Joe Maini (February 8, 1930 – May 7, 1964) 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 ...

alto saxophonist. Maini was born February 8, 1930, in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

. 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 and ...

s of

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, Johnny Bothwell, and

Claude Thornhill Claude Thornhill (August 10, 1908 – July 1, 1965) was an American pianist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. He composed the jazz and pop standards "Snowfall" and "I Wish I Had You". Early years Thornhill was the son of J. Chester Thornhill ...

(1951). In the early 1950s he moved to Los Angeles, where he found work as a

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

and continued working in big bands, usually holding the lead alto chair. Some of the leaders he worked with were

Terry Gibbs Terry Gibbs (born Julius Gubenko; October 13, 1924) is an American jazz vibraphonist and band leader. He has performed or recorded with Tommy Dorsey, Chubby Jackson,Theroux, Gary"Gibbs, Terry".''Grove Music Online''. Oxford University Press. R ...

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, Bill Holman,

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, and

Shelly Manne Sheldon "Shelly" Manne (June 11, 1920 – September 26, 1984) was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, ...

. He recorded in small group settings with

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

and

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(1954),

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(1956),

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, Lin Halliday,

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, and

Jimmy Knepper James Minter Knepper (November 22, 1927 – June 14, 2003) was an American jazz trombonist. In addition to his own recordings as leader, Knepper performed and recorded with Charlie Barnet, Woody Herman, Claude Thornhill, Stan Kenton, Benny Goo ...

. He also worked with his close friend, comedian

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

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. Accounts of his death usually state that Maini died playing

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Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author. Life and career Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Beginning in 1974, Yanow was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles and was the jazz e ...

, Joe Mainiat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

though his family and several witnesses contend that it 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

*'' Big Band Jazz from the Summit'' (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

*'' Talkin' & Walkin''' (Jazz:West, 1955) With

*''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 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 ...

*'' I Want to Live'' (United Artists, 1958) With

*''

The West Coast Sound ''The West Coast Sound'' (subtitled ''Volume 1'') is an album by drummer Shelly Manne's group Shelly Manne & His Men, recorded at sessions in 1953 and 1955 and released on the Contemporary label.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 ...

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

Jack Montrose Jack Montrose (December 30, 1928 – February 7, 2006) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and arranger. After attending college in Los Angeles, he worked with Jerry Gray and then Art Pepper. Montrose also did arrangements for Clifford Brown. ...

*'' Blues and Vanilla'' (RCA Victor, 1956) With Mark Murphy *''

Playing the Field ''Playing the Field'' is a BBC television drama series following the lives of the Castlefield Blues, a fictitious female football team from South Yorkshire. Outline Inspired by Pete Davies's book ''I Lost My Heart to the Belles'' – which was ...

'' (Capitol, 1960) With

*'' You Better Believe It!'' (Pacific Jazz, 1961) *'' Moment of Truth'' (Pacific Jazz, 1962) *''

Portraits A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better re ...

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

References

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