Gus Bivona (November 25, 1915 – January 5, 1996) was an American reed player, (covering a range of clarinets, saxophones and flute) at the height of the big band era. He was never a household-name clarinetist like Artie Shaw or Buddy DeFranco, but during the big band era and throughout the 1950s, he was one of the finest and most relaxed swing studio clarinetists in the business. He also was a rock-solid alto saxophonist.
Arcuiso “Gus" Bivona, was born in Connecticut. He got his musical start under the close eye of his parents, both of whom were also musicians. His mother was a pianist, and his father was a guitarist. Bivona's first instrument was violin, but he switched to a combination of alto saxophone and clarinet at the age of 16. His professional debut was in a band led by Spider Johnson, followed by dates all around New England in Leo Scalzi's Brunswick Orchestra. Bivona must have been a quick study on the horns, since these engagements are reported as having happened not much more than a year after he switched from violin.
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| Gus with Bunny Berigan |
In 1935, Bivona began a lengthy stint with the Jimmy Monaco Orchestra, based out of New York City, and also worked with the Hudson-DeLange Orchestra. Several months with Bunny Berigan in 1938 represented the first material that would thicken the big pot of stew that is Bivona's discography. Through the end of the '30s, he also worked with bandleaders such as Will Hudson and Teddy Powell.
The first of Bivona's bands under his own name showed up in 1940, but work as a sideman in more established bands seemed to be more what he was after. This included a period with Benny Goodman from the fall of 1940 through the spring of 1941, just in time to match wits with the sizzling electric guitar solos of Christian. Prior to joining the Naval Air Force Band, Bivona gigged with Jan Savitt and Les Brown & His Band of Renown, though in the latter case it was hardly long enough to be known, let alone renown. During WWII he conducted the USNAF Band.
After the war, Bivona settled in Hollywood and worked with Tommy Dorsey, Les Brown and Bob Crosby before re-joining Benny Goodman. Next came Woody Herman in 1947 and then the West Coast studios, where he recorded on MGM movie soundtracks and on albums with June Christy, Buddy DeFranco, Ray Anthony, Jack Teagarden and many others.
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| Gus with Steve Allen |
By the mid-1950s, Bivona landed on TV's Steve Allen Show as part of the band and as Allen's foil. Bivona's first leadership album was Hey! Dig That Crazy Band for Mercury in 1956. His second one in 1957 was Music for Swingers: Gus Bivona Plays the Music of Steve Allen, a superb recording, also for Mercury. Bivona not only pulled together a stellar band but also crack arrangers, and his playing on there is sensational. As the title implies, all of the albums songs were composed by Allen. What's more, Bivona contracted top talent playing arrangements by Henry Mancini and Skip Martin.
In 1956, Bivona signed with Mercury Records. Once he connected with composer, lyricist and comedian Steve Allen, the two would occasionally hit the concert trail, including a lengthy club residency at the Roundtable in New York City. Music for Swingers: Gus Bivona Plays the Music of Steve Allen is an example of the delightful documentation of this relationship, originally released in 1958 on Mercury. The pair collaborated on many other West Coast jazz recordings, always in the company of many of the top studio players and arrangers, such as Skip Martin, Henry Mancini and Pete Rugolo with terrific results.Gus on saxophone can also be heard in the soundtrack to Elvis Presley’s Frankie & Johnny from 1966.
Bivona is a good example of a player who seemed to have no problem keeping busy with music as he got older, with both the motivation and inspiration to turn in inspired performances on '70s recordings with vibraphonist Terry Gibbs and singer and guitarist Geoff Muldaur.
Gus married big band singer Ruth Robin, sister of Leo Robin. Their son is Gary Bivona who is also a musician who raised a family of musicians as well. Gus is the paternal grandfather of Kevin, Justin and Jesse Bivona of The Interrupters.
He died January 5, 1996 in Woodland Hills, California, at the age of 80 years.
(Edited from AllAbout Jazz & Wikipedia)
Here's a short documentary on Bivona (it starts 26 seconds in)...