Tommy Vig

Tommy Vig
Vig in 2009, photographed by Pethő Zsolt  [ hu ]
Background information
Born	(1938-07-14) 14 July 1938 (age 86)
Origin	Budapest, Hungary
Genres	Jazz, classical
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer, arranger, bandleader
Instruments	Vibraharp, drums, percussion, xylophone, marimba
Years active	1940s–present
Labels	Klasszikus Jazz, Milestone, Discovery, Tom Tom, Pannon Jazz, Dobre, Mortney, Take V, Luz
Website	tommyvig.com

Tommy Vig (born July 14, 1938) is a percussionist, arranger, bandleader, and composer.

Life and work

Since 2006, Vig has lived with his wife Mia (of The Kim Sisters) in Hungary, where they performed concerts, ^[1] appeared on radio and television, ^[2] and recorded albums.

Awards

• Gold Medal Recognition from the President of Hungary (2011) ^[3]
• Nominee; Playboy Magazine (Chicago) for Best Bandleader of the Year
• Winner; Down Beat Magazine (Chicago) Critic's Poll Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition for Vibraharp
• Winner; Hungarian Jazz Society Arranger Competition (2006)
• Vibe Summit Honoree; ^[4] Los Angeles Jazz Society Top Award for Vibraharp (2002)
• Winner; EmErTon Prize by the Hungarian State Radio in Budapest (1994)
• "Olympic Jazz Festival Week" declared by Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley for Vig's production of the official Olympic Jazz Festival (1984)

Discography

Albums

• The Tommy Vig Orchestra (Take 5, 1964) ^[5]
• Encounter with Time a.k.a. Space Race (Discovery, 1967)
• The Sound of the Seventies (Milestone, 1968) ^[6]
• Just for the Record (1971)
• Tommy Vig in Budapest (Mortney, 1972)
• Somebody Loves Me (Dobre, 1976)
• Encounter with Time (Discovery, 1977)
• Tommy Vig 1978, (Dobre, 1978)
• ÜssDob (Tom-Tom, 2008)
• Welcome to Hungary! The Tommy Vig Orchestra 2012 Featuring David Murray (Klasszikus Jazz, 2011)
• Tommy Vig 75! (Klasszikus Jazz, 2014)

Film and television scores

• 1970s–1980s: This Is the Life (TV series)
• 1974: Nightmare Circus (aka The Barn of the Naked Dead or Terror Circus)
• 1975: Forced Entry
• 1975–1976: Doctors' Hospital (TV Series)
• 1979: Starsky and Hutch (TV Series) "Birds of a Feather"
• 1981: Ruckus
• 1981: Texas Lightning
• 1982: The Kid with the Broken Halo (TV movie) ^[7]
• 1982: They Call Me Bruce? ^[8]
• 1983: Sweet Sixteen

Compositions

Tommy Vig's compositions performed in the U.S. and Europe include:

• Concerto for Clarinet, Vibraharp and Orchestra
• Concerto for Vibraharp and Orchestra ^[9]
• Concerto for Timpani and Orchestra
• Concerto for Tenor Saxophone and Orchestra
• Four Pieces for Neophonic Orchestra
• Collage for Four Clarinetists ^[10]
• A Clarinetist and a Harpist
• Music for Tuba and Vibraharp ^[11]
• Budapest 1956 (Concerto for Jazz Drums and Orchestra) ^{[12] [13]}

Collaborations

With The Beach Boys

• L.A. (Light Album) (CBS Records, 1979)

With Stephen Bishop

• Bish (ABC Records, 1978)

With Art Garfunkel

• Watermark (Columbia Records, 1977)
• Scissors Cut (Columbia Records, 1981)

With High Inergy

• Frenzy (Gordy, 1979)

With Bruce Roberts

• Bruce Roberts (Elektra Records, 1977)
• Cool Fool (Elektra Records, 1980)

With Diana Ross

• Red Hot Rhythm & Blues (EMI, 1987)

With Marlena Shaw

• Acting Up (Columbia Records, 1978)

With Frank Sinatra

• Sinatra & Company (Reprise, 1971)

With Dusty Springfield

• It Begins Again (United Artists Records, 1978)

With Rod Stewart

• A Night on the Town (Warner Bros. Records, 1976)
• Foot Loose & Fancy Free (Warner Bros. Records, 1977)
• Blondes Have More Fun (Warner Bros. Records, 1978)
• Tonight I'm Yours (Warner Bros. Records, 1981)
• Body Wishes (Warner Bros. Records, 1983)

With The Manhattan Transfer

• Pastiche (Atlantic Records, 1978)

See also

• List of music arrangers

References

1. Tommy Vig & Budapest Jazz Orchestra (featuring Mia Kim of The Kim Sisters): Aranyszimfóniák (2014) on YouTube
2. Tommy and Mia Vig on FÁBRY (2018) on YouTube
3. President Award (Jazzma.hu)
4. Vibe Summit IV honoring Terry Gibbs on YouTube
5. Tiegel, Eliot (23 October 1965). The Jazz Beat. Nielsen Business Media. pp. 10–. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
6. Milestone Records 9000 series discography Archived 2012-09-10 at archive.today
7. The Kid with the Broken Halo (TV movie) on YouTube
8. They Call Me Bruce? on YouTube
9. Concerto for Vibraphone and Orchestra (2013) on YouTube
10. Performance at Artists Club of Budapest (2010) on YouTube
11. Music for Tuba and Vibraphone (2013) on YouTube
12. "In Memory of 1956" Concert (2018) on YouTube
13. Concerto for Orchestra (2018) on YouTube

External links

• Official site
• Tommy Vig at IMDb