Ralph Mullins
Ralph K. Mullins aka Diz Mullins (born 10 May 1929 in Tulsa) is an American jazz trumpet player, arranger, composer, and collegiate educator. He grew up in Oklahoma but spent most of his professional career in the Los Angeles area. After years of playing trumpet in Southern California, Mullins is still playing and leads his own band. Career highlights. Around 1954, Mullins moved to Los Angeles, where he began playing with the Tommy Alexander Band. The jazz musicians he performed with include Dave Wells, Lanny Morgan, Bob Hathaway, and Don Bagley. Mullins played trumpet and arranged for four  years with Charlie Barnet's Big Band. He also performed with Anita O’Day's Sextet, Woody Herman, Sy Zentner, Russ Morgan, and Freddy Martin, with whom he worked a year on a TV show and two years at the Coconut Grove. Mullins has scored over 400 feature films including "Rocky I," "II," and "III", Barbra Streisand's "A Star Is Born," "Roots," the TV mini series, "The Autobiography of Jane Pitman," "The Merv Griffin Show," and "The Hollywood Palace." He scored for Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Rosemary Clooney, recorded with Charlie Barnet's Big Band (five albums) alongside of Maynard  Ferguson, Al Porcino, and Buddy Childers. In scoring and performing, he has worked with numerous TV shows including "Bonanza," "Red Skelton," "Smothers Brothers," "Andy Griffith," "Matlock," "Perry Mason", and has also worked with Quincy Jones, Dave Grusin, Elmer Bernstein. Educator. Mullins was a member of the Film Scoring Department faculty at the University of Southern California from 1996 to 2006. He has also taught at the Dick Grove School of Music. Selected discography. As trumpet sideman As arranger