Although he is responsible for famous melodies like the Pirates of the Caribbean or The Junglebook, George Bruns is one of the most unrecognized composers.
Born in 1914, George Bruns was a multi-instrumentalist and virtuoso tubaist. He worked in Harry Owens' Hawaiian Band and was musical director of radio station KEX in Portland, Oregon. In the late '40s, he played trombone with the Rose City Stompers and the Castle Jazz Band and also played tuba with the Webfoot Jazz Band. In 1950 he joined Turk Murphy's Jazz Band, doubling tuba and bass. During his stint with Murphy's band, Bruns recorded a classic tuba solo on By And By13-an incredible chorus which is still quoted by contemporary brass bassists. After leaving Turk Murphy, Bruns stayed in Southern California, working at anight club with his wife, the vocalist Jeanne Gayle. He worked for UPA, a Hollywood cartoon studio, then moved to Walt Disney Studios in 1954 to work on Sleeping Beauty. In 1955 he composed the mega-hit *The Ballad Of Davy Crockett*. His association with the Disney Studios soon led to work with the Banjo Kings and the Firehouse Five Plus Two (the Disney Arist's Jazz Band led by Ward Kimball) becoming the full-time tubaist with the FH5 when Ed Penner died in 1956. He also led the Wonderland Jazz Band, which included several of the FH5 musicians. He continued to write music for Walt Disney Productions, then retired in the '70s and died 1983 with the age 69.
GOT MORE INFO? PLEASE E-MAIL ME