Joe Maini (February 8, 1930 – May 7, 1964) was an American jazz alto saxophonist. Maini was born February 8, 1930 in Providence, Rhode Island. Early in his career Maini played in 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 ...

s of Alvino Rey, Johnny Bothwell, and Claude Thornhill (1951). In the early 1950s he moved to Los Angeles, where he found work as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

and continued working in big bands, usually holding the lead alto chair. Some of the leaders he worked with were Terry Gibbs, Onzy Matthews, Gerald Wilson, Bill Holman, Louis Bellson,

Dan Terry Dan Terry (December 22, 1924 – December 27, 2011) was an American big band leader, arranger, and trumpet and flugelhorn player who appeared at Birdland, the world-famous jazz club, with Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan, Chris Connor, Johnny Smi ...

, and Shelly Manne. He recorded in small group settings with

Clifford Brown Clifford Benjamin Brown (October 30, 1930 – June 26, 1956) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. He died at the age of 25 in a car accident, leaving behind four years' worth of recordings. His compositions "Sandu", "Joy Spring", an ...

and Max Roach (1954), Zoot Sims (1956), Jack Sheldon, Conte Candoli,

Red Mitchell Keith Moore "Red" Mitchell (September 20, 1927 – November 8, 1992) was an American jazz double-bassist, composer, lyricist, and poet. Biography Mitchell was born in New York City. His younger brother, Whitey Mitchell, also became a jazz ba ...

, Lin Halliday, Kenny Drew, and Jimmy Knepper. He also worked with his close friend, comedian

Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of comedy which ...

. Maini died May 7, 1964 at age 34 in Los Angeles,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. Historians and reference works usually state that Maini died playing Russian roulette,

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...

, Joe Mainiat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

though his family and several witnesses contend that the death was the result of a firearms accident. Forty-four years after Maini's death, Lone Hill Jazz issued a four-CD set with many of his small group recordings.Joe Maini discography
at AllMusic

Discography

As leader

*''The Small Group Recordings'' (Lone Hill Jazz, 2008)

As sideman

With Louis Bellson *''

Big Band Jazz from the Summit ''Big Band Jazz from the Summit'' is a live album by American jazz drummer Louis Bellson featuring performances recorded in Los Angeles in 1962 for the Roulette label.Edwards, D. & Callahan, MRoulette Records discographyaccessed December 16, 2015 ...

'' (Roulette, 1962) *''Small Band Sessions'' (Fresh Sound, 1962) *''Big Band Jazz From the Summit'' (Fresh Sound, 1962) With

*'' Best Coast Jazz'' (Emarcy, 1954) *'' Clifford Brown All Stars'' (Emarcy, rec. 1954, released 1956) With Kenny Drew *'' Talkin' & Walkin''' (Jazz:West, 1955) With Terry Gibbs *''More Vibes on Velvet'' (Mercury, 1958) *''Launching a New Sound in Music'' (Mercury, 1959) *''Swing Is Here'' (Verve, 1960) *''The Exciting Terry Gibbs Big Band'' (Verve, 1961) reissued as ''Dream Band Vol. 4, Main Stem'' (Contemporary, 1990) *''Explosion!'' (Mercury, 1961) reissued as ''Dream Band Vol. 5, The Big Cat'' (Contemporary, 1991) *''Dream Band'' (Contemporary - rec. 1959, released 1986) *''Dream Band, Vol. 2'' (Contemporary - rec. 1959, released 1987) *''Dream Band, Vol. 3'', ''Flying Home'' (Contemporary - rec. 1959, released 1988) *''Dream Band. Vol. 6'', ''One More Time'' (Contemporary - rec. 1959, released 2002) With Bill Holman *''Bill Holman's Great Big Band'' (Capitol, 1962) With Johnny Mandel *'' I Want to Live'' (United Artists, 1958) With Shelly Manne *'' The West Coast Sound'' (Contemporary, 1954) With

*''Red Mitchell'' (Bethlehem, 1955) With Jack Montrose *''

Blues and Vanilla ''Blues and Vanilla'' is an album by saxophonist Jack Montrose's Quintet with Red Norvo recorded in 1956 for the RCA Victor label.Gerald Wilson *''

You Better Believe It! ''You Better Believe It!'' is an album by Jazz musician and bandleader Gerald Wilson. Recorded in 1961 for the Pacific Jazz label,

'' (Pacific Jazz, 1961) *'' Moment of Truth'' (Pacific Jazz, 1962) *'' Portraits'' (Pacific Jazz, 1963/64) *''The Complete Pacific Jazz Recordings of Gerald Wilson and His Orchestra (Mosaic, 2000)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maini, Joe 1930 births 1964 suicides American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists 20th-century American saxophonists Suicides by firearm in California 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians