Lou Mecca

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Lou Mecca ( 1923 - June 27, 2003 ) was an American jazz guitarist and university teacher.

Live and act

Lou Mecca began playing the trumpet at the age of eight and then learned to play the guitar. After high school, he worked as a professional musician, had a job at a music school in New Jersey, and played in bars and clubs at night. In 1947 he met the jazz guitarist Johnny Smith , who was one of his main influences alongside the playing of Tal Farlow and Joe Pass . In 1955 he had the opportunity to record an album for Blue Note Records under his own name ; mostly jazz standards like You Go to My Head , Just One of Those Things or All the Things You Are . Vibraphonist Jack Hitchcock, bassist Vinnie Burke and drummer Jimmy Campbell played in his quartet .

During this time, Mecca also worked with Ella Fitzgerald , Bill Evans , Teddy Charles , Gil Mellé , Eddie Costa , Al Cohn and Chris Connor on performances or recording sessions . He also played in Broadway shows such as The Unsinkable Molly Brown , with the Ron Metcalf Orchestra (at the World's Fair in New York City) and with the Vincent Lopez Orchestra. In parallel to his music career, he began training as a chiropractor, which he completed in 1967. Mecca worked in this profession for the next 25 years. Eventually he resumed his music career and began performing at concerts and festivals in the New Jersey / New York area. He also built up the guitar department at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Rutherford (New Jersey) , most recently as an assistant professor for seven years.

Discographic notes

  • Lou Mecca Quartet (Blue Note, 1955)
  • Bridging the Cap (Pony Canyon, 2003)

swell

  1. ^ A b Eugene Chadbourne : Portrait at Allmusic (accessed on August 8, 2010)
  2. ↑ Discographic information at Jazzdisco.org

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Mecca, Lou
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz guitarist and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH 1923
DATE OF DEATH June 27, 2003