Tony DeNicola

Anthony Emedio DeNicola (* 2 September 1927 in Pennington , New Jersey ; † 2. September 2006 in Philadelphia ) was an American jazz - drummer and music teacher.

Life

Tony DiNicola first learned piano, then drums and music theory; At first he played in fire brigade bands and dance bands. After his military service in the Air Force in 1946/47, where he played in army bands, the pianist Donn Trenner helped him to get a job as a professional musician in the Chick Foster Band, with which he played in the Midwest in 1948. After leaving the band, he moved to San Francisco in 1949 and then worked in Trenton, New Jersey . In 1950/51 he was a member of the Freddy Martin Orchestra, after which he played with Charlie Ventura until 1958 , with Harry James from 1958 to 1962 , and with Billy Butterfield and Charlie Shavers in the early 1960s . He then worked primarily as a music teacher in Trenton public schools; In 1972 he obtained his bachelor's degree and in 1974 his master's degree. In addition to his teaching activities, he worked in Trenton and later in Philadelphia with his own Dixieland jazz bands and became a regular member of the bands of Kenny Davern , an ex-colleague of the Harry James Band. Around 2000 he worked with Ruby Braff , Greg Cohen and the clarinetist Bobby Gordon , most recently in 2005 on the Davern album Dialogues with Ken Peplowski before he died on his 79th birthday.

Discographic notes

• Ruby Braff: I Hear Music ( Arbors Records , 2000)
• Greg Cohen: Way Low ( DIW Records , 1998)
• Kenny Davern: Breezin´ Along (Arbors, 1996)
• Bobby Gordon: Yarnings (Arbors, 2003)
• Harry James: Jazz Masters (Verve, 1959–1964)

literature

• Leonard Feather , Ira Gitler : The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press, New York 1999, ISBN 0-19-532000-X .