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 sa ...

keyboardist from

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 ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. 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 Sout ...

organ.

Biography

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

Philadelphia Musical Academy 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 ...

(now the University of the Arts),

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

, and

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named aft ...

, 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 a 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 P ...

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

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' printed a piece calling her a rising star and complimented her drawbar variation, 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, and ...

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 and songwriter. Starting her career in 1954, James frequently performed in Nashville's R&B clubs, collectively known as the Ch ...

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 music, swing genres, he is most experienced in and best known for his work in soul jazz. He re ...

Benny Golson Benny Golson (January 25, 1929 – September 21, 2024) was an American bebop and 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 p ...

, and

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

. Trudy Pitts eventually went on to play 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 ...

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 R ...

, and

Sonny Stitt Sonny Stitt (born Edward Hammond Boatner Jr.; February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982) 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 his era, recording over ...

. She recorded four

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

s for Prestige Records, appearing with Willis Jackson among others. In 1999, a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

of several records was released as ''Legends of Acid Jazz: Trudy Pitts With Pat Martino''. Later festival appearances included the 11th Annual

Women in Jazz Festival at the Kennedy Center in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, 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 The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

's Filene Organ. Trudy Pitts died on December 19, 2010, aged 78, from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

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 may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Films *Prestige (film), ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnett: woman travels to French Indochina to meet up with husband *The Prestige (film), ''The Prestige'' (fi ...

PR 7523) with

Pat Martino Pat Martino (born Patrick Carmen Azzara; August 25, 1944 – November 1, 2021) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. He has been cited as one of the greatest guitarists in jazz. Early life Martino was born Patrick Carmen Azzara in Philad ...

and 'Mr. C' *1967: '' These Blues of Mine'' (Prestige PR 7538) with Pat Martino and 'Mr. C' *1968: '' A Bucketful of Soul'' (Prestige PR 7560) with Wilbert Longmire and 'Mr. C' *1968: '' The Excitement of Trudy Pitts (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'' (Prestige PR 7513) With Willis Jackson * 1968: '' Star Bag'' (Prestige PR 7571) with Bill Jennings With

Roland Kirk Roland (; ; or ''Rotholandus''; 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 Matter of France. The historical Roland was mil ...

* 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 American women organists Coral Records artists Jazz musicians from Philadelphia Temple University alumni Juilliard School alumni Prestige Records artists Soul-jazz musicians Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Pennsylvania University of the Arts (Philadelphia) alumni 20th-century American pianists 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 musicians 21st-century African-American women American women keyboardists