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Welcome
to the website celebrating the
life and the music of Paul Villepigue (1919—1953),
composer, arranger, and teacher of modern music during
the innovative transition period in jazz
history from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. From big band to bebop to modern jazz, Paul Villepigue did
it all.
In commemoration of his birthday, this site was launched July
12, 2004. Research is ongoing and new material is
continually being added to the site, so keep coming back often. Check for the latest updates on the Feature Recording
page.
You might have found this site by searching for
a variation on the spelling of his name. Villepigue with
a g is correct, but the literature runs the gamut of misspellings, from Paul Villepique to Villipeque
to Villapeg. Or you might have searched for Eugipelliv, the title of his 1949 composition, recorded for
Capitol Records by Charlie Barnet and his bop band:
One of the band’s most interesting recordings was Eugipelliv, the title obviously
the
backward spelling of its composer’s surname.
At its
core a blues in G-minor, the piece is an amalgam of Ellington-like saxophone scoring
(led
by the leader’s soprano), Latin rhythmic elements, and Villepigue’s considerable originality. Barnet also recorded
Villepigue’s lovely ballad Lonely Street, but what could have become a major writing career was tragically
cut
short in 1953 when Villepigue took his own life at the age of 33.
(Bill
Kirchner, liner notes for Big Band Renaissance: The Evolution of the Jazz Orchestra—The 1940s and Beyond, Smithsonian Institution, 1995)
Although his career was brief, Villepigue rubbed shoulders with many
of the jazz greats of his time, from Chicago to New York to Los Angeles. Between 1938 and 1953, he
wrote charts for these bandleaders, musicians, and singers,
among others:
BANDLEADERS
Buddy Baker, Charlie Barnet, Johnny Bothwell,
Ike Carpenter, Allyn Cassel, Bob Chester, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Sonny Dunham, Maynard Ferguson, Ted Fio Rito, Benny Goodman, Horace Heidt, Harry
James, Jimmy
Joy, Bob
Keane, Stan
Kenton, Gene
Krupa, Chico
Marx, Vaughn
Monroe, Jerry Pettit, Ben Pollack, Boyd Raeburn, Ike Ragon, Alvino Rey, Buddy Rich, Charlie Spivak, Joe Swanson, Claude Thornhill, Jerry Wald
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MUSICIANS
Chico Alvarez, John Anderson, Don Bagley,
Milt
Bernhart, David Bryant, Bart Caldarell, Conte Candoli, Pete Candoli, Jimmy Cheatham, Buddy Childers, Bobby Clark, Buddy Collette, Bob Cooper, John Coppola, Corky Corcoran, Bob Dawes, Vinnie
Dean, Bill Douglass, Ziggy Elmer, Gene Englund, Bob Gioga, Jimmy Giuffre, John Graas, Jewell Grant, Wardell Gray, Dick Hafer, Bill Holman, John Howell, Diego Ibarra,
Tiny Kahn, Dick Kenney, Barney Kessel, Cliff Leeman, Shelly Manne, Ken Martlock, Obie Massingill, Dick Meldonian, Marty Napoleon, Ted Nash,
Frank Nelson, Paul Nero, Lou Obergh, Tommy Pederson, Art Pepper, Al Porcino, André Previn, Uan Rasey, Shorty Rogers, Joe Rotondi, Eddie Safranski, Doc Severinsen, Bud Shank, Lucky Thompson, Donn Trenner, Joe Triscari, Matt Utal, Carlos Vidal,
George
Weidler, Dave Wells, Ray Wetzel, Gerald Wiggins, Claude Williamson, Gerald Wilson, Vern Yocum, Snooky Young, Si Zentner
SINGERS
David Allyn, Helen Carr, June Christy, Claire Hogan, Herb Jeffries, Kim Kimberly, Dave Lambert Singers, Peggy Lee, Frances Lynne, Skip
Nelson, Loulie Jean Norman, The Skylarks, Buddy Stewart, Mel Tormé
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To read more about Lonely Street,
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