Raskin, Milton

Biography

Raskin, Milt(on William) (b Boston, 27 Jan 1916; d Los Angeles, 16 Oct 1977). Jazz pianist, conductor, and arranger. He studied at the New England Conservatory in the early 1930's, and by 1937 had moved to New York, where he performed with Wingy Manone and recorded with Ziggy Elman, whose Love is the sweetest thing (1939, Bb 10741) is a good example of his early style. He played in the big bands of Gene Krupa (1938-9, 1941-2), Teddy Powell (1939-40), Alvino Rey (1940), and Tommy Dorsey (1942-4), recording with all but Rey; he may be heard to advantage as a soloist on Dorsey's Well, Git it (1942, Vic. 27887). Raskin then moved to Los Angeles, where he recorded with Artie Shaw and Billie Holiday (both 1946), Woody Herman and Manone (both 1947), Sarah Vaughn (1951), Georgie Auld (1952), B.B. King (1959), Stan Kenton (1963, 1965), and others. He also worked as a music director, conductor, and arranger for studio orchestras and occasionally wrote lyrics for pop songs. --The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz