Heart - Music

William E. May November 10 1916 – January 22 2004 Better Known As Billy May Was An American Composer And Musician. Born In Pittsburgh Pennsylvania He Played Trumpet Professionally In Big Bands Such As Those Of Charlie Barnet Starting In 1939. May Worked As An Arranger For The Bands Of Glenn Miller And Les Brown Before Being Hired As Staff Arranger First For The NBC Radio Network Then For Capitol Records. At Capitol May Wrote Arrangements For Many Top Artists Including Frank Sinatra Nat King Cole Stan Freberg Peggy Lee Sue Raney Vic Damone Jeri Southern Keely Smith Bobby Darin Nancy Wilson Matt Monro Bing Crosby And Rosemary Clooney. May's Charts Often Featured Brisk Tempos And Intricate Brass Parts. One Distinctive Feature Of His Style Is His Frequent Use Of Trumpet Mute Devices Another A Saxophone Glissando Is Widely Known As His "slurping Saxes". However May Was Also An Accomplished Writer In Slower Tempos Sometimes Using String Arrangements. Good Examples Of This Aspect Of His Work Include His Brass Chart For "These Foolish Things" On The Cole Album Just One Of Those Things And His String Arrangement Of "April In Paris" On Sinatra's Come Fly With Me Album. read less