Biography
Although Joe Garland authored the jazz standard "In the Mood," he never achieved widespread personal recognition, yet he exerted considerable behind-the-scenes influence throughout the music's development. A skilled reed specialist whose work encompassed tenor, baritone, and bass saxophones along with clarinet, he also distinguished himself as an inventive arranger and composer. His musical beginnings took shape in North Carolina, followed by formal training at Baltimore's Aeolian Conservatory and Shaw University. Classical repertoire occupied him until 1924, when he entered Graham Jackson's Seminole Syncopators and made his first recordings. Throughout the remainder of the decade he performed and recorded with Elmer Snowden in 1925, Joe Steele, Henri Saporo, Leon Abbey on a South American tour, Charlie Skeete, Jelly Roll Morton on several of the pianist's sessions, Steele once more, and finally Bobby Neal in 1931. His most notable period arrived with the Mills Blue Rhythm Band from 1932 to 1936, a stretch that included the group's transition to Lucky Millinder's leadership; there Garland earned respect both as a dependable ensemble saxophonist and as its principal arranger. Subsequent engagements found him alongside Edgar Hayes in 1937, Don Redman the following year, and Louis Armstrong from 1939 to 1942, during which he also served as Armstrong's musical director. After a period of freelancing that included work with Claude Hopkins, Garland rejoined Armstrong's last large ensemble from 1945 to 1947. Additional orchestral positions in 1948 came with Herbie Fields, Hopkins again, and Earl Hines. By the 1950s Garland had shifted to part-time activity while occasionally directing both small groups and big bands. Among his compositions were the Glenn Miller hit "In the Mood" and "Leap Frog," which became a signature piece for Les Brown.