Doc Severinsen
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Carl Hilding "Doc" Severinsen (born July 7, 1927 in Arlington, Oregon) is an American pop and jazz trumpeter, best known for leading the NBC Orchestra in the Johnny Carson era.
In the 1940s and 1950s Severinsen was a member of the Tommy Dorsey, Charlie Barnet, and Benny Goodman big bands. Beginning in 1949, he worked for the National Broadcasting Company, eventually becoming leader of the NBC Orchestra in 1967.
Severinsen would sometimes substitute for Ed McMahon as announcer and sidekick. Although adept at comic interplay, Severinsen took his role as band leader on The Tonight Show seriously and campaigned for the band to get featured slots during the show. For many years, the NBC Orchestra was the most visible jazz big band in America. Severinsen continued as band leader until Carson's retirement in 1992.
In the 1960s, Severinsen also recorded with the Clarke/Boland Big Band and the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis band. Severinsen was also the second trumpeter whose recording of the fanfare "Abblasen," composed by Gottfried Reiche, has been used as the theme for the CBS News program Sunday Morning.
Although he has worked with jazz artists, most of his own recordings as a leader have consisted mainly of pop music. Several recent recordings feature him playing classical trumpet repertoire. He is the principal pops conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the Phoenix Symphony, and since 2001 Distinguished Visiting Professor of Music and Katherine K. Herberger Heritage Chair for Visiting Artists at Arizona State University School of Music.
[edit] Trivia
Severinsen arranged the score for the preposterous nudist-themed cult film Nude on the Moon (1961).
