As a youth, he was recognized as an extraordinary talent and formed a traveling duo with Danny Polo, a musical prodigy on the clarinet and trumpet from nearby Clinton, Indiana. As a student at Garfield High School in Terre Haute, he played with several theater bands.
Thornhill entered the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music at age 16. That same year he and clarinetist Artie Shaw started their careers at the Golden Pheasant in Cleveland, Ohio with the Austin Wiley Orchestra. Thornhill and Shaw went to New York together in 1931.
Claude went to the West Coast in the late 1930s with the Bob Hope Radio Show, and arranged for Judy Garland in Babes in Arms.
In 1935, he played on sessions for Glenn Miller's first recordings under his own name, as Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. He played on Glenn Miller's composition "Solo Hop," which was released on Columbia Records.
After playing for Paul Whiteman, Benny Goodman, Ray Noble, Glenn Miller, and Billie Holiday, and arranging "Loch Lomond" and "Annie Laurie" for Maxine Sullivan, in 1939 he founded his Claude Thornhill Orchestra. Danny Polo was his lead clarinet player. Although the Thornhill band was originally a sophisticated dance band, it became known for its many superior jazz musicians and for Thornhill's and Gil Evans' innovative arrangements; its "Portrait of a Guinea Farm" has become a classic jazz recording.
The band played without vibrato so that the timbres of the instruments could be better appreciated, and Thornhill encouraged the musicians to develop cool-sounding tones. The band was popular with both musicians and the public; the Miles Davis Nonet was modeled in part on Thornhill's cool sound and use of unconventional instrumentation. The band's most successful records were "Snowfall," "A Sunday Kind of Love" and "Love for Love."
His most famous recording, "Snowfall," was released in 1941 as Columbia 36268. He released the song also as a V-Disc recording, as V-Disc 271A1.
Playing at the Paramount Theater in New York for $10,000 a week in 1942, Thornhill dropped everything to enlist in the US Navy to support the war effort. As chief musician, he played shows across the Pacific Theater with Jackie Cooper as his drummer and Dennis Day as his vocalist.
In 1946, he was discharged from the Navy. Then in April, he reformed his ensemble. He kept his same stylistic lines, but added some Bop lines to it. He got his old members of Danny Polo, Gerry Mulligan, and Barry Galbraith back together, but also added new members like Red Rodney, Lee Konitz, Joe Shulman and Bill Barber. Barber was a tuba player, who was considered as a "soft brass" player rather than a bass as to not interfere with (Joe) Shulman on the bass. Their creative and immaculately clean and delicate interpretation of Evans’s arrangement of Dizzy Gillespie’s fast bop theme "Anthropology" (1947) provides a particularly noteworthy example of Thornhill’s style, which influenced Miles Davis’s recordings in 1949 for Capitol and many musicians who followed .
In the mid 1950s, Thornhill was briefly Tony Bennett's musical director.
He offered his big band library to Gerry Mulligan when Gerry formed the Concert Jazz Band, but Gerry regretfully declined the gift, since his instrumentation was different. A large portion of his extensive library of music is currently held by Drury University in Springfield, Missouri.
After his discharge from the Navy he continued to perform with his orchestra until his death of a heart attack at 1:30 a.m., July 2, 1965, at his home in Caldwell, New Jersey. Claude was booked at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey, at the time, the engagement was kept in his honor with his music director in his place. He was survived by his wife, actress Ruth Thornhill, and his mother, Maude Thornhill (81 at the time), of Terre Haute, Indiana, still active at the time conducting choirs.
Claude Thornhill's compositions included the standard "Snowfall", "I Wish I Had You", recorded by Billie Holiday and Fats Waller, "Let's Go", "Shore Road", "Portrait Of A Guinea Farm", "Lodge Podge", "Rustle Of Spring", "It's Time For Us To Part", "It Was A Lover And His Lass", "The Little Red Man", "Memory Of An Island", and "Where Has My Little Dog Gone?"
In 1984, Claude Thornhill was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.
Where or When
Claude Thornhill Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We looked at each other in the same way then
But I can't remember where or when
The clothes you're wearing are the clothes you wore
The smile you are smiling you were smiling then
But I can't remember where or when
Seem to be happening again
And so it seems that we have met before
And laughed before, and loved before
But who knows where or when
The lyrics of Where or When by Claude Thornhill convey a sense of nostalgia and deja vu experienced between two people who seem to have met before. The opening lines suggest that this conversation has taken place in a previous time, possibly a long time ago, since the singer can't recall where or when it happened. The repetition of the phrase "the same way then" emphasizes the sense of familiarity between the two individuals.
The second verse highlights the physical similarities between the past and present encounters. The singer notes that the clothes and smile of the other person are the same as they were before, but still cannot place their previous meeting. This repetition of the phrase "but I can't remember" emphasizes the frustration the singer feels in not being able to remember the details of their previous meeting.
The final verse emphasizes the confusion of the singer in trying to determine how they know this person. The rhetorical question, "but who knows where or when" conveys a sense of helplessness in not being able to figure out the details of their past interactions. Ultimately, the song captures the sense of mystery and wonder that comes with experiencing a strong sense of deja vu.
Line by Line Meaning
It seems we stood and talked like this before
The situation feels familiar as if we have experienced it before
We looked at each other in the same way then
Our gaze and expressions seem to resemble the past interaction
But I can't remember where or when
Despite the familiarity, I cannot recall the exact moment and place
The clothes you're wearing are the clothes you wore
The attire you have on now is reminiscent of the past encounter
The smile you are smiling you were smiling then
Your facial expression is similar to the one you had in the past
But I can't remember where or when
Despite the similarity, I am unable to recollect the specific details
Some things that happened for the first time
Certain events that were unique earlier
Seem to be happening again
Appear to be recurring
And so it seems that we have met before
Thus, it feels like we have encountered each other previously
And laughed before, and loved before
We have had similar laughter and affectionate moments in the past
But who knows where or when
Despite the recollection, the exact location and time eludes us
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
*Insert clever name here *
I love the classic songs that THE MONUMENT MYTHOS introduces to me :) Wonderful piano playing
Amygdalum
On Christmas, they let liberty breathe.
Winter
Hey mr libertylung music man, nice to meet you fellow monumental anomaly enjoyer
Amygdalum
@Winter I am indeed the they/them creature responsible for the full libertylung edit, love to see a fan of course
Trombonology Erstwhile
Certainly one of the loveliest treatments of this poignant beauty from the great Rodgers & Hart. Claude's piano and arrangement employ restraint, conversely, to achieve power! My favorite part is Irving Fazola's exquisite bridge; he had the most beautiful clarinet tone ever, IMO.
Barry I. Grauman
Arranged by Thornhill himself.
Stong
DO NOT VISIT THE STATUE OF LIBERTY ON CHRISTMAS DAY, WORST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE
rodrigo ruben Rodríguez
The breath of the americans
Harib0neo
When the Lung gets Liberated every 25th of December:
Adhnin Zul
Italian immigrants when they saw Liberty is breathing.