John Malachi (September 6, 1919 – February 11, 1987) 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 m ...
pianist.
Early life
Malachi was born in
Red Springs, North Carolina
Red Springs is a town in Hoke and Robeson counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 3,428 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Red Springs is located in northern Robeson County at (34.814363, -79.184281). North Carolina Highwa ...
on September 6, 1919, and grew up in
Durham, North Carolina.
At the age of ten he moved with his family to Washington, D.C.
He was a self-taught musician.
Later life and career
Malachi was a member of the epochal
Billy Eckstine Bebop Orchestra in 1944-1945 and again in 1947. He also worked with
Illinois Jacquet
Jean-Baptiste "Illinois" Jacquet (October 30, 1922 – July 22, 2004) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, best remembered for his solo on " Flying Home", critically recognized as the first R&B saxophone solo.
Although he was a pioneer of ...
in 1948,
Louis Jordan in 1951, and a series of singers including
Pearl Bailey,
Dinah Washington
Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...
,
Sarah Vaughan,
Al Hibbler, and
Joe Williams.
Malachi opted out of the traveling life of the touring
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 m ...
musician in the 1960s, living roughly the last decade and a half of his life in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
freelancing, playing with touring bands and artists when they stopped in Washington, and leading music workshops at clubs like Jimmy MacPhail's Gold Room and Bill Harris's Pig's Foot. Malachi's generosity towards younger musicians was legendary. One of the musicians he helped influence recalls that younger players referred to his workshops as "The University of John Malachi".
George V. Johnson, Jr. Music Blog
John Malachi is the great-grandfather of Carolyn Malachi. The singer, poet, and rap artist received a Best Urban / Alternative Performance Grammy Award nomination in 2011.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Malachi, John
1919 births
1987 deaths
American jazz pianists
American male pianists
People from Red Springs, North Carolina
20th-century American pianists
Jazz musicians from North Carolina
20th-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians