Pete Jolly
Pete Jolly (June 5, 1932 – November 6, 2004) was an American West Coast jazz pianist and accordionist. He was well known for his performance of television themes and various movie soundtracks.
Biography
Jolly began playing the accordion at age three, and appeared on the radio program Hobby Lobby at the age of seven. Pete Jolly was raised in Phoenix, AZ, a hotbed of jazz and jazz talent at the time. One of his best friends and collaborators in Phoenix was guitarist Howard Roberts, whom he met at the age of 13. Following Roberts to Los Angeles in 1952, Jolly immediately began working with the best players on the West Coast jazz scene, including Shorty Rogers. He moved easily into studio and session work. Besides his brilliance on the piano, he was a virtuosic accordionist.
His composition "Little Bird" (a minor hit on Fred Astaire's Ava label) was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1963, and he formed the Pete Jolly Trio in 1964. With the Trio and as a solo artist, he recorded several albums, one of the last of which was a 2000 collaboration with Jan Lundgren. His final album, recorded in Phoenix in May 2004 shortly before his death, was "It's a Dry Heat" with saxophonist Jerry Donato. He also worked with other notable jazz artists, including Buddy DeFranco, Art Pepper and Red Norvo, and for many years with music arranger and director Ray Conniff as well as Herb Alpert, recording on Alpert's record label, A&M as both a sideman and a leader.
Podcasts:
Pete Jolly
ALBUMS
- Jolly Jumps In released: 1998
- Duo, Trio, Quartet released: 1996
- Yours Truly released: 1993
- Gems: The 25th Anniversary Gem Collection released: 1990
- Give a Damn released: 1970
- Herb Alpert Presents Pete Jolly released: 1968
Born: 1932-06-05
Died: 2004-11-06
-
by Four Freshmen
-
by Jamie Cullum
-
by Barbra Streisand
-
by Dianne Reeves
-
by Young Gods
-
by Michael Crawford
-
by Smokey Robinson
-
by Boz Scaggs
-
by Marisa Monte
-
by Guy Lombardo
-
by Billie Holiday
-
by Ashley Brown
-
by Frank Sinatra
Speak Low
by: Four FreshmenSpeak low when you speak, love,
Our summer day withers away
Too soon, too soon.
Speak low when you speak, love,
Our moment is swift, like ships adrift,
We're swept apart too soon.
Speak low, darling speak low,
Love is a spark lost in the dark,
Too soon, too soon,
I feel wherever I go
That tomorrow is near, tomorrow is here
And always too soon.
Time is so old and love so brief,
Love is pure gold and time a thief.
We're late darling, we're late,
The curtain descends, ev'rything ends
Too soon, too soon,
I wait darling, I wait
Will you speak low to me,