Paul Severson Explained

Paul Severson
Background:non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth Name:Paul Severson
Birth Date:August 18, 1928
Birth Place:U.S.
Death Place:Cedaredge, Colorado, U.S.
Genre:Jazz
Occupation:Composer, arranger, trombonist
Years Active:1949–2007
Label:Academy, Replica, Omegatape, Altair, Eva Tone, GRS West

Paul Severson (August 18, 1928 – May 20, 2007 [1]) was an American music arranger and composer who wrote some of the most recognizable commercial music of our time. While he may be best known for the Doublemint gum jingle and compositions for Marlboro, Ford, McDonald's, Kellogg's, KFC & Chicken of the Sea, his jazz work in "The Cry of Jazz" is preserved in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry and his Hal Leonard arrangements of Dixieland titles are played by people worldwide.[2] During his long career he received 15 Clio Awards.[3] Severson has been called "one of the most famous arrangers/composers you've never heard of".[4]

Early life and career

Severson, a 1946 graduate of Fargo Central High School, settled in Chicago after obtaining a master's degree in music from Northwestern University. He performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and composed for a number of top advertising agencies.

Wherever he went Severson was involved in writing music. As a performer, he played trombone or keyboards with various bands and orchestras in the 1950s and 1960s, including the CBS Chicago Staff Orchestra, the Stan Kenton Orchestra and the Chicago Civic Symphony. Severson also performed with jazz musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and Stan Getz as well as created film scores for director Madeline Tourtelot (The Poet's Return & Two Cats- One Chick 1962).[5]

Through the 1980s and 1990s Paul Severson was head of the Minnesota State University of Moorhead's music industry program .

Later career

Back in Fargo in later years Paul Severson helped found several local jazz groups, arranged compositions for the Red River Dance and Performing Co. and served as music director for Trollwood Performing Arts School. All along, he mentored, encouraged and enlightened.

Severson composed music for a number of national commercials in the early 1990s.

Bill Robinson, who headed the Mesa State Theater department from 1960 to 1988, also had an opportunity to work with Severson. Severson composed the music for the musical Princess, which Robinson produced. "He was quite a jazz man," Robinson said. "He was a very sweet man, truly a gentleman.".

Severson was a moderator and lay minister of two Unitarian Universalist fellowships in Grand Junction and in Fargo, North Dakota. His spiritual search led him to study eastern religions, Native American spirituality, science, philosophy and mysticism. After four years of study, he became a Church of Religious Science practitioner.

Death

Paul Severson died on May 20, 2007, after a long struggle with prostate cancer.

Discography

!Title!Artist!Label!Year
Jingle Bells/ Buffy the Jingle Bell ManDreamdusters & Paul Severson QuartetCustom Sound1953
When You Comin' Baby/Wildcat StompJimmy Reid & Paul Severson QuartetAcademy1955
Academy Records presents the Paul Severson QuartetPaul Severson QuartetAcademy1956
Sounds... CrazyPaul Severson QuartetOmegatape1956
JazzPaul Severson SeptetReplica1957
Misty Island/Please Love MePaul Severson OrchestraAltair1957
LullabiesConnie Mitchel, Billy Leach & Paul Severson EnsembleEva Tone1958
Your Heart's In the Wrong Place/Hot Dog PolkaLen Dresslar & Paul Severson OrchestraAcademy1959
Music of the West Orchestral Suites Disk 1Gary Smith & Paul SeversonGRS West2007
Jazz Disk 1Gary Smith & Paul SeversonGRS West2011
As Sideman (trombone):

With Ralph Marterie

With Stan Kenton

With The Four Freshmen

With Hal Kartun

With Bill Russo

With David Carroll

With Tony Marterie

With Tony Martell

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Paul Thomas Severson Obituary (2007) The Daily Sentinel. 2021-12-11. Legacy.com.
  2. Web site: Campbell, R., Trent, C., & Pruter, R.. 2021-12-12. From Sonny Blount to Sun Ra: The Chicago Years.
  3. Web site: Fargo creator of Marlboro, Doublemint jingles, dies at 78. 2021-12-11. INFORUM. 22 May 2007 . en.
  4. Web site: Colorado. Sharon SullivanGlenwood Springs, CO. Friends remember Doublemint gum jingle writer who died in Cedaredge. 2021-12-11. www.postindependent.com. 29 May 2007 . en-US.
  5. Book: films for, by and about women . 1980 . 978-0-8108-1279-6.