Dennis Sandole (29 September 1913 — 30 September 2000) born Dionigi Sandoli, was an American jazz guitarist, composer, and music educator 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 ...

. He was John Coltrane's mentor from 1946 until the early 1950s, introducing him to

music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...

beyond chords and scales and exposing him to the music of other cultures. Sandole taught advanced harmonic techniques that were applicable to any instrument, using exotic scales and creating his own. He taught privately until the end of his life. His students included saxophonists James Moody,

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 launch ...

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of M ...

, Rob Brown and Bobby Zankel; trumpeter

Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, double ...

; pianists

Matthew Shipp Matthew Shipp (born December 7, 1960) is an American pianist, composer, and bandleader. Early life and education Shipp was raised in Wilmington, Delaware, and began playing piano at six years old. His mother was a friend of trumpeter Clifford B ...

and

Sumi Tonooka Sumi Tonooka (born October 3, 1956) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Life She had an African-American father and a Japanese-American mother. She earned her B.A, in music from the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts. Throughout her ...

; guitarists Jim Hall,

Joe Diorio Joseph Louis Diorio (August 6, 1936 – February 2, 2022) was an American jazz guitarist. He performed with Sonny Stitt, Hal Crook, Eddie Harris, Ira Sullivan, Stan Getz, Pat Metheny, Horace Silver, Anita O'Day, and Freddie Hubbard. In recent ye ...

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" ...

, Joe Federico, Tony DeCaprio,

Jon Herington Jon Herington (born Jonathan Reuel Herington on April 14, 1954) is an American guitarist, singer-songwriter, record producer, and session musician. Career Herington was born in Paterson, New Jersey, and grew up in West Long Branch, New Jersey ...

Bob DeVos Bob DeVos (born 1946) is an American jazz guitarist, vocalist, and teacher from New Jersey. Early life DeVos failed a "music appreciation" class in his first year of college, which he later dropped out from. Career His style combines blues, r ...

, Larry Hoffman and

Harry Leahey Harry F. Leahey (September 1, 1935 — August 12, 1990) was an American jazz guitarist and teacher. Biography Guitar studies Leahey received his first guitar, a Stella, at the age of thirteen. He went on to study with Lou Melia at Sayer's S ...

Ben Ratliff, Dennis Sandole, ''Jazz Guitarist And an Influential Teacher, 87,'' ''The New York Times,'' October 8, 2000 and other musicians such as

Rufus Harley Rufus is a masculine given name, a surname, an Ancient Roman cognomen and a nickname (from Latin ''rufus'', "red"). Notable people with the name include: Given name Politicians * Rufus Ada George (born 1940), Nigerian politician * Rufus A ...

and Frank Gerrard. Sandole recorded ''Modern Music from Philadelphia,'' with his brother, Adolf Sandole (1922–1959), which was released by

Fantasy Records Fantasy Records is an American independent record label company founded by brothers Max and Sol Stanley Weiss in 1949. The early years of the company were dedicated to issuing recordings by jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, who was also one of its inves ...

in 1956 and credited to The Sandole Brothers.''Brothers Sandole – Modern Music from Philadelphia,''

, 1955 He died on September 30, 2000, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was interred at

West Laurel Hill Cemetery West Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1869, is 200 acres in size and contains the burials of many notable people. It is affiliated with Laurel Hill Cemetery in neighboring Ph ...

References

1913 births 2000 deaths American people of Italian descent American jazz guitarists 20th-century American guitarists American male guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Burials at West Laurel Hill Cemetery American male jazz musicians {{US-jazz-guitarist-stub