Bob Szajner (12 September 1938 – 9 November 2019) was an American jazz pianist.

Early life

Born on September 12, 1938, Bob Szajner grew up listening to talented relatives playing various instruments. His mother taught him the basics of

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

and how to play

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

at a very early age. In 1948, he won first prize in the "Frankie Carle Piano Contest". This entitled him to one weeks performance at the Fox Theater in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. He was one of the opening acts on the bill (a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

theme) for

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

along with a

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

and an

acrobatic Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro ...

duo. He enjoyed listening to Billie Holiday's style of music and accompaniment for her. This was the beginning of his quest for his own personal style. Ten years later, for at least ten years, he started writing and performing "Modern Jazz" later known as "Bebop" and then later as "Hard Bop". He performed with many musicians from the "

Detroit jazz Detroit ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 census, making it the 26th-most populous city ...

" scene at various sessions, venues and

jazz club A jazz club is a venue where the primary entertainment is the performance of live jazz music, although some jazz clubs primarily focus on the study and/or promotion of jazz-music. Jazz clubs are usually a type of nightclub or bar, which is licens ...

s throughout the

Detroit metropolitan area Metro Detroit is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and over 200 municipalities in the surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the official statistical areas ...

. He often worked with

Donald Byrd Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter, composer and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few h ...

, Charlie McPherson,

Lonnie Hillyer Lonnie Hillyer (March 25, 1940 in Monroe, Georgia – July 1, 1985 in New York City) was an American jazz trumpeter, strongly influenced by Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and other bebop legends of that era. Lonnie Hillyer m ...

, Roy Brooks,

Yusef Lateef Yusef Abdul Lateef (born William Emanuel Huddleston; October 9, 1920 – December 23, 2013) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and prominent figure among the Ahmadiyya Community in the United States. Although Lateef's main i ...

Pepper Adams Park Frederick "Pepper" Adams III (October 8, 1930 – September 10, 1986) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist and composer. He composed 42 pieces, was the leader on eighteen albums spanning 28 years, and participated in 600 sessions as a s ...

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, and others as a back-up piano player.

Later career

For the next ten years, he wrote some tunes, but really became quite dismayed and disappointed with the business of music, especially, the lack of audience. Then on October 8, 1978 (his 18th wedding anniversary), he recorded material for an album with his old school friend, drummer

Roy Brooks Roy Brooks (March 9, 1938 – November 15, 2005) was an American Jazz drumming, jazz drummer. Biography Early life Brooks was born in Detroit and drummed since childhood, his earliest experiences of music coming through his mother, who sang in c ...

and Roy's bass man Ray McKinney. "The Bob Szajner Triad" was a three record set of his original compositions. A twenty-seven tune recording session performing original music never played before or rehearsed and without second takes. This was the "Triad" concept. This led to performances at "The Cafe Detroit", "The Detroit Jazz Center", and the "Montreux Detroit Jazz Festival 1981". Later albums featuring Ed Pickens on bass and

on drums (The Bob Szajner Triad II), were recorded in 1981 at "The Detroit Jazz Center World Stage".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Szajner, Bob 1938 births 2019 deaths American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American male musicians