David Pell (February 26, 1925 – May 7, 2017) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

saxophonist, bandleader and record producer. He was best known for leading a cool jazz octet in the 1950s.

Biography

Pell played in his teens with the

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

s of

Tony Pastor Antonio Pastor (May 28, 1837 – August 26, 1908) was an American impresario, variety performer and theatre owner who became one of the founding forces behind American vaudeville in the mid-to-late-nineteenth century. He was sometimes refe ...

, Bob Astor, and Bobby Sherwood. In the 1940s he moved to California, where he played on

Bob Crosby George Robert Crosby (August 23, 1913 – March 9, 1993) was an American jazz singer and bandleader, best known for his group the Bob-Cats, which formed around 1935. The Bob-Cats were a New Orleans Dixieland-style jazz octet. He was the younge ...

's radio show in 1946 and became a member of Les Brown's band from 1947 to 1955. In 1953, he began working with his own ensembles, mostly as an octet with Pell on tenor saxophone, another saxophone (either a baritone or an alto), trumpet, trombone, guitar, and a piano-bass-drums rhythm section). Among the octet players were

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 ...

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

Mel Lewis Melvin Sokoloff (May 10, 1929 – February 2, 1990), known professionally as Mel Lewis, was an American jazz drummer, session musician, professor, and author. He received fourteen Grammy Award nominations. Biography Early years Lewis was ...

, Red Mitchell, Marty Paich,

Art Pepper Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. (September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982) was an American jazz musician, most known as an alto saxophonist. He occasionally performed and recorded on tenor saxophone, clarinet (his first instrument) and bass clarinet. Active ...

and, early his career,

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

. These ensembles recorded in the 1950s for

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

, Kapp,

Coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

, Capitol, and

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

. Pell also worked as a sideman for Shorty Rogers, Pete Rugolo,

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

, and

Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973) was an American jazz drummer, bandleader, and composer. Krupa is widely regarded as one of the most influential drummers in the history of popular music. His drum solo on Benny Goodman ...

. He produced music in the 1950s and 1960s for

Tops Total Operations Processing System (TOPS) is a computer system for managing railway locomotives and rolling stock, known for many years of use in the United Kingdom. TOPS was originally developed between the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), ...

, Uni and

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

; among his credits were singles by

Gary Lewis & the Playboys Gary Lewis & the Playboys were a 1960s Pop music, pop and Rock music, rock group, fronted by musician Gary Lewis (musician), Gary Lewis, the son of comedian Jerry Lewis. They are best known for their 1965 Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 1 ...

. In 1961, Pell switched to alto saxophone and clarinet for a

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...

to John Kirby, who led a small group in the 1930s and 1940s. Pell was the recording session leader for the 1965 hit song " No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In)", performed by a group of Los Angeles studio musicians known as The Wrecking Crew but attributed to The T-Bones. In the 1970s, he assembled the group Prez Conference, a

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most i ...

tribute ensemble. In the 1980s, he returned to the octet format, and played on and off into the 1990s.

Personal life

Pell had two daughters, Sandra and Suzanne. He died on May 7, 2017, at the age of 92.

Discography

As leader

* ''Plays a Gallery of Seldom Heard Tunes by Irving Berlin'' (

Trend A fad, trend, or craze is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation, or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short time period. Fads are objects or behaviors th ...

, 1953) * ''Plays a Folio of Seldom Heard Tunes by Rodgers & Hart'' (Trend, 1954) * ''Rodgers and Hart'' (

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 1955) * '' Jazz & Romantic Places'' (

, 1955) * ''The Dave Pell Octet Plays Irving Berlin'' ( Kapp, 1956) * ''Love Story'' (Atlantic, 1956) * ''Jazz Goes Dancing'' (

, 1956) * ''Plays Burke & Van Heusen'' with Lucy Ann Polk (Kapp, 1956) * ''Swingin' in the Ol' Corral'' (RCA Victor, 1957) * ''A Pell of a Time'' (RCA Victor, 1957) * ''The Dave Pell Octet Plays Irving Berlin'' (Kapp, 1957) * ''I Had the Craziest Dream'' ( Capitol, 1957) * ''Swingin' School Songs'' (Coral, 1958) * ''Campus Hop Jazz Goes Dancing'' (RCA Victor, 1958) * ''Plays Harry James' Big Band Sounds'' (PRI, 1960) * ''Plays Perez Prado's Big Band Sounds'' (PRI, 1960) * ''Dave Pell Plays Duke Ellington's Big Band Sounds'' (PRI, 1960) * ''The Big Small Bands'' (Capitol, 1960) * ''The Old South Wails'' (Capitol, 1961) * ''Plays Lawrence Welk's Big Band Sounds'' (double LP) (PRI, 1960) * ''I Remember John Kirby'' (Capitol, 1962) * ''Plays Today's Hits in Jazz'' (

