John Adriano Acea (September 11, 1917 – July 25, 1963) 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 ...

pianist. He was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

to Adriano Acea of Cuba and Leona Acea of Virginia. One of six children, he was expected to die during his first decade of life from

rheumatic fever Rheumatic fever (RF) is an inflammation#Disorders, inflammatory disease that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. The disease typically develops two to four weeks after a Streptococcal pharyngitis, streptococcal throat infection. Si ...

, as did his youngest sister, Anna.

Session musician collaborations

During the 1930s, Acea started out as a trumpeter and saxophonist. After his military service (

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

) in 1946, he switched to playing the piano. He later became 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 ...

with jazz veterans, including: *

Eddie Lockjaw Davis Eddie may refer to: *Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Linux and Mac OS X *Eddie (crater), a crater on Mars *Eddie (given name) *The Eddie, a surfing tournament Arts and entertainment * ''Eddie'' (film), a 1 ...

Cootie Williams Charles Melvin "Cootie" Williams (July 10, 1911 – September 15, 1985) was an American jazz, jump blues, and rhythm and blues trumpeter. Biography Born in Mobile, Alabama, Williams began his professional career at the age of 14 with the Yo ...

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

* Illinois Jacquet *

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (; born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, one of the most popular black female recording artists of the 1950s. Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performed and recorded in a ...

* James Moody *

Zoot Sims John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...

* Roy Haynes

Compositions

Acea is listed as co-composer on "Nice 'N' Greasy" – the closing track to

Lou Donaldson Louis Andrew Donaldson Jr. (November 1, 1926 – November 9, 2024) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist. He was best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was he ...

's 1962 album, '' The Natural Soul''. He is also credited as a composer on recordings by Gillespie, Jacquet and Moody.

Discography

As sideman

With

Grant Green Grant Green (June 6, 1935 – January 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Green has been called one of the "most sampled guitarists." Biography Grant Green was born on June 6, 1935, in St. Louis, Missouri, to John and ...

*'' The Latin Bit'' (Blue Note, 1962) With Dodo Greene *'' My Hour of Need'' (Blue Note, 1962) With Roy Haynes *''Busman's Holiday'' (EmArcy, 1954) With Illinois Jacquet *'' Groovin' with Jacquet'' (Clef, 1951-53

956 Year 956 ( CMLVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Summer – Emperor Constantine VII appoints Nikephoros Phokas to commander of the Byzantine field army (''Domestic o ...

*'' The Kid and the Brute'' (Clef, 1955) with

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor Saxophone, saxophonist. He performed in the United States and Europe and made many recordings with Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Johnny Hodges, a ...

With Joe Newman *'' Locking Horns'' (Rama, 1957) with and

*'' The Happy Cats'' (Coral, 1957) With Leo Parker *'' Rollin' with Leo'' (Blue Note, 1961) With Jesse Powell *''It's Party Time'' (Tru-Sound, 1962) With Don Wilkerson *'' Elder Don'' (Blue Note, 1962)

External links

* American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists Jazz musicians from Philadelphia 1917 births 1963 deaths 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians United States Army personnel of World War II {{US-jazz-pianist-stub