Levene, Gus

Gus Levene, born Gershun Levene (July 11, 1911 – February 9, 1979), was an American arranger, composer, orchestrator and guitarist. In the mid-1940s, he was one of the top network radio arrangers. Levene is best remembered for his work as an arranger for Dean Martin and orchestration for numerous Hollywood film productions, including the 1956 hit film The King and I.

Levene, born into a family of Jewish merchants, was interested in music from an early age learning to play guitar, violin, and viola. He later attended Southern Methodist University, majoring in music. He began his music career as the chief arranger for the pit orchestra at the Palace Theater in Dallas, and composed music for string quartets in the city. He also performed with the WFAA radio orchestra. On September 4, 1932, his composition Ballet Suite Exodus, which he had written at the age of 18, was performed by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. In 1933 he and his wife Julia moved to New York City, where he continued to study music while working as an arranger and guitarist for Andre Kostelanetz and Ray Bloch. He was hired by CBS Radio in the late 1930s. By the mid 1940s, Levene was named as one of the 20 top network radio arrangers by Billboard.

He later moved to Hollywood, where he was employed as an arranger for most of the major studios, mostly uncredited work for films such as The Eddie Cantor Story (1953), The King and I (1956), Carousel (1956), The Big Land (1957), Marjorie Morningstar (1958), The Music Man (1962), and At Long Last Love (1975). He worked extensively with Dean Martin, arranging and conducting the orchestra for Martin’s 1959 album A Winter Romance. He also arranged other hits for Martin including Standing on the Corner. Levene and his orchestra also backed Frank Sinatra when he recorded Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas for a 1963 Reprise seasonal compilation album of the same name The recording was also used on the soundtrack of The Victors, a 1963 war film. Although only a snippet of the song actually aired in the film, Sinatra released the whole recording as a Christmas single.

View: LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW!
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LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW!

Recorded by Dean Martin

Arranged by Gus Levene, Prepared for Publication by Rob DuBoff and Jeffrey Sultanof

Jazz Studio Orchestra Arrangement with Vocal

Jazz Lines Publications

JLP-6216

$65.00

More Info
View: LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW! [DOWNLOAD]
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LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW! [DOWNLOAD]

Recorded by Dean Martin

Arranged by Gus Levene, Prepared for Publication by Rob DuBoff and Jeffrey Sultanof

Jazz Studio Orchestra Arrangement with Vocal

Jazz Lines Publications

JLP-6216DL

$65.00

More Info
View: STANDING ON THE CORNER
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STANDING ON THE CORNER

Recorded by Dean Martin

Arranged by Gus Levene, Prepared by Jeffrey Sultanof and Rob DuBoff

Jazz Studio Orchestra Arrangement with Vocal Soloist and Male Vocal Quartet

Jazz Lines Publications

JLP-9343

$50.00

More Info
View: STANDING ON THE CORNER [DOWNLOAD]
look
download

STANDING ON THE CORNER [DOWNLOAD]

Recorded by Dean Martin

Arranged by Gus Levene, Prepared by Jeffrey Sultanof and Rob DuBoff

Jazz Studio Orchestra Arrangement with Vocal Soloist and Male Vocal Quartet

Jazz Lines Publications

JLP-9343DL

$50.00

More Info