32 replies to this topic

[flat5]

I heard this today from Jay Corre.

[John Tapscott]

RIP, Pete - who graced many of the fine West Coast big band sessions of the 50's and 60's. He was a mainstay of the 1st Herman Herd (I think he was the guy who wore the Superman uniform) and later, the Shorty Rogers big band. Back in the day, there was a saying on the WC that when the music was really tough, Pete was the first guy you called.

Edited by John Tapscott, 14 January 2008 - 02:08 PM.

[Chuck Nessa]

Superman, indeed.

[garthsj]

RIP, Pete - who graced many of the fine West Coast big band sessions of the 50's and 60's. He was a mainstay of the 1st Herman Herd (I think he was the guy who wore the Superman uniform) and later, the Shorty Rogers big band. Back in the day, there was a saying on the WC that when the music was really tough, Pete was the first guy you called.

Pete CANDOLI was one of the greats in the jazz big band era .. and he lived a pretty fantastic personal life too ... He will be missed.

[Big Beat Steve]

Too bad ... another great one from the Golden era of jazz gone.

R.I.P.

[BruceH]

Sad news. RIP

[Teasing the Korean]

Any obits posted yet?

[ghost of miles]

Sad news indeed. In addition to his Herman sides, I've always enjoyed some of the Candoli Brothers dates like 2 FOR THE MONEY and the two albums collected on JAZZ HORIZONS. Goodbye to a fellow Indiana native--your solos will keep soaring down here.

[Larry Kart]

This Pete/Conte album is a gem:

http://www.amazon.co...o...1791&sr=1-3

It was recorded "live" in the 1980s at Rick's Cafe Americain in Chicago, with John Young, Dan Shapera, and Wilbur Campbell (in great form). I was there, though not on the night things were recorded. At the time, I only knew Pete from his Herman solo spots and the like and as a sterling section man. He can heard at length here as a soloist and was one hell of player -- more from Dizzy than Conte was (or became) and with a hot core of Eldridge as well.

[Cyril]

Any obits posted yet?

Only this: http://www.candoli.com:80/memory.html

RIP

[chewy]

so was P. Candoli more of an ensemble player, than his brother conte who also played for course in small group wcj?

[Bill Barton]

R.I.P.

This is sad news indeed. Pete and Conte were among my favorites and are missed.

[Larry Kart]

so was P. Candoli more of an ensemble player, than his brother conte who also played for course in small group wcj?

Pete was used more in that role, or fell into it more, than Conte did, though Conte also did a good deal of big-band and studio work. In particular, Conte was a member of the Tonight Show band under Doc Severinsen from 1972-92.

[JSngry]

Was it Pete or Conte who was married to Edie Adams?

[JSngry]

I heard this today from Jay Corre.

Where is Jay Corre today, and what is he doing?

[Mark Stryker]

Not to hijack this thread from Pete Condoli, but http://www.jaycorre.com (but of course) seems to indicate he's living in Hollywood, Fla. (suburban Lauderdale-Miami). Corre was pretty much the first tenor saxophone soloist I got to know since my first jazz record at age 10 was Buddy Rich's "Big Swing Face" and Corre is the featured tenor man. I've got all of those old World Pacific sides by Buddy's band but haven't listened to them in a long, long time. I recall Corre's sound as deep and warm and his melodic concept sort of out of Stan Getz but very muscular.

Edited by Mark Stryker, 14 January 2008 - 11:30 PM.

[JSngry]

Yeah, Corre w/Rich struck me in a positive way early on too, that's why I ask.

Thanks!

[Mark Stryker]

I should check out those records again -- always a fascinating experience to go back to music that you loved very early, before you really knew anything, and see what your current ears tell you.

[Larry Kart]

Was it Pete or Conte who was married to Edie Adams?

Pete. "Adams's most recent marriage was to noted trumpet player Pete Candoli, which lasted from 1972 until their divorce in 1989. They toured and performed together, with Candoli serving as her music director."

[JSngry]

Thanks, Larry. I gotta wonder what it was like succeeding Ernie Kovacs as a life-partner. Talk about following in some footsteps...

[JSngry]

I should check out those records again -- always a fascinating experience to go back to music that you loved very early, before you really knew anything, and see what your current ears tell you.

I did that a while back. Lots to cringe at, but still, some real spirit that remains admirable. And Buddy, for all his Buddy-ness, drove that band like no other. Major props from me for that.

I guess you could say "love" without "like", or vice-versa, depending on how you look at it.

[Larry Kart]

Thanks, Larry. I gotta wonder what it was like succeeding Ernie Kovacs as a life-partner. Talk about following in some footsteps...

Yes, but I also think it might have been along the lines of Betty Grable and Harry James.

[catesta]

RIP, Mr. Candoli.

