Johnny Frigo

John "Johnny" Virgil Frigo (born December 27, 1916 in Chicago , Illinois , † July 3, 2007 ibid) was an American jazz bassist and violinist.

Frigo took violin lessons as a child and played the tuba in a school band while in high school. He began his career as a professional double bass player in 1934 and played bass and tuba in various nightclubs; so he accompanied Albert Ammons . In addition, he initially worked as a singer in a quartet The Californians . In 1942 he was the bass player in Chico Marx 's orchestra and switched to the violin in a strange number.

During the Second World War he was drafted into the United States Coast Guard , where he appeared in a band with Al Haig and Kai Winding . After the war he became a member of Jimmy Dorsey's orchestra . With two orchestra members, the guitarist Herb Ellis and the pianist Lou Carter , he founded the trio The Soft Winds in 1946 , which existed until 1950. The trio made recordings for Majestic and Mercury and wrote a. a. the jazz standard Detour Ahead .

In 1951 Frigo returned to Chicago, where he was a sought-after studio musician. With his country band Sage Riders he appeared regularly on the National Barn Dance radio program for 13 years . Still, the bass remained his main instrument. After recording a jazz album as a violinist in 1957, he turned to the violin in the early 1980s - reinforced by Leonard Feather . After a session with Herb Ellis , Monty Alexander and Ray Brown , there was a longer collaboration with the trio, from which the albums Triple Treat II and Triple Treat III emerged.

In 1995 the Soft Winds reunited , now with Frigo as violinist. The group released the double album Then and Now: The Soft Winds, 1946-1996 with recordings from the 1940s and new recordings. Frigo appeared twice on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show .

Discography

• I Love John Frigo ... He Swings with Ray Brown , Herb Ellis , Norm Jeffries , Dick Marx , Cy Touff , 1957
• Live from Studio A in New York City with Ron Carter , Butch Miles , Michael Moore , Bucky Pizzarelli , John Pizzarelli , 1988
• Debut of a Legend with Gene Bertoncini , Bill Goodwin , Bob Kindred , Michael Moore, Joe Vito , 1994
• Live at the Floating Jazz Festival with Rick Frigo , Terry Gibbs , Larry Gray , Joe Vito, 1997
• Johnny Frigo's DNA Exposed! with Joe Ascione , Bill Charlap , Nicki Parrott , Bucky Pizzarelli, Frank Vignola , 2001

Web links

• Works by and about Johnny Frigo in the catalog of the German National Library
• Johnny Frigo at Allmusic (English)
• Obituary in The Guardian
• Obituary in the Washington Post