Morganized Posted June 6, 2009 Report Share Posted June 6, 2009 I just picked up Leo Parker's "Rollin' with Leo" and noticed the pianist playing on the second tune, Bad Girl. His name is Johnny Acea. Never heard of him. He has a really nice touch. When I looked him up on AMG there was nothing. Did he ever lead a session? Did he play with anyone on a regular basis? Anyone know about Johnny? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted June 6, 2009 Report Share Posted June 6, 2009 http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&s...0cfqxq95ldke~T1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted June 6, 2009 Report Share Posted June 6, 2009 I want to say he played on another BN or two but I know nothing else about him. I've liked him when I've heard him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted June 6, 2009 Report Share Posted June 6, 2009 per: http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&s...0cfqxq95ldke~T4 Flying Home: The Best of Verve Years Illinois Jacquet Piano Kid and the Brute Illinois Jacquet Piano Happy Cats Joe Newman Piano Jazz Singer Eddie Jefferson Piano Have Guitar, Will Travel Grant Green Piano Rollin' with Leo Leo Parker Piano Elder Don Don Wilkerson Piano Latin Bit Grant Green Piano My Hour of Need Dodo Greene Piano Strictly Bebop Dizzy Gillespie/Tadd Dameron/Babs Gonzal Piano Complete Dinah Washington on Mercury, Vol. 1 (1946-19 Dinah Washington Piano Sear-iously Big Al Sears Piano 1946-1947 Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Piano Cool Too Count Basie Bunch Piano Cobb and His Mob in Concert Arnett Cobb Piano 1949-1950 Dizzy Gillespie & His Orchestra Piano Bean and the Boys [High Note] Coleman Hawkins Piano Jacquet a la Carte Illinois Jacquet Piano Queen Sings Dinah Washington Piano Big Raw Tone Al Sears Piano Pure Genius: The Complete Atlantic Recordings Ray Charles Arranger 1951-1954 James Moody Piano Probably some overlap there that I overlooked...and no leader date(s). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcello Posted June 6, 2009 Report Share Posted June 6, 2009 I found this: Johnny Acea Full name John Adriano Acea. Born Philadelphia. From late 1930s played trumpet with Sam Price and tenor sax with Don Bagley. In New York he performed and recorded as a pianist with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis in 1947-48, Dizzie Gillespie in 1949-50, and Illinois Jacquet in 1952-54. He recorded with James Moody in 1951 and Al Sears in 1952 and played briefly with Cootie Williams. He also made recordings with Joe Newman in 1954 and 1957 and Eddie Jefferson in 1959. (From New Groves Dictionary of Jazz) And this: Biography by Eugene Chadbourne The Blue Note catalog is a buffet table that attracts and satisfies an endless series of jazz noshers, and the ones that stay longest and dig deepest into the more obscure salads will wind up discovering this funky Philly pianist. He backed up the superb guitarist Grant Green as well as providing the endless cycles of chord changes required by participants in tenor saxophone battles such as Ben Webster and Illinois Jacquet. Acea also had his jive side, evidenced by his involvement with the zany band of Dizzy Gillespie and its off-the-wall vocalist Babs Gonzales. Acea, who is sometimes mistaken for the rhythm and blues performer Johnny Ace plus a typo, came from a Cuban family who settled in Philadelphia around 1910. Census forms from that city in the '20s indicate there were spelling problems even back then, with both the pianist and his father's name listed as Adrino Acea, which could mean that the performer often credited as John Adriano Acea added an extra letter to his name, or the census taker left one out. Acea was born with rheumatic fever, and the original prediction from doctors was that he would not survive his childhood, let alone the all-night jam sessions that lay ahead. He did much better than anyone expected, became known to most of his friends as simply "John" and picked up several musical nicknames including "Johnny Acey" and "Acey." While not exactly the most famous jazz pianist to come out of Philadelphia, legends still abound about the man's talent. It is said that he was able to play all of the instruments in the music store, but he quickly picked up a reputation for piano as well as an uncanny knack for backing up singers. He would eventually record with greats such as Gloria Lynne, Diana Washington, Ruth Brown and Patti Page. He played cornet in the army, however, and worked as a trumpeter with the band of pianist Sammy Price when he got out in the late 30s. During the same period, he also played tenor saxophone in the Don Bagley group. Acea moved to New York City in the early '40s, performing and recording on piano with tenor sax great Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis in 1947 and 1948. He finished out the decade with Gillespie, and in the early '50s began backing up Illinois Jacquet. Acea also actively freelanced on records, in 1951 with the talented James Moody and with another tenor great, Al Sears, the following year. From 1954 through 1957 he played with Joe Newman, contributing the tune "Blues for Slim" to the album Joe Newman and His Band. Acea's composing skills also took him into the world of doo wop and rhythm and blues, genres that melded regularly with jazz in terms of the musicians involved, if not the listeners that were attracted. He wrote music for the Cadillacs, who later became the Coasters, as well as the big bands of both Frankie Laine and Ray Charles. Jacquet recorded the Acea tune "Little Jeff"; Acea paid back the tribute by giving one of his children "Jacquet" as a middle name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillF Posted June 6, 2009 Report Share Posted June 6, 2009 I remember him on piano on a Joe Newman/Zoot Sims date called Locking Horns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kh1958 Posted June 6, 2009 Report Share Posted June 6, 2009 There are a couple of reasonably priced copies of Illinois Jacquet's the Kid and the Brute still available. http://www.amazon.com/Kid-Brute-Illinois-J...336&sr=1-27 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul secor Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Always wondered if he was Johnny Acey, who recorded several r&b 45s from the late 50s into the 60s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swinging Swede Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 Not to be confused with pianist Johnny Ace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul secor Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 Not to be confused with pianist Johnny Ace. No confusion here. The Johnny Acey I posted the link to is not Johnny Ace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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