[JSngry]

Thanks, Larry. I gotta wonder what it was like succeeding Ernie Kovacs as a life-partner. Talk about following in some footsteps...

Yes, but I also think it might have been along the lines of Betty Grable and Harry James.

Only prettier (in the good sense), I would hope...

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

First time I ever heard of Pete was on this



RIP

MG

[ghost of miles]

A poster on the Night Lights site reminded me that PC is on Peggy Lee's BLACK COFFEE date as well. Might pull that one out tonight for another listen...an album I love anyway.

[Teasing the Korean]

Has any site posted an obit yet, other than the RIP on the Candoli site?

[ghost of miles]

Has any site posted an obit yet, other than the RIP on the Candoli site?

Not that I've seen...I threw a quick RIP post up on the Night Lights site yesterday afternoon after seeing the news here. I'd wager Doug Ramsey will have something up at Rifftides within the next day or two--maybe from Ted Gioia at his new site as well. I think a lot of jazz writers are focused on the IAJE this week.

Edit: Just ran a Technorati blog search and the only thing it turned up so far was the Night Lights post from yesterday. I'll be sure to post any more obits or pieces that I see here in this thread.

Edited by ghost of miles, 15 January 2008 - 05:33 PM.

[flat5]

Jay Corre is still playing tenor and touring. A very warm, swinging player.
His website is informative.

[Larry Kart]

Lord have mercy --- before Edie Adams, Pete was married to Betty Hutton! (No wonder I thought of Harry James and Betty Grable.) The gory details follow. I particularly like the fact that Pete and Betty "planned a six-month honeymoon," that they were divorced twice, that Betty charged in one of the divorce proceedings that Pete "never took her out to dinner," and that Betty said in an interview that the secret of her marriage's success (??) was: "My husband and I don't spend the night together."

Betty Hutton's Fourth Marriage

Betty's fourth marriage was to Pete Candoli. After a rocky start, Betty thought her marriage to Pete was going well until she heard on the radio that it wasn't.

Born:

Elizabeth "Betty" June Thornburg: February 26, 1921 in Battle Creek, Michigan.
Walter Joseph "Pete" Candoli: June 28, 1923 in Mishawaka, Indiana.

Died:

Betty: March 11, 2007 in her apartment in Palm Springs, California at the age of 86 from complications from colon cancer.
Betty's funeral was on March 14, 2007 at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Cathedral City, California.

Wedding Date:

After being friends for 12 years, Pete and Betty were married on December 24, 1960 at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation in Las Vegas, Nevada. The wedding ceremony was performed by the Rev.Richard L. Sowers. Betty was 39, and Pete was 37 when they married.

Honeymoon:

Pete and Betty planned a six-month honeymoon in Europe.

Marriage Issues and Divorce:

In April 1961, Betty announced in London that she was getting an annulment. They separated August 10, 1966. Betty and Pete were divorced twice. The first time was in Juarez, Mexico in September 1966. Deciding she wanted a U.S. divorce, Betty filed for divorce on March 23, 1967 charging Pete with causing her mental and physical suffering. Betty testified that Pete was jealous of her as a performer, argued with her in front of others, and never took her out to dinner. Their divorce was final in California on June 18, 1967.

Pete's Other Marriages:

Prior to his marriage to Betty, Pete was married to actress Vicky Lane from 1953 to August 1958. Pete and Vicky had one child, Tara Claire Candoli.
After his divorce from Betty, Pete married actress Edie Adams in June 1972 at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, California. Edie and Pete divorced in 1989.

Children:

Betty and Pete had one daughter.
Carolyn Candoli: Born in 1962.

Occupations:

Betty: Actress, comedian, singer, dancer. In later life she worked as a cook and housekeeper at a catholic rectory in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.
Pete: Jazz trumpet player, composer, and actor.

Quotes About the Marriage of Betty Hutton and Pete Candoli:

Betty after marrying Pete: "I should have done this a long time ago."
Source: The Ada Evening News, December 26, 1960.

Betty on the secret of the success of her fourth marriage: "My husband and I don't spend the night together. He goes home at night to his own pad. Pete likes to write music at night and he can't stand the baby making noise. And I can't stand the scrambling for the bathroom in the morning. Besides I like the whole bed to myself. Pete and I weren't getting along. We separated for a while. We tried this to make it work and it has. He comes to breakfast. I see him as much as any wife sees her husband except at night."
Source: Press-Telegram, December 19, 1969.

Betty about learning that her marriage to Pete was over: "That's the thing that cracked me. I thought we were happy. But one night when I was getting ready for bed, I turned on Rona Barrett and she said Pete Candoli is engaged to Edie Adams. Then I took a whole bottle of pills and said the hell with it."
Source: Chicago Daily Herald, September 15, 1980.