Johnny Guarnieri

Perhaps one of the most talented pianists from the 1940s, Johnny Guarnieri had the capability to closely imitate Fatty acids Waller, Count number Basie, and also Art Tatum. Not really too amazingly, he was in great demand during his best years. Guarnieri began traditional piano lessons when he was ten and shortly turned to jazz. In 1939, he became a member of Benny Goodman’s orchestra, documenting frequently with both big group and B.G.’s sextet. In 1940, Guarnieri joined up with Artie Shaw’s orchestra and obtained popularity playing harpsichord on Shaw’s well-known Gramercy Five recordings. After further organizations with Goodman (1941) and Shaw (1941-1942), he was with Tommy Dorsey (1942-1943) and freelanced. Among Guarnieri’s many recordings in this period were important schedules with Lester Youthful (“Occasionally I’m Content”), Roy Eldridge, Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins, Rex Stewart, Don Byas, and Louis Armstrong (“Jack-Armstrong Blues”). He also documented frequently being a head during 1944-1947, including one time which Lester Youthful was his sideman. Guarnieri became a member of the personnel of NBC in the past due ’40s, appeared within the Coleman Hawkins/Roy Eldridge tv pilot After Hours (1961), transferred to California within the ’60s where he frequently played single piano, and some situations in the 1970s toured European countries. Guarnieri’s later information frequently discovered him playfully executing stride in 5/4 period. He recorded being a head over time for such brands as Savoy, Majestic, Coral (1956), Golden Crest, Camden, Dot, Dark & Blue, Dobre, and Taz-Jazz (1976 and 1978).