Robert Acri (October 1, 1918 – July 25, 2013) was an American
jazz pianist. Acri graduated from Austin High School in
Chicago. While at Austin High, he began his career at the NBC Orchestra on the
Dave Garroway Radio Show. He was a classically trained pianist, studying with
Rudolph Ganz and Fred Euing. He also studied composition with Dr. Karel Jirak and
Bill Russo
William Joseph Russo (June 25, 1928 – January 11, 2003) was an American composer, arranger, and musician from Chicago, Illinois, United States.
History
A student of jazz pianist Lennie Tristano, Russo wrote orchestral scores for the Stan Ken ...
. During his career he played in the radio orchestras of
NBC and
ABC, as well as in the House Band of the Chicago nightclub
Mister Kelly's. He toured with
Harry James and accompanied
Lena Horne
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of th ...
,
Mike Douglas
Michael Delaney Dowd Jr. (August 11, 1920 – August 11, 2006),Cook County Birth Certificates, file number 6053268, borAugust 11, 1920Social Security Death Index, Michael D. Dowd Jr., Birth: 11 Aug 1920, death: 11 Aug 2006 residing in North ...
,
Ella Fitzgerald,
Barbra Streisand,
Buddy Rich, and
Woody Herman. He earned his Bachelor's of Music and Master's of Music degree from
Roosevelt University when he was in his late 70s. He ended his career as the leader of the house band at the Cantina Room of the Continental Plaza Hotel.
Acri released two solo albums of instrumental tracks in 2001 and 2004. "Sleep Away", a composition that appeared on his 2004 self-titled album, was selected by
Microsoft as a sample demo music for
Windows 7 to demonstrate the newly released
Windows Media Player.
Discography
* 2001: ''Timeless – The Music of Bob Acri''
* 2004: ''Sleep Away'' (with
George Mraz,
Ed Thigpen,
Lew Soloff,
Frank Wess
Frank Wellington Wess (January 4, 1922 – October 30, 2013) was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. In addition to his extensive solo work, Wess is remembered for his time in Count Basie's band from the early 1950s into the 1960s. Critic ...
and Diane Delin)
References
External links
BiographyOfficial Website (Archived)
1918 births
2013 deaths
Musicians from Chicago
American jazz pianists
Jazz musicians from Illinois
{{US-jazz-musician-stub