Anthony Alessandrini, better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Tony Aless (August 28, 1921 – January 11, 1988) 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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

pianist. Lees, Gene
''Leader of the band: The life of Woody Herman''"> ''Leader of the band: The life of Woody Herman''
p. 117.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1995. . Accessed June 30, 2011. "Born Anthony Alessandrini in Garfield, New Jersey, on August 28, 1921, Tony would stay with the band for two years, and then work with various members of the Herman alumni in small groups, and with Charlie Parker, Sheldon Powell and others."

Career

Aless worked with

Bunny Berigan Roland Bernard "Bunny" Berigan (November 2, 1908 – June 2, 1942) was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader who rose to fame during the swing era. His career and influence were shortened by alcoholism, and ended with his early demise at the ...

late in the 1930s and with Johnny McGhee,

Teddy Powell Teddy Powell (March 1, 1905 – November 17, 1993) was born in Oakland, California, United States, as Teodoro Paolella, and became a respected American jazz musician, band leader, composer, and arranger. Some of his compositions were written unde ...

, and

Vaughn Monroe Vaughn Wilton Monroe (October 7, 1911 – May 21, 1973) was an American baritone singer, trumpeter, big band leader, actor, and businessman, who was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for rec ...

early in the 1940s. He served in the United States Army during World War II, then played with

Charlie Spivak Charlie Spivak (February 17, 1907 – March 1, 1982) was an American trumpeter and bandleader, best known for his big band in the 1940s. Early life The details of Spivak's birth are unclear. Some sources place it in Ukraine in 1907, and that h ...

and

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...

. Subsequently he worked with George Auld,

Flip Phillips Joseph Edward Filippelli (March 26, 1915 – August 17, 2001), known professionally as Flip Phillips, was an American jazz tenor saxophone and clarinet player. He is best remembered for his work with Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic conce ...

Chubby Jackson Greig Stewart "Chubby" Jackson (October 25, 1918 – October 1, 2003) was an American jazz double-bassist and band leader. Biography Born in New York City, Jackson began at the age of seventeen as a clarinetist, but quickly changed to bass in ...

Neal Hefti Neal Paul Hefti (October 29, 1922 – October 11, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger. He wrote music for ''The Odd Couple'' movie and TV series and for the ''Batman'' TV series. He began arranging professionally in his ...

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of ...

Elliot Lawrence Elliott Lawrence Broza (February 14, 1925 – July 2, 2021), known professionally as Elliott Lawrence, was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. Son of the broadcaster Stan Lee Broza, Lawrence led his first dance band at age 20, but he pl ...

Seldon Powell Seldon Powell (15 November 1928 – 25 January 1997) was an American soul jazz, swing, and R&B tenor saxophonist and flautist born in Lawrenceville, Virginia. He worked with Tab Smith (1949), Lucky Millinder (1949–51), Neal Hefti, and Louis Be ...

, and

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

. He also worked frequently on radio and television. His 1955

Roost Records Roost Records (also known as Royal Roost Records) was a jazz record label established in 1949 by music producer Teddy Reig in New York City. The label was named after a club in New York City. Saxophonist Stan Getz, early in his career, recorded ...

release ''Long Island Suite'' featured

J.J. Johnson J.J. Johnson (January 22, 1924 – February 4, 2001), born James Louis Johnson and also known as Jay Jay Johnson, was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. Johnson was one of the earliest trombonists to embrace bebop. Biography ...

and

Kai Winding Kai Chresten Winding ( ; May 18, 1922 – May 6, 1983) was a Danish-born American trombonist and jazz composer. He is known for his collaborations with fellow trombonist J. J. Johnson. His version of "More", the theme from the movie ''Mondo Ca ...

on trombone and

Dave Schildkraut Dave Schildkraut (January 7, 1925 – January 1, 1998) was an American jazz alto saxophonist. Biography Schildkraut first played professionally with Louis Prima in 1941. Following this he played with Buddy Rich (1946), Anita O'Day (1947), Stan ...

on saxophone.

Discography

With

*''

Stan Getz Quartets ''Stan Getz Quartets'' is an album by saxophonist Stan Getz recorded at sessions in 1949 and 1950 and first released as an LP on the Prestige label in 1955.955 Year 955 (Roman numerals, CMLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * August 10 – Battle of Lechfeld (955), Battle of Lechfeld: King Otto I, H ...

With

*''

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 an ...

'' (

Clef A clef (from French: 'key') is a Musical notation, musical symbol used to indicate which Musical note, notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical staff (music), stave. Placing a clef on a stave assigns a particular pitch to ...

, 1954) With Jack Sterling Quintet *''Cocktail Swing'' (

Harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

- Columbia, 1959)

References

External links

Tony Aless Anthony Alessandrini, better known by his stage name Tony Aless (August 28, 1921 – January 11, 1988) was an American jazz pianist.Gene Lees, Lees, Gene ''Leader of the band: The life of Woody Herman'' p. 117. Oxford University Press, 1995. . Acc ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aless, Tony 1921 births 1988 deaths American jazz pianists American male pianists Musicians from New Jersey People from Garfield, New Jersey 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians United States Army personnel of World War II