Joe Mooney

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Joe Mooney (right) with Andy Fitzgerald , New York, circa October 1946.
Photograph by William P. Gottlieb .

Joe Mooney (born March 14, 1911 in Paterson , New Jersey, † May 12, 1975 in Fort Lauderdale , Florida) was an American pianist , arranger , accordionist , organist and singer of swing . He led his own groups, but also worked with Eddie Sauter and Bill Finegan .

Live and act

Joe Mooney went blind at the age of ten. He appeared from 1926 on with his brother Dan as a singer in radio shows; they recorded between 1929 and 1931 as the Sunshine Boys and the Melotone Boys records, in which musicians such as Tommy Dorsey , Benny Goodman , Joe Venuti , Eddie Lang , Dick McDonough and Carl Kress played.
The brothers performed together until 1936, when Dan Mooney left the music business. In 1937 Joe Mooney began working as a pianist and arranger for Frank Dailey . In the early 1940s he arranged for Paul Whiteman , Vincent Lopez , Larry Clinton , Les Brown and The Modernaires . In addition, until a serious car accident in 1943, he led his own quartet with his Music Masters .

After recovering, Joe Mooney formed a new swing quartet in 1946 in which he sang and played the accordion, accompanied by bass, guitar and clarinet. The group was initially very successful and existed until 1948; then he toured in trio and (with Bob Carter ) in duo format. During this time he also worked with Buddy Rich . His participation in the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra in 1952 attracted attention ; there he sang the tracks "Nina Never Knew" and "Love Is a Simple Thing". In the 1950s, Mooney also played with Bucky Pizzarelli (1952) and Johnny Smith (1953). In 1954 he moved to Florida , tried his hand at playing the Hammond organ , but was unable to succeed, although Down Beat magazine took him to number 1 in its poll in 1954 . Further recordings were made in 1956 and the mid-1960s.

Joe Mooney was one of the few accordionists in jazz before 1980, before the influence of Astor Piazzolla Richard Galliano and Jean-Louis Matinier, succeeding Charles Melrose and Buster Moten (the accordionist in the Bennie Moten Orchestra) with Mat Mathews and Art Van Damme the instrument prevailed in modern jazz .

Discographic notes

Web links

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ed Petkus Someone Out There Is Listening: The Life of Eddie Hazell, Jazz Guitar Vocalist . P. 257f.
  2. ↑ Ed Petkus Someone Out There Is Listening: The Life of Eddie Hazell, Jazz Guitar Vocalist . P. 258ff.
  3. ↑ Ed Petkus Someone Out There Is Listening: The Life of Eddie Hazell, Jazz Guitar Vocalist . P. 261
personal data
SURNAME Mooney, Joe
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American pianist, arranger, accordionist and swing singer
DATE OF BIRTH March 14, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH Paterson , New Jersey
DATE OF DEATH May 12, 1975
Place of death Fort Lauderdale , Florida