Tom Kubis
Encyclopedia
Tom Kubis is a jazz composer/arranger, woodwind player, recording artist, band leader.
Tom was recognized in the middle 60's as an outstanding saxophone and flute player. He performed on saxophone with such jazz greats as Frank Rosolino
, Bill Watrous
, Arturo Sandoval
, Jack Sheldon
, Pete Christlieb
and Louis Bellson.
After studying 20th century composition at Long Beach State, Tom’s interests turned towards jazz composition and arranging. In addition to motion picture and television assignments, the sought after composer/arranger has worked with many outstanding jazz artists and celebrities including long time commissions with Steve Allen
(seven years) and Helen Reddy (five years). Among his television credits are arranging and conducting the CBS Jackie Gleason
30 year Reunion Special and The Bob Newhart
20 Year Anniversary show.
Tom's musical arrangements and those of Bob Florence
, Roger Newman
and Alan Broadbent
were featured at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC in Portraits of Jazz. This presentation was penned by famed composer Cy Coleman
and Academy Award winners, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, with whom Tom has worked for many years. In 1993, Tom conducted his arrangements with Jack Sheldon at Carnegie Hall
in New York, also his Big Band performed his arrangements for two nights at the Orange County Performing Arts Center
with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra.
Tom Kubis's musical arrangements define the contemporary big band sound and have been performed at virtually every major jazz festival in the world including the Playboy Jazz Festival
, the Montreaux Jazz Festival and the Berkeley Jazz Festival to name a few. His charts have been played in just about any place or city that has a big band. There are literally hundreds of CDs available where Tom's arrangements can be heard from college to professional bands.
Tom’s playing, arranging and sequencing skills have taken him all over the world for concerts and clinics. As the Los Angeles Times
puts it, "His charts are crisp and swinging are finely crafted with superbly linked written passages that flow with tremendous urgency and drive".
Tom was recognized in the middle 60's as an outstanding saxophone and flute player. He performed on saxophone with such jazz greats as Frank Rosolino
Frank Rosolino
Frank Rosolino was an American jazz trombonist.- Biography :Born in Detroit, Michigan, Frank Rosolino studied the guitar with his father from the age of 9. He took up the trombone at age 14 while he was enrolled at Miller High School where he played with Milt Jackson in the school's stage band and...
, Bill Watrous
Bill Watrous
William Russell Watrous III is a jazz trombonist. He is perhaps best known by casual fans of jazz music for his rendition of Sammy Nestico's arrangement of the Johnny Mandel ballad "A Time for Love," which he recorded on a 1993 album of the same name...
, Arturo Sandoval
Arturo Sandoval
Arturo Sandoval is a jazz trumpeter and pianist. He was born in Artemisa, in the newest renamed Artemisa Province, Cuba....
, Jack Sheldon
Jack Sheldon
Jack Sheldon is an American bebop and West Coast jazz trumpeter, singer, and actor. He is a trumpet player and was a comedian on The Merv Griffin Show, as well as the voice heard on several episodes of the educational music television series Schoolhouse Rock.-Biography:Sheldon was born in...
, Pete Christlieb
Pete Christlieb
Pete Christlieb is a jazz bebop, West Coast jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist.-Biography:Christlieb was born in Los Angeles, California and is the son of bassoonist Don Christlieb...
and Louis Bellson.
After studying 20th century composition at Long Beach State, Tom’s interests turned towards jazz composition and arranging. In addition to motion picture and television assignments, the sought after composer/arranger has worked with many outstanding jazz artists and celebrities including long time commissions with Steve Allen
Steve Allen
Steve Allen may refer to:*Steve Allen , American musician, comedian, and writer*Steve Allen , presenter on the London-based talk radio station LBC 97.3...
(seven years) and Helen Reddy (five years). Among his television credits are arranging and conducting the CBS Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...
30 year Reunion Special and The Bob Newhart
Bob Newhart
George Robert Newhart , known professionally as Bob Newhart, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s when his album of comedic monologues The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide...
20 Year Anniversary show.
Tom's musical arrangements and those of Bob Florence
Bob Florence
Bob Florence was an American jazz arranger and pianist. He began taking piano lessons at five and initially intended to be a concert pianist. However, on taking classes with Bob McDonald he changed direction toward jazz.At the beginning of his career Florence worked as a pianist and arranger with...
, Roger Newman
Roger Newman
Roger Newman was a British born-American soap opera actor and writer. He was born in London, England and died in New York City, New York.Newman began his career as a child in radio...
and Alan Broadbent
Alan Broadbent
Alan Broadbent, MNZM , is a jazz pianist, arranger and composer best known for his work with artists such as Woody Herman, Diane Schuur, Chet Baker, Irene Kral, Sheila Jordan, Charlie Haden, Warne Marsh, Bud Shank, and many others.Broadbent studied piano and music theory in his own country, but in...
were featured at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC in Portraits of Jazz. This presentation was penned by famed composer Cy Coleman
Cy Coleman
Cy Coleman was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist.-Life and career:He was born Seymour Kaufman on June 14, 1929, in New York City to Eastern European Jewish parents, and was raised in the Bronx. His mother, Ida was an apartment landlady and his father was a brickmason...
and Academy Award winners, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, with whom Tom has worked for many years. In 1993, Tom conducted his arrangements with Jack Sheldon at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in New York, also his Big Band performed his arrangements for two nights at the Orange County Performing Arts Center
Orange County Performing Arts Center
The Orange County Performing Arts Center is a performing arts complex located in Costa Mesa, California, United States.The Center offers the world’s leading dance companies, Broadway shows, award-winning classical, jazz and cabaret artists, family entertainment, special events and year-round...
with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra.
Tom Kubis's musical arrangements define the contemporary big band sound and have been performed at virtually every major jazz festival in the world including the Playboy Jazz Festival
Playboy Jazz Festival
The Playboy Jazz Festival is an annual event sponsored by Playboy Enterprises to celebrate jazz as well as feature both established and up and coming musicians of the genre. It was founded by Hugh Hefner and was first held in Chicago, Illinois at the Chicago Stadium in 1959. However, the second...
, the Montreaux Jazz Festival and the Berkeley Jazz Festival to name a few. His charts have been played in just about any place or city that has a big band. There are literally hundreds of CDs available where Tom's arrangements can be heard from college to professional bands.
Tom’s playing, arranging and sequencing skills have taken him all over the world for concerts and clinics. As the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
puts it, "His charts are crisp and swinging are finely crafted with superbly linked written passages that flow with tremendous urgency and drive".
Discography
- Silverware: Dimitri Pagalidis (Mark 56 Records, deleted)
- Another Place Setting: Dimitri Pagalidis (Mark 56 Records, deleted)
- Slightly Off The Ground: Tom Kubis Big Band (Seabreeze CDSB 109-2)
- At Last: Tom Kubis Big Band (Cexton CR21251)
- Reunion: Charles Rutherford Big Band (CD5B2044)
- Space Available: Bill Watrous Big Band (Double-Time Records DTRCD 124)
- Fast Cars,Fascinating Women: Tom Kubis Big Band (Seabreeze SB2079)
- Keep Swingin':Tom Kubis Big Band (Seabreeze SB 2090)
- With A Lot Of Help From My Friends: George Graham Big Band (Seabreeze 2089)
- A Perfect Match: Bohuslan Big Band (Norway) Real Records RT 103-2