Neal Hefti
Neal Paul Hefti (October 29, 1922 – October 11, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger. He wrote music for The Odd Couple movie and TV series and for the Batman TV series. He began arranging professionally in his teens, when he wrote charts for Nat Towles. He composed and arranged while working as a trumpeter for Woody Herman providing the bandleader with versions of "Woodchopper's Ball" and "Blowin' Up a Storm" and composing "The Good Earth" and "Wild Root". He left Herman's band in 1946. Now concentrating on writing music only, he began an association with Count Basie in 1950. Hefti occasionally led his own bands. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Hastings, Died October 11, 2008 (Los Angeles)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1942 - 1959
Roles Represented in DAHR: leader, arranger, trumpet, songwriter
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 51-75 of 262 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decca | 81750 | 10/22/1951 | Regular man | Neal Hefti Orchestra | arranger, leader | |||
| Decca | 81751 | 10/22/1951 | Uncle Jim | Neal Hefti Orchestra | arranger, leader | |||
| Decca | 82042 | 12/27/1951 | You're the only one I love | Neal Hefti Orchestra | arranger, leader | |||
| Decca | 82043 | 12/27/1951 | Don't be that way | Neal Hefti Orchestra | arranger, leader | |||
| Decca | 82255 | 2/6/1952 | Sahara's aide | Neal Hefti Orchestra | arranger, leader | |||
| Decca | 82256 | 2/6/1952 | Always | Neal Hefti Orchestra | arranger, leader | |||
| Decca | 82257 | 2/6/1952 | Cherokee | Neal Hefti Orchestra | arranger, leader | |||
| Decca | 82605 | 4/3/1952 | Everytime | Neal Hefti Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet, arranger, leader | |||
| Decca | 82606 | 4/3/1952 | Lonesome and blue | Neal Hefti Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet, arranger, leader | |||
| Decca | 82607 | 4/3/1952 | Sure thing | Neal Hefti Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet, arranger, leader | |||
| Decca | 82608 | 4/3/1952 | Why not? | Neal Hefti Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet, arranger, leader | |||
| Decca | 82885 | 5/27/1952 | Do you care? | Neal Hefti Orchestra ; Frances Wayne | instrumentalist, trumpet, arranger, leader | |||
| Decca | 82886 | 5/27/1952 | You'd be so nice to come home to | Neal Hefti Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet, arranger, leader | |||
| Decca | 82887 | 5/27/1952 | Bill | Neal Hefti Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet, arranger, leader | |||
| Decca | 82888 | 5/27/1952 | Siboney | Neal Hefti Orchestra ; Frances Wayne | instrumentalist, trumpet, arranger, leader | |||
| Decca | 83144 | 7/23/1952 | Somebody loves me | Neal Hefti Orchestra ; Frances Wayne | instrumentalist, trumpet, arranger, leader | |||
| Decca | 83145 | 7/23/1952 | Jambalaya | Neal Hefti Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet, arranger, leader | |||
| Decca | 83146 | 7/23/1952 | Two-faced clock | Neal Hefti Orchestra ; Frances Wayne | instrumentalist, trumpet, arranger, leader | |||
| Decca | 83147 | 7/23/1952 | Mean to me | Neal Hefti Orchestra ; Frances Wayne | instrumentalist, trumpet, arranger, leader | |||
| Decca | 83148 | 7/24/1952 | Four or five times | Modernaires ; Neal Hefti Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet, arranger, leader | |||
| Decca | 83149 | 7/24/1952 | When my love comes back to me | Modernaires ; Neal Hefti Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet, arranger, leader | |||
| Decca | 83644 | 11/14/1952 | Lake Placid | Neal Hefti Orchestra | arranger, leader | |||
| Decca | 83645 | 11/14/1952 | Uncle Jim | Neal Hefti Orchestra | arranger, leader | |||
| Decca | 83646 | 11/14/1952 | Waltzing on a cloud | Neal Hefti Orchestra | arranger, leader | |||
| Decca | 83647 | 11/15/1952 | In Veradero-1 | Neal Hefti Orchestra | arranger, leader |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Hefti, Neal," accessed December 12, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103459.
Hefti, Neal. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 12, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103459.
"Hefti, Neal." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 12 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Neal Hefti
Discogs: Neal Hefti
Allmusic: Neal Hefti
Grove: Neal Hefti
IMDb: Neal Hefti
Britannica: Neal Hefti
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Hefti, Neal - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82013466
Wikidata: Neal Hefti - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q463224
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/67646974
MusicBrainz: Neal Hefti - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/75770f14-cbe0-4b06-8825-14797098ff2a
Fast: http://id.worldcat.org/fast/86392 - http://id.worldcat.org/fast/86392
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