, 1963) * ''Jazz Voices In Video'' (Liberty, 1963) * ''Mah-Na-Mah-Na'' (as "The Dave Pell Singers") (Liberty, 1969) * ''Dave Pell's Prez Conference'' ( GNP Crescendo, 1978) * ''Dave Pell's Prez Conference in Celebration of Lester Young'' ( Pye, 1980) * ''The Dave Pell Octet Plays Again'' (Fresh Sound, 1984) * ''Live at Alfonse's'' (Headfirst, 1988) * ''Love Story'' (Atlantic, 1992)

As sideman

With Les Brown * ''You're My Everything'' (

, 1951) * ''Concert at the Palladium'' (Coral, 1953) * ''Let's Dance'' (Coral, 1953) * ''Invitation'' (Coral, 1954) * ''At the Palladium'' (Coral, 1955) * ''That Sound of Renown'' (Coral, 1956) * ''The Uncollected Les Brown and His Orchestra 1949 Vol. 2'' ( Hindsight, 1978) With John Graas * ''Jazz Lab 1'' (

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

, 1956) * ''Jazz Lab 2'' (Decca, 1957) * ''Westcoast Workshop'' (Coral, 1975) With Pete Rugolo * '' Music for Hi-Fi Bugs'' ( EmArcy, 1956) * ''Out On a Limb'' (EmArcy, 1957) * '' An Adventure in Sound: Reeds in Hi-Fi'' ( Mercury, 1958) * '' Rugolo Plays Kenton'' (Mercury, 1958) With

Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "the Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arrangement, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roa ...

* ''A Day in the Life of Bonnie and Clyde'' (Liberty, 1968) * ''Mel Tormé's California Suite'' (Avenue Jazz, 1999) * ''Tormé'' ( Verve, 2003) With others *

, ''Instrumentals Never Before On Record'' (Onward to Yesterday, 1975) * Alexander Courage, ''Hot Rod Rumble'' (Liberty, 1957) * Sammy Davis Jr., ''The Wham of Sam'' (

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any re ...

, 1961) *

Don Fagerquist Donald Alton Fagerquist (February 6, 1927 – January 23, 1974) was a small group, big band, and studio jazz trumpet player from the West Coast of the United States. Career Fagerquist was a featured soloist with several major bands, including Ma ...

, Al Viola, ''Sessions Live'' (Calliope, 1976) *

The Four Freshmen The Four Freshmen is an American male vocal quartet that blends close and open harmony, open-harmonic jazz arrangements with the big band vocal group sounds of The Modernaires, The Pied Pipers, and The Mel-Tones, founded in the Barbershop music, ...

, ''Four Freshmen and Five Saxes'' (Capitol, 1957) *

Jimmy Giuffre James Peter Giuffre (, ; April 26, 1921 – April 24, 2008) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He is known for developing forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating f ...

, '' The Jimmy Giuffre Clarinet'' (Atlantic, 1956) *

Jackie and Roy Jackie or Jacky may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackie (given name) Jackie or Jacky is a given name or nickname for both males and females, often a pet form of Jack (given name), Jack or other names. People Men * Jackie B ...

, ''Free and Easy!'' (

ABC-Paramount ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! Records, Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquire ...

, 1958) * Ronnie Lang, ''Modern Jazz'' (Tops, 1957) * Ronnie Lang, Ray Sims, Don Fagerquist, ''The Les Brown All Stars'' (Capitol, 1955) *

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flutist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Awards, ...

, ''Touch of Evil'' (Challenge, 1988) * Andy Martin, Live at Capozzoli's (Woofy, 2001) *

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, pianist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing t ...

, ''Jam Session!'' (Green Line, 1990) * Nicolas Peyrac, ''Elle Sortait D'Un Drole De Cafe'' (CBS, 1982) * Lucy Ann Polk, ''Lucy Ann Polk With the Dave Pell Octet'' (Trend, 1954) * Leith Stevens,

Johnny Mandel John Alfred Mandel (November 23, 1925June 29, 2020) was an American composer and arranger of popular songs, film music and jazz. The musicians he worked with include Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Barbra Streisand, Tony Benn ...

, Bill Holman, ''Jazz Themes from Private Hell'' (Coral, 1986) *

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. The program was known for its light and family-friendly style, and the ...

, ''A L'heure Du Champagne'' (La Nouvelle Génération, 1965)

References

External links

* * *
Dave Pell
interview at NAMM Oral History Program (2005)
Dave Pell recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pell, David 1925 births 2017 deaths Musicians from Brooklyn Jazz musicians from New York City American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists American jazz bandleaders RCA Victor artists American male jazz musicians 20th-century American saxophonists The T-Bones members