Frank Signorelli (May 24, 1901 – December 9, 1975) 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 A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Biography

Signorelli was born to an Italian Sicilian family in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Signorelli was a founding member of the

Original Memphis Five The Original Memphis Five was an early jazz quintet founded in 1917 by trumpeter Phil Napoleon and pianist Frank Signorelli. Jimmy Lytell was a member from 1922 to 1925. The group made many recordings between 1921 and 1931, sometimes under diffe ...

in 1917, then joined the

Original Dixieland Jazz Band The Original Dixieland Jass Band (ODJB) was a Dixieland jazz band that made the first jazz recordings in early 1917. Their " Livery Stable Blues" became the first jazz record ever issued. The group composed and recorded many jazz standards, the ...

briefly in 1921. In 1927, he played in Adrian Rollini's New York ensemble, and subsequently worked with

Eddie Lang Eddie Lang (born Salvatore Massaro, October 25, 1902 – March 26, 1933) was an American musician who is credited as the father of jazz guitar. During the 1920s, he gave the guitar a prominence it previously lacked as a solo instrument, as p ...

Bix Beiderbecke Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer. Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical app ...

Matty Malneck Matthew Michael "Matty" Malneck (December 9, 1903 – February 25, 1981) was an American jazz violinist, songwriter, and arranger. Career Born in 1903, Malneck's career as a violinist began when he was age 16. He was a member of the Paul White ...

and

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, ...

. In 1935 he was part of

Dick Stabile Richard Dominic Stabile (May 29, 1909 – September 18, 1980) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader. Career He was born in Newark, New Jersey, United States. The son of a band leader and violinist, Stabile learned piano a ...

's All-America "Swing" Band. In 1936-38, he played in the revived version of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. He recorded with

Phil Napoleon Phil Napoleon (born Filippo Napoli; 2 September 1901 – 1 October 1990) was an early jazz trumpeter and bandleader born in Boston, Massachusetts. Ron Wynn observed that Napoleon "was a competent, though unimaginative trumpeter whose greatest val ...

in 1946 and with

Miff Mole Irving Milfred Mole, known professionally as Miff Mole (March 11, 1898 – April 29, 1961) was an American jazz trombonist and band leader. He is generally considered one of the greatest jazz trombonists and credited with creating "the first dist ...

in 1958.

Compositions

As a songwriter, Signorelli composed "'

I'll Never Be The Same "I'll Never Be The Same" is a popular song based on an instrumental called "Little Buttercup" written by Matty Malneck and Frank Signorelli. After several musicians had recorded the instrumental version, lyrics were written by Gus Kahn. The co ...

" (initially called "Little Buttercup" by

Joe Venuti Giuseppe "Joe" Venuti (September 16, 1903 – August 14, 1978) was an American jazz musician and pioneer jazz violinist. Considered the father of jazz violin, he pioneered the use of string instruments in jazz along with the guitarist Eddie La ...

's Blue Four), "Gypsy", recorded by Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra, "Caprice Futuristic", "Evening", "Anything", "Bass Ale Blues", "Great White Way Blues", "Park Avenue Fantasy", "Sioux City Sue" (1924), "Shufflin' Mose", "

Stairway to the Stars "Stairway to the Stars" is a popular song composed by Matty Malneck and Frank Signorelli, with lyrics by Mitchell Parish. It was based on a theme from Malneck and Signorelli's 1934 instrumental piece, "Park Avenue Fantasy." Hit recordings in 19 ...

", and "A Blues Serenade", recorded by Signorelli in 1926, Glenn Miller and his Orchestra in 1935 and Duke Ellington's version in 1938.

Death

Signorelli died in New York City on December 9, 1975.

References

External links

Frank Signorelli (1901-1975)
at Red Hot Jazz Archive
Frank Signorelli recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Signorelli, Frank 1901 births 1975 deaths Dixieland pianists American people of Italian descent American jazz musicians 20th-century American musicians The Dorsey Brothers members Original Memphis Five members Original Dixieland Jass Band members