Pete Candoli (born Walter Joseph Candoli; June 28, 1923 – January 11, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played with the big bands of Woody Herman and Stan Kenton and worked in the studios of the recording and television industries.

Pete Candoli
Candoli in the 1950s
Candoli in the 1950s
Background information
Birth nameWalter Joseph Candoli
Born(1923-06-28)June 28, 1923
Mishawaka, Indiana, U.S.
DiedJanuary 11, 2008(2008-01-11) (aged 84)
Studio City, California, U.S.
GenresJazz
OccupationMusician
InstrumentTrumpet
Years active1936–2008
LabelsKapp, Decca
Formerly ofConte Candoli
Spouse(s)Edie Adams
Betty Hutton

Career

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A native of Mishawaka, Indiana, Pete Candoli was the older brother of Conte Candoli.[1]

During the 1940s he was a member of big bands led by Sonny Dunham, Will Bradley, Ray McKinley, Tommy Dorsey, Teddy Powell, Woody Herman, Boyd Raeburn, Tex Beneke, and Jerry Gray.[2] For his ability to hit high notes on the trumpet he was given the nickname "Superman".[3] While he was a member of Woody Herman's First Herd, he sometimes wore a Superman costume during his solo.[1] In the 1950s he belonged to the bands of Stan Kenton and Les Brown[2] and in Los Angeles began to work as a studio musician.[1] His studio work included recording soundtracks for the movies Bell, Book and Candle (in which the Brothers Candoli performed in scenes set in the movie's Zodiac nightclub), Private Hell 36, Day the World Ended (1955) ('The S.F. Blues'), Peter Gunn (on 38 episodes, acting once), Save the Tiger, The Man with the Golden Arm, and The Prisoner of Second Avenue; appearing with The Tonight Show Band ;[3] and acting in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, (1957); Kings Go Forth, (1958); Touch of Evil, (1958); 'Pete', in three episodes of Johnny Staccato, (1958–59); Porgy and Bess, (1959); as trumpet player 'Johnny', in 'The Hand', an episode of Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond, (series 2, episode 15), 1959, (broadcast US, 15th Dec); as the 'Spokesman', in one episode of The Untouchables (1959 TV series), (1959-1963); Monsanto Night Presents Michel Legrand, a 1972 TV special, in which he played 'Mos Santos'; a bartender and trumpet player in the short film, 'Tarzana', (1978), (starring his then wife, Edie Adams); and as 'Sam Johnson', in one episode of Hotel (American TV series), (1983), among others.

Pete Candoli and his brother Conte formed a band that performed in the late 1950s and early 1960s[2][3][4] and intermittently from the 1970s to the 1990s.[2][1] In the early 1970s he performed in nightclubs with his second wife, singer Edie Adams.[2][1][3] Heart surgery delayed his career at the end of the 1970s, but he returned to performing at musical festivals and with Lionel Hampton.[2] He reunited with the Woody Herman band for its fifty-and sixtieth anniversary concerts.[2]

Candoli was featured in the cartoon series The Ant and the Aardvark, which used a jazz score for its theme and musical cues.[5]

Candoli died of complications from prostate cancer on January 11, 2008, at the age of 84. Conte Candoli died of cancer as well in 2001.[4]

Awards and honors

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  • International Jazz Hall of Fame, 1997
  • Big Band Hall of Fame, 2003
  • Look magazine named him one of the seven all-time outstanding jazz trumpet players.

Discography

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As leader

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  • For Peter's Sake (Kapp, 1960)
  • Blues, When Your Lover Has Gone (Somerset/Stereo-Fidelity, 1961)
  • Moscow Mule and Many More Kicks (Decca, 1966)
  • From the Top (Dobre, 1978)
  • Live at the Royal Palms Inn Vol. 9 with Bill Perkins, Carl Fontana (Woofy, 1994)

With Conte Candoli

  • The Brothers Candoli (Dot, 1957)
  • Bell, Book, and Candoli (Dot, 1959)
  • 2 for the Money (Mercury, 1959)
  • There Is Nothing Like a Dame (Warner Bros., 1962)
  • Candoli Brothers (Dobre, 1978)
  • Two Brothers (Hindsight 1999)

As sideman

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With Glen Gray

  • Sounds of the Great Bands! (Capitol 1958)
  • Sounds of the Great Bands Volume 2 (Capitol, 1959)
  • Solo Spotlight (Capitol, 1960)
  • Please Mr. Gray (Capitol, 1961)
  • Themes of the Great Bands (Capitol, 1963)

With Woody Herman

  • Woody Herman and the Herd at Carnegie Hall (Lion, 1958)
  • The Thundering Herds (Columbia, 1961)
  • The First Herd at Carnegie Hall (VSP, 1966)
  • Live at Carnegie Hall (VSP, 1966)
  • The Turning Point 1943–1944 (Coral, 1969)

With Stan Kenton

With Peggy Lee

  • Black Coffee (Decca, 1956)
  • Things Are Swingin' (Capitol, 1958)
  • Blues Cross Country (Capitol, 1962)

With Henry Mancini

  • The Music from Peter Gunn (RCA, 1959)
  • More Music from Peter Gunn (RCA Victor, 1959)
  • The Blues and the Beat (RCA Victor, 1960)
  • Combo! (RCA Victor, 1961)
  • Uniquely Mancini (RCA Victor, 1963)
  • The Concert Sound of Henry Mancini (RCA Victor, 1964)
  • Henry Mancini's Golden Album (RCA Victor, 1966)
  • Gunn...Number One!: Music from the Film Score (RCA Victor, 1967)
  • Mancini '67 (RCA Victor, 1967)
  • Mancini Concert (RCA Victor, 1971)

With Skip Martin

  • The Music from Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (RCA Victor, 1959)
  • 8 Brass, 5 Sax, 4 Rhythm (MGM, 1959)
  • Scheherajazz (Somerset, 1959)
  • Swingin' with Prince Igor (Sonic Workshop, 1960)
  • Songs and Sounds from the Era of the Untouchables (Somerset, 1960)
  • Perspectives in Percussion: Volume 2 (Somerset/Stereo-Fidelity, 1961)
  • Swingin' Things from Can-Can (Somerset, 1961)

With Mark Murphy

With Ted Nash

With Shorty Rogers

With Pete Rugolo

With others

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Ginell, Richard S. "Pete Candoli". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Beck, Frederick A.; Kernfeld, Barry (2002). Kernfeld, Barry (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). New York: Grove's Dictionaries. p. 380. ISBN 1-56159-284-6.
  3. ^ a b c d Feather, Leonard; Gitler, Ira (2007). The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-19-507418-5.
  4. ^ a b Keepnews, Peter (23 January 2008). "Pete Candoli, Trumpeter and Studio Musician, Dies at 84". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  5. ^ Beck, Jerry (2006). Pink Panther: The Ultimate Guide to the Coolest Cat in Town. New York: Dorling Kindersley. p. 39. ISBN 0-7566-1033-8.
  6. ^ "The Complete Vita Recordings of Dan Terry". archive.org. 17 August 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
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