ABSTRACT
American jazz trumpeter, Big Band leader, and arranger, born in Brooklyn. He studied at Columbia and the Juilliard School, and played in various dance bands. In 1935 he joined Charlie Barnet, then went to Red Norvo in 1936 as trumpeter and mellophone player. For Norvo he made outstanding arrangements, including those for Mildred Bailey, and gained fame for his original and resourceful orchestrations. Almost all of Norvo’s records during 1936-1939 were Sauter designs. Then he became Benny Goodman’s arranger in 1939, and continued to expand his instrumental colors. He made about 60 arrangements that Goodman recorded (many featuring vocals by Helen Forest) before the 1942 Petrillo ban, establishing the orchestra on a new sophisticated level. “How High the Moon” (Columbia #35391; 1940), “The Man I Love” (Columbia #55001; 1940), and “Cocoanut Grove” (Columbia #35527; 1940) exemplify his art. His setting of “My Old Flame” for Peggy Lee (Columbia #6379; 1941) was a “masterpiece of the genre” [Schuller 1989].
