Alexander Vlas Datzenko... Fred Foy pronounced his name perfectly in the credits for each T5 episode, but the composer of the series signature music was not well known by the public. In the jazz community, he was known simply as composer and arranger "Al Datz."
Datzenko may have been unknown to most of the public, but they often heard his compositions on ABC television and radio.Datzenko was born in 1915 and grew up in Montreal. He learned to play the violin and studied classical music in college and became interested in jazz and popular music, and was a self-taught arranger. He taveled with Vaughn Monroe and Isham Jones' orchestras playing violin and piano. One of his big career breaks was as guest conductor for a broadcast of the 1950 ABC radio program Paul Whiteman Presents.
Whiteman had become musical director for ABC and hired Glenn Osser for his staff in 1947. It is likely that Datzenko and Osser first met there and worked many times over the years before their collaboration that led to the music and performance of T5's theme. Datzenko composed much of the music that ABC used in its live broadcasts in the 1950s and 1960s. Some who knew him at ABC compared him to Henry Mancini and Aaron Copland. But Datzenko never became that prominent. The network ended its staff orchestra in 1969, and it is likely he and Osser ended their employment with ABC at that time.
T5's music is best appreciated in a clean recording of some of the best sounding episodes. Here are clips of the theme and music from one episode. Some segments may seem clipped as they have been edited to remove any voiceover of announcing or acting.
Click here to play clips of T5's music on SoundCloud.Datzenko wrote the T5 theme and named it "Fifth Dimension." (No relation to the vocal group of the same name that started after T5 production ended, or the 1966 album by The Byrds). The sound is of its times where television themes often had jazz styling, such as Peter Gunn and Johnny Staccato. Jazz had slipped into the bridge music of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar with Mandel Kramer, and even on Perry Mason in its music background. The style of music was considered young and "hip," and fit T5's desire for a more modern approach that appealed to a younger and growing target demographic.
The music was bold and perhaps louder than many listeners expected. It seemed like a good strategy. It was useful for a story compressed into 19 minutes and emphasized scene changes and underscored plotline turns. It also clearly delineated beginnings and ends of commercial breaks. An anonymous online description of the music explained it as "a seedy, seductive swirl of crime-jazz percussion and horns." (Don't forget the bongos; there are all kinds of percussion, but bongos are really hip!) "Seedy" may be a bit much, but one thing was sure: it made T5 stand out from all of the other programming on any of its radio stations, and listeners knew its very distinctive sound and tempo.
Datzenko worked until he was 70, finishing his career in advertising working with clients for their radio and television commercial music. Datzenko died in 1991 at 76.
Glenn Osser had a very long career working with Paul Whiteman (who changed Osser's performing name from "Abe" to "Glenn"). He worked for Mercury Records and later for Columbia Records. He supported recording performances of Patti Page, Vic Damone, Doris Day, Jerry Vale, and Johnny Mathis. Osser was born in 1914 and died at age 99 in 2014. (Wikipedia)
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TRIVIA: Datzenko also arranged for harpsichordist Sylvia Marlowe in 1944. The very upbeat jazz recording... yes, on a harpsichord... can be heard at The Internet Archive.
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