Ralph Yaw

American composer and arranger. Born 22 October 1898 in Berkshire, Franklin, Vermont Died Died 25 Apr 1963 at age 64 in Kern, California. He wrote arrangements for a great many swing-era bandleaders during the 1930s and 1940s. He co-wrote some songs with poet/lyricist Georgie Starbuck Galbraith. Yaw is best-known for his work with Stan Kenton. When he was about 28 and Kenton was 15, Yaw met Kenton and introduced him to the recordings of Earl Hines and Louis Armstrong. Yaw wrote and arranged for Kenton beginning in the early 1940s. Kenton put together his first band in 1941; from the beginning, it was an "arranger's band" and Yaw took advantage. He was (along with Kenton himself) responsible for much of that early band's book, arranging and composing dozens of original pieces for the band, including the notable "Two Moods." Yaw often refused compensation because he knew money for the band was tight, and he enjoyed writing for a band with which he felt so much accord.