Biography
Ralph Burns (29 June 1922 – 21 November 2001) was an American jazz pianist, composer and arranger. Born in Newton, Massachusetts, he studied at the New England Conservatory of Music and began his career in the 1940s as pianist and arranger for Woody Herman’s band, contributing many of its signature pieces.
From the 1960s he worked extensively on Broadway, providing orchestrations for shows including Sweet Charity and Funny Girl. He collaborated frequently with director Bob Fosse on film scores. His credits include Bananas (1971), Cabaret (1972), for which he won an Academy Award as music supervisor, Lenny (1974), New York, New York (1977) and All That Jazz (1979), for which he received a second Oscar. Later film work encompassed Annie (1982), National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) and All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989).
