ABBA

Horn player who was very much a part of the L.A. session scene in the ‘60s and ‘70s, appearing on Frank Sinatra covers such as “That Old Black Magic” and “I’ve Heard That Song Before” on his 1961 album, Come Swing With Me. He also made the cut on Old Blue Eyes’ Trilogy and The Complete Capitol Singles Collection.

A member of the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra during its brief run in the mid-to-late ‘70s, he found himself working with Hollywood mainstays Henry Mancini and Lalo Schifrin: Claude blows flugelhorn on The Mancini Touch, released on CD in 1996, and worked on Schifrin’s soundtrack of the television series Planet of the Apes, which debuted in 1974. A couple of bits from that program, “Ape Shuffle” and “Escape From Tomorrow”, appear on Schifrin’s Most Wanted 1968-1979.

It was not his only foray into television: Claude is credited with playing the French horn on Pete Rugolo’s Original Jazz Scores From 2 Classic TV Series: Thriller/Richard Diamond. He was also part of the ill-fated Beach Boys album, Smile, which was never released.

Not to worry: You have other opportunities to hear Claude on recordings as diverse as Brainstorm’s 1978 release, Journey to the Light, Frankie Laine’s Rawhide, and the Duane Eddy anthology, The RCA Years: 1962-1964.

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