Gertrude E. "Trudy" Pitts (August 10, 1932 – December 19, 2010) was an American

soul jazz Soul jazz or funky jazz is a subgenre of jazz that incorporates strong influences from hard bop, blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues. Soul jazz is often characterized by organ trios featuring the Hammond organ and small combos including t ...

keyboardist from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

. She was known primarily for playing the

Hammond B3 Hammond may refer to: People * Hammond Innes (1913–1998), English novelist * Hammond (surname) * Justice Hammond (disambiguation) Places Antarctica * Hammond Glacier, Antarctica Australia * Hammond, South Australia, a small settlement in ...

organ.

Biography

Trained as a musician and a music educator, Pitts studied at the

Philadelphia Musical Academy Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptists, Baptist minister Russell Conwell an ...

and

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most e ...

, as well as other institutions. Early work experience included a position as an assistant to the pianist in the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

-winning musical ''Raisin''. At the end of the musical's tour, she was encouraged by her husband (who had worked with

Shirley Scott Shirley Scott (March 14, 1934 – March 10, 2002) was an American jazz organist. Her music was noted for its mixture of bebop, blues and gospel elements. She was known by the nickname "Queen of the Organ". Life and career Scott was born in Ph ...

as a drummer) to continue developing her repertoire. In 1967, the ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' printed a piece calling her a rising star and complimented her drawbar

variation Variation or Variations may refer to: Science and mathematics * Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon * Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individual ...

, vibrato shadings, and bass pedal work. Trudy, and her husband, William Theodore Carney II, aka Mr. C. produced and performed at many festivals and venues together; such as The Mellon Jazz Festival Organ Jams (produced by Mr. C. and Trudy), the

Mary Lou Williams Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records (in 78, 45, an ...

Jazz Festival, San Jose Organ Festival, Cliveden Jazz Festival, West Oak Lane Jazz Festival. Together they produced the “Jazz in the Sanctuary” concerts which featured musicians such as Grover Washington, Jr.,

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, ...

Houston Person Houston Person (born November 10, 1934) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and record producer. Although he has performed in the hard bop and swing genres, he is most experienced in and best known for his work in soul jazz. He received the ...

Benny Golson Benny Golson (born January 25, 1929) is an American bebop/ hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a performer, before launc ...

, and

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charle ...

. Trudy Pitts eventually went on to play with

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Career Early life and career A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he studied violin, learned how to play blues on the piano from ...

Gene Ammons Eugene "Jug" Ammons (April 14, 1925 – August 6, 1974), also known as "The Boss", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. The son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons, Gene Ammons is remembered for his accessible music, steeped in soul and ...

, and

Sonny Stitt Edward Hammond Boatner Jr. (February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982), known professionally as Sonny Stitt, was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/ hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of hi ...

. She recorded four

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s for Prestige Records, appearing with Willis Jackson among others. In 1999, a compilation album of several records was released as ''Legends of Acid Jazz: Trudy Pitts With Pat Martino''. Recent festival appearances include the 11th Annual

Women in Jazz Festival at the Kennedy Center in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, in May 2006. On September 15, 2006, Pitts was the first jazz artist to play a concert on Philadelphia'
Kimmel Center's 7,000 pipe organ
"taking the medium to a whole new level". In 2008, she again performed on an exceptional organ, this time the Kennedy Center's Filene Organ. Trudy Pitts died on December 19, 2010, aged 78, from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a mass. These cancerous cells have the ability to invade other parts of the body. A number of types of panc ...

Discography

As leader

Singles *1962: Trudy Pitts & Mr. Carney: "I Really Mean It" // "Theme From Exodus" (Coral 62330) *1963: Trudy Pitts & Mr. Carney: "Meetin' Place" // "Swingin' Bonnie" (Coral 62347) *1967: "Steppin' In Minor" // "Take Five" (Prestige PR 45-448) *1968: "Bucket Full Of Soul" // "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" (Prestige PR 45-461) *1968: "Trudy 'N' Blue, Part 1" // "Trudy 'N' Blue, Part 2" (Prestige PR 45-705) Albums *1967: '' Introducing the Fabulous Trudy Pitts'' (

Prestige Prestige refers to a good reputation or high esteem; in earlier usage, ''prestige'' meant "showiness". (19th c.) Prestige may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Films * ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnett ...

PR 7523) with

Pat Martino Pat Martino (born Patrick Carmen Azzara; August 25, 1944 – November 1, 2021) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Biography Martino was born Patrick Carmen Azzara in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, to father Carmen "Mickey" ...

and 'Mr. C' *1967: '' These Blues of Mine'' (Prestige PR 7538) with Pat Martino and 'Mr. C' *1968: ''

A Bucketful of Soul ''A Bucketful of Soul'' is the third album by jazz organist Trudy Pitts which was recorded in late 1967 and early 1968 and released on the Prestige label.

'' (Prestige PR 7560) with Wilbert Longmire and 'Mr. C' *1968: ''

The Excitement of Trudy Pitts ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

(Recorded Live! At Club Baron)'' (Prestige PR 7583) with Wilbert Longmire and 'Mr. C' *1993: ''Me, Myself And I'' (Scorp Leo) solo piano album *1999: ''Legends Of Acid Jazz: Trudy Pitts With Pat Martino'' (Prestige 24208) (compilation of ''Introducing The Fabulous Trudy Pitts'' + ''These Blues Of Mine'') *2007: Trudy Pitts Trio Featuring 'Mr. C' - ''Live At The Great American Music Hall'' (Doodlin' DR 005 el. 2009

As sidewoman

With

* 1967: ''

El Hombre ''El Hombre'' is the debut album by jazz guitarist Pat Martino. It was recorded in 1967 and released by Prestige Records Reception Allmusic gave the album 4½ stars, stating, "Guitarist Pat Martino's debut as a leader finds the 22-year-old sho ...

'' (Prestige PR 7513) With Willis Jackson * 1968: '' Star Bag'' (Prestige PR 7571) with Bill Jennings With

Roland Kirk Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

* 1976: '' Other Folks' Music'' (Atlantic SD 1686) * 1976: '' The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man'' (Warner Bros. BS 2918) * 1977: '' Kirkatron'' (Warner Bros. BS 2982)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pitts, Trudy 1932 births 2010 deaths American jazz educators Hard bop organists Acid jazz organists African-American jazz pianists American jazz organists Women organists Coral Records artists Musicians from Philadelphia Temple University alumni Juilliard School alumni Prestige Records artists Soul-jazz musicians Deaths from pancreatic cancer University of the Arts (Philadelphia) alumni 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania 20th-century American women pianists Educators from Pennsylvania American women music educators African-American women musicians 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women