Will Hudson (1908-1981)

Biography

Will Hudson was born in Barstow, California, and studied at the Juilliard School of Music. He began his career as an arranger for various New York bands in the early 1930s, providing charts for the Dorsey Brothers, Cab Calloway, Fletcher Henderson, and others. In 1936, Hudson partnered with Eddie DeLange to form the Hudson-DeLange Orchestra, which enjoyed success until 1938. Hudson also operated a successful music publishing company that published many swing-era standards. After the big band era ended, he continued working as an arranger and teacher.

Musical Style

Hudson’s arranging style combined sophisticated composition techniques with commercial appeal. He had strong formal training, which gave his arrangements a different character from self-taught arrangers—his pieces often featured more developed harmonic progressions and formal structures. Hudson was particularly skilled at creating smooth, melodic reed section passages and dramatic brass statements. His arrangements had a polished, professional quality that made them popular with bandleaders looking for impressive charts. He often incorporated classical music devices like counterpoint and canonic imitation in jazz contexts. Hudson’s style tended toward the “sweet” side of swing, though he could write hard-swinging arrangements when needed. His arrangements were meticulously crafted with every note serving a purpose.

Orchestration Techniques

Hudson’s formal conservatory training manifested in his orchestration through classical contrapuntal devices applied to swing contexts. His saxophone voicings frequently employed canonic imitation—lead melody in the first alto followed by entrance of the same melody in second alto or first tenor at the interval of a fourth or fifth, two beats later—creating rich polyphonic textures unusual in dance band writing. His brass voicings utilized spread positions with trumpets covering the top octave and trombones providing foundation in tenths below, achieving full orchestral sound. Hudson excelled at developmental techniques: he would introduce a melodic motif in the opening bars, then fragment, invert, and augment it throughout the arrangement, creating formal unity through motivic development. His harmonic language included secondary dominants, diminished passing chords, and occasional modal borrowings (employing Dorian or Mixolydian modes for color). Reed section writing featured smooth voice-leading with minimal leaps, each inner voice maintaining stepwise motion while the outer voices created the melodic framework. Hudson’s use of dynamics was graduated and sophisticated, with crescendos carefully calibrated over multiple bars rather than sudden terraced changes. His counterpoint between brass and reeds often involved rhythmic augmentation—reeds playing the theme in eighth notes while brass played the same theme in half notes in parallel, creating textural depth. His arrangements concluded with carefully prepared climaxes using dominant prolongation and harmonic tension buildup.

Top Albums

Hudson-DeLange Orchestra - “Eight Bars in Search of a Melody” (1936-1938)

Leading his own orchestra, Hudson’s arrangements showcased his sophisticated compositional approach. The title track and “The Organ Grinder’s Swing” demonstrate his gift for memorable melodies and polished section work. What’s particularly interesting is how Hudson balanced commercial appeal with musical substance—these arrangements were sophisticated enough to interest musicians while remaining accessible to dancers. His composition “Moonglow” (co-written with DeLange and Irving Mills) became a standard, demonstrating his melodic gift. The arrangements feature unusual textures and voicings that distinguished Hudson’s band from competitors.

Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra - “Rhythm Is Our Business” (1934-1935, Hudson arrangements)

Hudson’s arrangements for Lunceford, including “Jazznocracy” and “White Heat,” show him writing in a more aggressive style than his own orchestra’s work. What makes these arrangements notable is Hudson’s ability to adapt to Lunceford’s two-beat style while maintaining his sophisticated harmonic approach. The charts demonstrate his versatility—he could write in different stylistic contexts while maintaining his identity. “Jazznocracy” features particularly intricate section interplay that challenged Lunceford’s precision band.

Ina Ray Hutton Orchestra - “The Blonde Bombshell of Rhythm” (1934-1935, Hudson arrangements)

Hudson’s arrangements for this all-female orchestra demonstrate his professional approach—he wrote charts that were musically substantial without being condescending, treating Hutton’s band with the same seriousness as any male orchestra. What’s interesting historically is hearing skilled arrangements that helped legitimize female jazz musicians at a time when they faced significant discrimination. Hudson’s charts for Hutton swing hard and feature sophisticated harmonies, proving that his work translated across different performing contexts.