Paul Moerschbacher (July 22, 1916 – June 9, 2010), better known as Paul Moer, 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. Moer attended the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

, graduating in 1951, and following this played frequently on the West Coast jazz scene with

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

Vido Musso Vido William Musso (January 16, 1913 – January 9, 1982) was an American jazz saxophonist. Biography Musso moved with his family from Sicily to the U.S. in July 1920, having arrived at the Port of New York on the Italian steamship ''Patria''. T ...

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 ...

, Stan Getz, Bill Holman, and

Shorty Rogers Milton "Shorty" Rogers (born Milton Rajonsky; April 14, 1924 – November 7, 1994) was an American jazz musician, one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played trumpet and flugelhorn and was in demand for his skills as an arrang ...

. Moer did extensive work 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 ...

studios as a pianist and an arranger. He led his own trio in the late 1950s with Jimmy Bond and Frank Butler. In 1960 he toured Australia with Benny Carter. He also recorded with Charles Mingus,

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 ...

John Graas John Graas (March 14, 1917 – April 13, 1962) was an American jazz French horn player, composer, and arranger from the 1940s through 1962. He had a short but busy career on the West Coast, and became known as a pioneer of the French horn in jazz ...

, Paul Horn (1960–63), Ruth Price, and

Buddy DeFranco Boniface Ferdinand Leonard "Buddy" DeFranco (February 17, 1923 – December 24, 2014) was an Italian-American jazz clarinetist. In addition to his work as a bandleader, DeFranco led the Glenn Miller Orchestra for almost a decade in the 1960s and ...

. Moer played little after the 1960s, though he made a comeback with a release in 1991 of

Elmo Hope St. Elmo Sylvester Hope (June 27, 1923 – May 19, 1967) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, chiefly in the bebop and hard bop genres. He grew up playing and listening to jazz and classical music with Bud Powell, and both were ...

tunes.

Discography

As leader * 1959 ''The Contemporary Jazz Classics of the Paul Moer Trio'' * 1961 ''Live at the Pour House'' * 1991 ''Plays the Music of Elmo Hope'' * 2005 ''Get Swinging'' As sideman With

* 1954 ''

Arranged by Montrose ''Jack Montrose Sextet'' is an album by saxophonist Jack Montrose recorded in 1954 for the Pacific Jazz label.Jack Montrose Sextet ''Jack Montrose Sextet'' is an album by saxophonist Jack Montrose, recorded in 1955 for the Pacific Jazz label.Arranged/Played/Composed by Jack Montrose ''Arranged/Played/Composed by Jack Montrose'' is an album by saxophonist Jack Montrose recorded in 1955 for the Atlantic label.

'' (Atlantic) With

* 1958 ''International Premiere in Jazz'' * 1958 ''Jazzmantics'' * 2004 ''Westlake Bounce'' * 2005 ''Jazz-Lab 1&2'' With Paul Horn * 1960 '' Something Blue'' * 1961 '' The Sound of Paul Horn'' (Columbia) * 1962 '' Profile of a Jazz Musician'' (Columbia) With

Jimmy Witherspoon James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues singer. Early life, family and education Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, and his mot ...

* 1959 ''Singin' the Blues'' * 1997 ''Tougher Than Tough'' With

Dave Pell David Pell (February 26, 1925 – May 7, 2017) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and record producer. He was best known for leading a cool jazz octet in the 1950s. Biography Pell played in his teens with the big bands of Tony Pastor, B ...

* 1958 ''A Pell of a Time'' * 2004 ''Say It With Music'' With

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 ...

* 1959 ''Jack's Groove'' * 2005 ''Complete College Goes to Jazz'' With others * 1961 ''Yazz Per Favore'',

Emil Richards Emil Richards (born Emilio Joseph Radocchia; September 2, 1932 – December 13, 2019) was an American vibraphonist and percussionist. Biography Musician Richards began playing the xylophone aged six. In High School, he performed with the Hartf ...

* 1995 ''The Complete Capitol Recordings'',

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, W ...

* 2000 ''Many a Wonderful Moment'', Rosemary Clooney * 2004 ''Live at Peacock Lane'', Maynard Ferguson * 2005 ''Complete Recordings'', Bob Gordon * 2006 ''Chet Baker & Art Pepper: Complete Recordings'' * 2006 ''Complete Recordings'', Billy Usselton

References

* Scott Yanow, Paul Moerat

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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moer, Paul American jazz pianists American male pianists West Coast jazz pianists 1916 births 2010 deaths 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians University of Miami alumni