Tony Pastor

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Tony Pastor in the 1940s.
Photography by William P. Gottlieb .

Tony Pastor (* 26. October 1907 in Middletown , Connecticut as Antonio Pestritto , † 31 October 1969 in New London , Connecticut) was an American singer , tenor saxophonist and big band -Leader in the field of swing and popular music .

Live and act

Pastor came from an Italian immigrant family and began his musical career as a tenor saxophonist in the bands of John Cavallaro (1927), Irving Aaronson (1928-30) and Austin Wylie (1930). Around this time he formed his first band, which performed in a nightclub in Hartford, Connecticut , but was not very successful. He then played with Smith Ballew (1934), Joe Venuti and Paul Fredricks . He also got the opportunity to sing in Vincent Lopez's band ; he did this in Artie Shaw's orchestra, of which he became a member in 1936. At Shaw he then had a big hit with the number "Indian Love Call", the B-side of " Begin the Beguine ", Shaw's biggest hit. The great success prompted him to found his own big band, which existed from 1939 to 1959. He had one of his first engagements at the Lincoln Hotel in New York. Pastor's band played stylistically similar to the Artie Shaw band and also recorded a number of records for Vocalion , Bluebird , Victor , Cosmo and Columbia . In June 1941 she had a first hit for Bluebird with the song "Maria Elena" with Dorsey Anderson as the band singer (# 9). Pastor starred in various short films for Columbia and Universal Pictures and also in a feature film ( Two Blondes and a Redhead ).

Tony Pastor playing the saxophonist at the Edison Hotel, New York City, in the 1940s.
Photography by William P. Gottlieb .

Many later famous jazz musicians played in Pastor's big band, such as Ed Allen , Joe Pass , Max Kaminsky , Lou McGarity , Buddy Morrow , Dave Pell and Frank Rosolino . His band singers included u. a. Eugenie Baird , Betty and Rosemary Clooney and May Irwin . The orchestra's signature tune was the title "Blossoms".

Pastor's band also survived the end of the big big bands in the late 1940s; after he was able to place a song in the national charts for the last time in 1949 ( "'A' You Are Adorable (The Alphabet Song)" , # 12), he continued to lead his orchestra until the end of the 1950s, mostly with engagements in large hotels, like the Peabody in Memphis and the Roovevelt in New Orleans . In the 1960s he performed successfully with a smaller ensemble, in which his sons Tony Jr. and Guy played up in Las Vegas casinos .

Discographic notes

  • The Rare Tony Pastor and his Orchestra (Collectables, 1947/50) with Clooney Sisters, Pearl Bailey
  • Tony Pastor Plays and sings Shaw (Collectables)

literature

  • Leo Walker: The Big Band Almanac . Ward Ritchie Press, Pasadena CA 1978, ISBN 0-378-01991-0 .
  • Simon, George T .: The Big Bands . With a foreword by Frank Sinatra. 3rd revised edition. New York City, New York: Macmillan Publishing Co and London: Collier Macmillan Publishers, 1974, pp. 391-393

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Pastor, Tony
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pestritto, Antonio
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz musician and big band leader
DATE OF BIRTH October 26, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH Middletown , Connecticut
DATE OF DEATH October 31, 1969
Place of death New London , Connecticut