Jimmy Van Heusen—Songwriter of “I Thought About You”

One afternoon in 1939, New York-born Edward Chester Babcock -- better known as Jimmy Van Heusen (1913-1990) -- composed the jazz classic "I Thought About You."

Enjoy this rendition by the innovative jazz trombonist Carl Fontana.

Fontana is accompanied by the Dutch Pim Jacobs Trio: pianist Pim Jacobs, his brother Ruud Jacobs on string bass, and drummer Peter Ypma. The date is Monday May 23, 1988.

Carl Charles Fontana (1928-2003) was born in Louisiana as the son of saxophonist and violin player Charles "Collie" Fontana, who gave his son his first horn at the age of six.

After practising the trombone technique the youngster started out in his father's band.

Somewhere Woody Herman heard Carl Fontana's trombone playing and in 1951 he hired him to stand in for trombonist Urbie Green in Woody Herman's orchestra.

Herman was so impressed with Fontana's trombone skills that Carl could remain in the Third Herd after Green's return to the band.

In 1954 Fontana moved from Herman to Lionel Hampton's big band. In the beginning of 1955 Carl Fontana played with Hal McIntyre's orchestra and later that year he joined Stan Kenton's band.

Carl Fontana had a fluid style of playing and he created the so-called "doodle tonguing" technique, which Fontana himself described as "a self-defense against saxophone players." With this doodle tonguing Fontana could play runs of notes at speeds many had not previously considered possible to achieve on a slide trombone.

For a gig with Al Belletto in 1957, Carl Fontana first came to Las Vegas, where he would reside the rest of his life.

In Las Vegas Fontana was backing up artist like Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr., and Paul Anka and he was also playing in the orchestras of Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Lionel Hampton when they had engagements in the gambling town.

In 1975 Carl Fontana became co-leader of the Hanna-Fontana Band, together with drummer Jake Hanna.

Ten years later Fontana made his only solo album "The Great Fontana" (1985), however he was recorded on more than 70 albums during his lifetime.

Since 1958, Carl Fontana had not toured much, so this clip where he is playing in The Netherlands on an AVRO-TV "Music Hall" live broadcast is a rare occasion.

On the same day that Jimmy Van Heusden had composed "I Thought About You," the lyrics were written by Johnny Mercer during an overnight train trip to Chicago. Thisbe Vos sings this jazz classic on her second album "Under Your Spell."