Alec Wilder & Harold Arlen

Jazz Legends

Alec Wilder and Harold Arlen are both composers in the great American Songbook tradition. Chances are good you've never heard of Alec Wilder, even if you’re familiar with some of his popular songs, like "I’ll Be Around" or "While We’re Young." He was also a prolific composer of chamber music, many of the best known virtuosos of the day were personal friends of his, and he wrote most of his chamber works with them in mind. Frank Sinatra was so enamored with Wilder’s chamber music that he released a recording of several of his instrumental works as “conducted” by Sinatra!

Harold Arlen is perhaps best remembered for his score for The Wizard of Oz and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" is one of the most recorded songs of all time. It’s easy to overlook the fact that he wrote over 500 songs during his career, a large number of which became standards, about which Irving Berlin said "He wasn't as well known as some of us, but he was a better songwriter than most of us, and he will be missed by all of us."