA and then MGM, Larry steered the group toward the easy-listening market, producing hi-fi lounge recordings that incorporated swing, exotica, and space-age bachelor-pad elements.

Les returned in 1963, at which point Larry had already begun folding rock and pop ingredients into the arrangements. Charles Albertine resumed arranging duties briefly before departing for television and film work, after which Bobby Scott took over. Command Performance!, issued in 1964, marked their final charting album, yet several other releases from the period later attracted lounge collectors, notably 1967’s Girl Watchers. That project proved one of their last joint efforts; Les retired to Texas and appeared only sporadically thereafter. Larry persisted, achieving unexpected commercial success in the early 1980s as architect of the popular Hooked on Swing series. With his New Manhattan Swing Band he presented medleys of jazz standards locked to a steady pulse, echoing the format of the companion Hooked on Classics collections. He continued leading ensembles wherever opportunities arose, while Les Elgart died of heart failure in Dallas on July 29, 1995.