Johnny Guarnieri

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Johnny Guarnieri (born March 23, 1917 in New York City as John Albert Guarnieri , † January 7, 1985 in Livington , New Jersey ) was an American pianist and composer of swing .

Live and act

Johnny Guarnieri listened to Fats Waller when he was 15 and began his professional career two years later when he toured with the bands of George Hall , Eddie Farley and Mike Riley . He finally became known through his work in the big bands of Benny Goodman (1939, 1941), Artie Shaw (1940, 1941/42) and Tommy Dorsey (1942–43). Elements of classical music, for example by Domenico Scarlatti and Beethoven , flowed into his piano style .

During the 1940s, Guarnieri was a busy sideman and was involved in recordings by, for example, Cozy Cole , Ike Quebec , Charlie Kennedy , Hank D'Amico , Louis Armstrong and Ben Webster . He also led a formation under his own name, the Johnny Guarnieri Swing Men, and recorded with them for the Savoy label and for Continental ; Lester Young , Hank D'Amico, Billy Butterfield and Cozy Cole also played in the group . He also directed a trio in the 1940s that included Slam Stewart and Sammy Weiss , which also recorded for Savoy . During this time, solo piano and trio recordings were made for the short-lived Majestic label.

In 1949, Guarnieri recorded an album with June Christy , June Christy & The Johnny Guarnieri Quintet . Guarnieri continued to work as a sideman and also as a studio musician for NBC in California. In later years he worked primarily as a composer and music teacher (he had claimed to have written 5,000 compositions in his life). In 1961 he had a TV appearance on the side of Coleman Hawkins and Roy Eldridge . In the 1970s Guarnieri recorded a number of albums on his own label "TazJazz", toured Europe and performed until 1982 at the "Tail of the Cock" nightclub in Studio City ( Los Angeles ). He died while performing with Dick Sudhalter .

According to statements from contemporaries, especially from the 1940s, Guarnieri was a musical "chameleon" in that he was able to masterfully copy the style of any well-known jazz pianist from (among others) Fats Waller to Art Tatum to Count Basie (something that was later also for example on Dick Hyman was true). In his older recordings, he usually plays a style that is sparing in terms of notes, which is why he was often used as a "Basie substitute" - for example on Lester Young records . In other musical environments - for example his recordings with trombonist Vic Dickenson - he prefers a more orchestral style that is reminiscent of Earl Hines , but a bit more ragtime-oriented, with less pronounced trumpet-like melodies in the right hand. In the combo recordings with musicians from the Artie Shaw Big Band, Guarnieri was one of the first to introduce the harpsichord to jazz.

Discographic notes

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Notes on Guarnieri's style are taken from:
    Short biography of Scott Yanow in Allmusic ,
    on Dick Hyman at Floyd Levin, Benny Carter: Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians. Univ. of California Press 2000, ISBN 0-520-23463-4 , p. 92, Leonard Feather citation. (Hyman's piano lessons in various styles on Youtube are also interesting in this context).
    On Guarnieri's late solo style: cf. Levin / Carter, op.cit., P. 125.
    In general about Guarnieri's style e.g. E.g .: Lowell Don Holmes, JW Thomson: Jazz Greats. Teaneck, NJ, 1986, ISBN 0-8419-0750-1 , passim.
personal data
SURNAME Guarnieri, Johnny
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Guarnieri, John Albert (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American pianist and composer of swing
DATE OF BIRTH March 23, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH 7th January 1985
Place of death Livingston , New Jersey