Van Alexander

about

Van Alexander (né Alexander Van Vliet Feldman, born May 2, 1915) is an American bandleader, arranger, and composer. Alexander led bands (Van Alexander & His Orchestra) and arranged from high school, and studied composition in college. He landed a job selling arrangements to Chick Webb in the middle of the 1930s. One of these, "A-Tisket, A-Tasket", became a hit for Webb and Ella Fitzgerald, and subsequently became one of her signature tunes. Alexander later arranged other nursery rhymes for jazz performance, such as "Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone?" and "Got a Pebble in My Shoe". In the late 1930s he formed his own band and played theaters into the 1940s. Later in the 1940s, he was hired by Bing Crosby to work in Hollywood, and worked extensively as a composer, arranger, and conductor for film scores. Alexander wrote a textbook on film arrangement in 1950 called First Arrangement, and Johnny Mandel studied under him. Alexander's scores include film noir titles such as Baby Face Nelson, The Big Operator, and The Private Lives of Adam and Eve. Alexander also provided music for television shows such as Hazel, The Farmer's Daughter, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Dennis the Menace, and The Wacky World of Jonathan Winters (which he received a nomination for a 1973 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement In Music Direction of a Variety). He arranged and conducted for variety shows starring Mickey Rooney, Gordon MacRae, Dean Martin, and James Stewart. Additionally,

top songs

albums

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Ultra-Lounge, Vol. 2: Mambo Fever

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Swing! Staged For Sound/The Home Of Happy Feet

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Swing! Stage For Sound/The Home Of Happy Feet

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Ultra-Lounge: Nursery Rhythms!

The Home of Happy Feet

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Spending Spree

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Ultra-Lounge, Vol. 02: Mambo Fever

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AFTER DARK 2

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Small Fry - Capitol Sings Kids' Songs For Grown-Ups

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Jazz Inspiration: Swing Classics

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Ballroom Choice

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Best of Swing

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