Paul West (pianist)

Paul West (actually: Paul Albert Rickenbacker , born November 12, 1935 in Hollywood , Los Angeles , † December 12, 2011 ) was an American jazz pianist and singer.

Live and act

West grew up in Los Angeles, New York, and Oklahoma before his family moved to Seattle in 1948 . His father was a radio presenter, his mother a professional singer and pianist. He attended Lowell High School in San Francisco , then studied at San Jose State College, where he began to work as a professional musician. After returning to Seattle in 1955, he continued his studies at Seattle University and played regularly at Club Colony . After completing his military service, he had engagements in various night clubs. In the early 1960s he lived for a while with the bassist Chuck Metcalf and his wife, the singer and pianist Joni. His main job was for the advertising agency Kraft, Smith and Lowe. He became famous in the 1970s through his trio BLT ( Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato ) with bassist Rolf Johnson and singer Gail Clements. West lived in Seattle in Thousand Oaks , California for five years and worked at Microsoft from 1991 until he retired in 1998. In the 2000s three albums were released, u. a. at Origin Records , with original compositions and cover versions of the Great American Songbook . He died of prostate cancer at the age of 76 .

Dave Nathan, in his review of the album Lucky So and So, compared the artist to hipsters like Mark Murphy , Mose Allison and Bob Dorough .

Discographic notes

• Lucky So and So (Origin, 2001)
• Being Alone (2003)
• Words & Music by Paul West and Mark Brown (O2A Records, 2007)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Obituary in Seattle Times
2. ↑ Paul West on Allmusic (English)
3. ↑ Review of the album Lucky So and So by Dave Nathan at Allmusic . Retrieved December 16, 2011.