Linear Concepts: The Life and Music of Bill Holman

Few jazz composers and arrangers have reached the level of notoriety attained by Bill Holman. Over the span of his illustrious career, Holman has composed and arranged for ensembles such as the Charlie Barnet Big Band, the Count Basie Orchestra, the Stan Kenton Orchestra, Woody Herman’s bands, the Buddy Rich Big Band, Gerry Mulligan’s Concert Jazz Band, The Terry Gibbs Dream Band, Maynard Ferguson, the Metropole Orchestra, and Doc Severinsen and the Tonight Show Band, among many other collegiate and professional ensembles. His commercial arrangements appear on recordings by Ann Richards, Anita O’Day, Peggy Lee, June Christy, Michael Bublé, Tony Bennett, Natalie Cole, and the 5th Dimension. After a brief education at the Westlake College of Music, he developed his musical skills to become one of the most in-demand arrangers and composers in modern jazz, leaving a lasting influence on the field of jazz composition and arranging. Over time, Holman’s musical style evolved independently from ephemeral trends, with distinctive features such as unique counterpoint, thematic development through economic means, manipulation of intervallic structures, innovative extensions to standard jazz forms, blues riffs and swinging figures, and exceptional playability. Most impressively, Holman seamlessly infused subtle humor into his works without relying on gimmicks while preserving emotional depth and musical unity. This dissertation examines the evolution of Bill Holman’s unique writing style and the culmination of these elements in three of his compositions for big band: “Septuagenary Revels,” “A View From The Side,” and “Zamboni.”