Irving Fazola
Irving Henry Fazola , also called "Faz", (born December 10, 1912 in New Orleans as "Irving Henry Prestopnik"; † March 20, 1949 ibid) was an American jazz clarinetist of traditional jazz and swing .
life and work
Fazola learned the clarinet from Jean Paquay, a Belgian clarinetist at the French Opera in New Orleans, began to play professionally at 15 and was influenced in the process by Leon Roppolo , a lifelong role model. He worked in New Orleans at Candy Candido , Louis Prima (from 1927), Sharkey Bonano , Armand Hug and Ellis Stratakos . In 1935 he joined Ben Pollack's band when they stopped in New Orleans, and went with her to New York and Chicago. After brief periods with Gus Arnheim (1936), Glenn Miller (1937/8) and a trip to his hometown, he joined Bob Crosby in 1938 . Here he became known as a clarinetist and reached the top of the Down Beat Polls in 1940 and 1941 , even before Benny Goodman or Artie Shaw.
After the end of his engagement with Crosby in 1940 he played alternately in New Orleans, New York (inter alia in Famous Door with George Brunies ) and Chicago, u. a. with Claude Thornhill , Muggsy Spanier 1941/2, Teddy Powell 1942/3 and Horace Heidt . From 1943 he stayed in New Orleans for good - not least because of the local cuisine, but also because of health problems. He had a radio show with WWL, sometimes led his own band or played with Tony Almerico or Louis Prima. At the height of his career, Fazola was mainly influenced by Jimmy Noone and in turn influenced (through his records) Pete Fountain , who also owns his clarinet. In 1949 he died of a heart attack in New Orleans . He was married but had no children.
literature
- Carlo Bohländer , Karl Heinz Holler, Christian Pfarr: Reclam's Jazz Guide . 5th, revised and supplemented edition. Reclam, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-15-010464-5 .
Remarks
- ↑ As a child he received the nickname Fazola from the scale description Fa-Sol-La-Ti-Do. According to other sources, it comes from Louis Prima , with whom he toured, a corruption of fagioli (beans) in Italian.
- ↑ The ancestors came from Slovenia
- ↑ Fountain himself said, however, that he could not play this even after its overhaul because of a strong garlic aroma
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Fazola, Irving |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Prestopnik, Irving Henry (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz drummer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 10, 1912 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New Orleans |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 20, 1949 |
| Place of death | New Orleans |