Joe Maini (February 8, 1930 – May 7, 1964) 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 ...

alto saxophonist. Maini was born February 8, 1930 in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

. Early in his career Maini played in the

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 ...

s of

Alvino Rey Alvin McBurney (July 1, 1908 – February 24, 2004), known by his stage name Alvino Rey, was an American jazz guitarist and bandleader. Career Alvin McBurney was born in Oakland, California, United States, but grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. Early i ...

Johnny Bothwell Johnny Bothwell (May 23, 1919 – September 12, 1995) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader. Career Bothwell played in Chicago in 1940 and then moved to New York City, playing with Woody Herman (1943) and Sonny Dunham (1944&nda ...

, and

Claude Thornhill Claude Thornhill (August 10, 1908 – July 1, 1965) was an American pianist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. He composed the jazz and pop standards "Snowfall" and "I Wish I Had You". Early years Thornhill was the son of J. Chester Thornhill ...

(1951). In the early 1950s he moved to Los Angeles, where he found work as a session musician and continued working in big bands, usually holding the lead alto chair. Some of the leaders he worked with were

Terry Gibbs Terry Gibbs (born Julius Gubenko; October 13, 1924) is an American jazz vibraphonist and band leader. He has performed or recorded with Tommy Dorsey, Chubby Jackson,Theroux, Gary"Gibbs, Terry".''Grove Music Online''. Oxford University Press. R ...

Onzy Matthews Onzy Durrett Matthews, Jr. (January 15, 1930 – November 13, 1997) was an American jazz pianist, singer, arranger and composer as well as a television and movie actor. He is best known for the big band arrangements done for the Lou Rawls albums ' ...

Gerald Wilson Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. In addition to being a ...

, Bill Holman,

Louis Bellson Louie Bellson (born Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni, July 6, 1924 – February 14, 2009), often seen in sources as Louis Bellson, although he himself preferred the spelling Louie, was an American jazz drummer. He was a composer, ...

, Dan Terry, and

Shelly Manne Sheldon "Shelly" Manne (June 11, 1920 – September 26, 1984) was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, sw ...

. He recorded in small group settings with Clifford Brown and

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He work ...

(1954),

Zoot Sims John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...

(1956),

Jack Sheldon Beryl Cyril Sheldon Jr. (November 30, 1931 – December 27, 2019), known professionally as Jack Sheldon, was an American singer, musician, and actor. He performed on '' The Merv Griffin Show'' and participated in episodes of the educational musi ...

Conte Candoli Secondo "Conte" Candoli (July 12, 1927 – December 14, 2001) was an American jazz trumpeter based on the West Coast. He played in the big bands of Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Benny Goodman, and Dizzy Gillespie, and in Doc Severinsen's NBC Orc ...

, Red Mitchell,

Lin Halliday Lin Halliday (June 16, 1936 – January 25, 2000) was an American saxophonist. He was born in De Queen, Arkansas and was raised in Little Rock, where he played the saxophone and clarinet in school. After he moved to Los Angeles in his teens ...

Kenny Drew Kenneth Sidney "Kenny" Drew (August 28, 1928 – August 4, 1993) was an American-Danish jazz pianist. Biography Drew was born in New York City, United States, and received piano lessons from the age of five.Feather, Leonard, & Ira Gitler ( ...

, and

Jimmy Knepper James Minter Knepper (November 22, 1927 – June 14, 2003) was an American jazz trombonist. In addition to his own recordings as leader, Knepper performed and recorded with Charlie Barnet, Woody Herman, Claude Thornhill, Stan Kenton, Benny Goo ...

. He also worked with his close friend, comedian Lenny Bruce. Maini died May 7, 1964 at age 34 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Historians and reference works usually state that Maini died playing Russian roulette, Scott Yanow, Joe Mainiat

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 databa ...

though his family and several witnesses contend that the death was the result of a firearms accident. Forty-four years after Maini's death, Lone Hill Jazz issued a four-CD set with many of his small group recordings.Joe Maini discography
at AllMusic

Discography

As leader

*''The Small Group Recordings'' (Lone Hill Jazz, 2008)

As sideman

With

*''

Big Band Jazz from the Summit ''Big Band Jazz from the Summit'' is a live album by American jazz drummer Louis Bellson featuring performances recorded in Los Angeles in 1962 for the Roulette label.Edwards, D. & Callahan, MRoulette Records discographyaccessed December 16, 2015 ...

'' (Roulette, 1962) *''Small Band Sessions'' (Fresh Sound, 1962) *''Big Band Jazz From the Summit'' (Fresh Sound, 1962) With Clifford Brown *'' Best Coast Jazz'' (Emarcy, 1954) *'' Clifford Brown All Stars'' (Emarcy, rec. 1954, released 1956) With

*'' Talkin' & Walkin''' (Jazz:West, 1955) With

*''More Vibes on Velvet'' (Mercury, 1958) *''Launching a New Sound in Music'' (Mercury, 1959) *''Swing Is Here'' (Verve, 1960) *''The Exciting Terry Gibbs Big Band'' (Verve, 1961) reissued as ''Dream Band Vol. 4, Main Stem'' (Contemporary, 1990) *''Explosion!'' (Mercury, 1961) reissued as ''Dream Band Vol. 5, The Big Cat'' (Contemporary, 1991) *''Dream Band'' (Contemporary - rec. 1959, released 1986) *''Dream Band, Vol. 2'' (Contemporary - rec. 1959, released 1987) *''Dream Band, Vol. 3'', ''Flying Home'' (Contemporary - rec. 1959, released 1988) *''Dream Band. Vol. 6'', ''One More Time'' (Contemporary - rec. 1959, released 2002) With Bill Holman *''Bill Holman's Great Big Band'' (Capitol, 1962) With

Johnny Mandel John Alfred Mandel (November 23, 1925June 29, 2020) was an American composer and arranger of popular songs, film music and jazz. The musicians he worked with include Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Barbra Streisand, Tony Benn ...

*'' I Want to Live'' (United Artists, 1958) With

*'' The West Coast Sound'' (Contemporary, 1954) With Red Mitchell *''Red Mitchell'' (Bethlehem, 1955) With

Jack Montrose Jack Montrose (December 30, 1928 – February 7, 2006) was a jazz tenor saxophonist and arranger. After attending college in Los Angeles, he worked with Jerry Gray and then Art Pepper. Montrose also did arrangements for Clifford Brown. He became kno ...

*'' Blues and Vanilla'' (RCA Victor, 1956) With

*'' You Better Believe It!'' (Pacific Jazz, 1961) *'' Moment of Truth'' (Pacific Jazz, 1962) *''

Portraits A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

'' (Pacific Jazz, 1963/64) *''The Complete Pacific Jazz Recordings of Gerald Wilson and His Orchestra (Mosaic, 2000)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maini, Joe 1930 births 1964 suicides American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists 20th-century American saxophonists Suicides by firearm in California 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians