Joe Puma

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Joseph J. "Joe" Puma (born August 13, 1927 in the Bronx , New York City , † May 31, 2000 there ) was an American jazz guitarist of swing and modern jazz .

Live and act

Joe Puma is the son of a guitar and mandolin maker. As a guitarist he is nonetheless self-taught ; he was initially influenced by Django Reinhardt . He joined the musicians' union in 1947 and played in various bands, in 1953 with Joe Roland , then with Louie Bellson , Don Elliott , Artie Shaw and Les Elgart . In 1954/55 he accompanied Peggy Lee , in 1956/57 he worked with Herbie Mann and made recordings with the Whitey Mitchell Sextet , with Mat Matthews , Vinnie Burke and Ralph Sharon . He also accompanied the singer Chris Connor with Herbie Mann . In 1957 he made two albums under his own direction, with Steve Lacy , Oscar Pettiford and Bill Evans among others . In 1958, Puma worked for Lee Konitz and played in Dick Hyman's trio .

In the 1960s he worked primarily as an instrumentalist and musical director of touring orchestras, among others for his wife, the singer Molly Lyons, but also for Fran Jeffries and Morgana King . Since 1974 he has played in a successful duo with guitarist Chuck Wayne , but also worked with Al Cohn and Jimmy Raney . In the mid-1980s he had a trio with Hod O'Brien and Red Mitchell . In the late 1990s, Puma accompanied singer Gail Wynters and played with Warren Vaché and Peter Ind ; In 1997 a trio album was created with bassist Murray Wall and drummer Eddie Locke .

The title track of his album Like Tweet (1961) was used in the soundtrack of the film Good Morning, Vietnam . Due to his strong focus on studio work, his "jazz talent never received the international recognition it deserved"

Discographic notes

Albums under your own name

  • 1957: Wild Kitten ( Dawn ) with Steve Lacy, Herbie Mann, Oscar Pettiford
  • 1957: Joe Puma Quartet & Trio - Jazz (Jubilee / Fresh Sound Records) Trio with Eddie Costa and Pettiford, quartet with Bill Evans, Oscar Pettiford and Paul Motian
  • 1984: Shining Hour (Reservoir) with Hod O'Brien and Red Mitchell
  • 1997: It's a Blue World (Sundazed) with Murray Wall and Eddie Locke

Albums as sideman (selection)

  • Chris Connor: Chris Connor Sings the George Gershwin Almanac of Songs (Atlantic, 1957)
  • Herbie Mann: With Sam Most Quintet, Herbie Mann Plays (Bethlehem, 1955),
  • Herbie Mann: Sultry Serenade (OJC, 1957); Flute Soufflé (OJC, 1957)
  • Warren Vaché: What Is There To Say? (Nagel-Heyer, 1999)
  • Gail Wynters: My Shining Hour (Naxos, 1998)
  • Helen Merrill: Chasin 'The Bird (Emarcy, 1979)

swell

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ http://www.spaceagepop.com/puma.htm
  2. ↑ On the album Jazz recorded in the summer of 1957 , Bill Evans first played the composition Mother of Earl by his friend, Earl Zindars . Even if he can still be heard traditionally in his piano playing with single notes in a mixture of swing and hardbop, there are also elements typical of Evans in the piano solos, especially the doubling and slowing down of the tempo, triplet playing and classical seeming chords , quoted. after Petrik, p. 90 f.
  3. ^ So Maurice J. Sommerfeld in his book The Jazz Guitar; quoted n. Obituary for Joe Puma .
personal data
SURNAME Puma, Joe
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Puma, Joseph J.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American swing and modern jazz guitarist
DATE OF BIRTH August 13, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH May 31, 2000
Place of death New York City