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Pete Candoli Biography

pete-candoli
  • Born: June 28, 1923 in Mishawaka, IN
  • Years Active: 1940s-1990s
  • Member of: Candoli Brothers
  • Genre: Jazz

The elder of the trumpet-playing Candoli brothers, Pete initially made the greater impact of the two in Woody Herman's First Herd at the tail end of the swing era. A powerful, flamboyant soloist, his big moment came toward the end of "Apple Honey," where he would appear in a Superman costume and cut loose scorching, dissonant flurries of high notes. Pete started with the Sonny Dunham band in his 17th year (1940-1941) and passed through the bands of Will Bradley, Benny Goodman, Ray McKinley, Tommy Dorsey, Freddie Slack, and Charlie Barnet before settling into the Herman band from 1944 to 1946. He worked for Tex Beneke (1947-1949) and Jerry Gray (1950-1951) before moving to Los Angeles, where he became immersed in studio work with side trips into the Les Brown (1952) and Stan Kenton (1954-1956) bands. From 1957 to 1962, he co-led a group with Conte and later fronted his own band, while recording on his own for Columbia, Warner Bros., Kapp, and Somerset. He has been married to singers Betty Hutton and Edie Adams; with the latter, he formed a nightclub act in 1972 in which he sang, danced, led the orchestra, and played. He would continue to perform with Conte off and on into the 1990s. Although Pete's profile had been low and his trumpet technique slipped in later years, he could still burn in a swing-grounded manner in the '90s. ~ Richard S. Ginell, Rovi

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