Gertrude E. "Trudy" Pitts (August 10, 1932 – December 19, 2010) was an American
soul jazz
Soul jazz or funky jazz is a subgenre of jazz that incorporates strong influences from hard bop, blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues. Soul jazz is often characterized by organ trios featuring the Hammond organ and small combos including ten ...
keyboardist 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 ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. She was known primarily for playing the
Hammond B3
Hammond may refer to:
People
* Hammond Innes (1913–1998), English novelist
* Hammond (surname)
* Justice Hammond (disambiguation)
Places Antarctica
* Hammond Glacier, Antarctica
Australia
*Hammond, South Australia, a small settlement in South ...
organ.
Biography
Trained as a musician and a music educator, Pitts studied at the
Philadelphia Musical Academy
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
,
Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...
and
Juilliard
The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...
, as well as other institutions. Early work experience included a position as an assistant to the pianist in the
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
-winning musical ''Raisin''.
At the end of the musical's tour, she was encouraged by her husband (who had worked with
Shirley Scott
Shirley Scott (March 14, 1934 – March 10, 2002) was an American jazz organist. Her music was noted for its mixture of bebop, blues and gospel elements. She was known by the nickname "Queen of the Organ".
Life and career
Scott was born in Phi ...
as a drummer) to continue developing her repertoire.
In 1967, the ''
Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' printed a piece calling her a rising star and complimented her drawbarvariation, vibrato shadings, and
bass pedal
Bass pedals are an electronic musical instrument with a foot-operated pedal keyboard with a range of one or more octaves. The earliest bass pedals from the 1970s consisted of a pedalboard and analog synthesizer tone generation circuitry packag ...
work.
Trudy, and her husband, William Theodore Carney II, aka Mr. C. produced and performed at many festivals and venues together; such as The Mellon Jazz Festival Organ Jams (produced by Mr. C. and Trudy), the
Mary Lou Williams
Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records (in 78, 45, and ...
Jazz Festival, San Jose Organ Festival, Cliveden Jazz Festival, West Oak Lane Jazz Festival. Together they produced the “Jazz in the Sanctuary” concerts which featured musicians such as
Grover Washington, Jr.
Grover Washington Jr. (December 12, 1943 – December 17, 1999) was an American jazz-funk and soul-jazz saxophonist. Along with Wes Montgomery and George Benson, he is considered by many to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre.
He wr ...
,
Etta James
Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...
,
Houston Person
Houston Person (born November 10, 1934) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and record producer. Although he has performed in the hard bop and swing genres, he is most experienced in and best known for his work in soul jazz. He received the ...
,
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 ...
, and
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...
.
Trudy Pitts eventually went on to play with
Ben Webster
Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.
Career Early life and career
A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he studied violin, learned how to play blues on the piano from ...
,
Gene Ammons
Eugene "Jug" Ammons (April 14, 1925 – August 6, 1974), also known as "The Boss", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. The son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons, Gene Ammons is remembered for his accessible music, steeped in soul and ...
, and
Sonny Stitt
Edward Hammond Boatner Jr. (February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982), known professionally as Sonny Stitt, was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his ...
. She recorded four
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
s for Prestige Records, appearing with Willis Jackson among others. In 1999, a
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
of several records was released as ''Legends of Acid Jazz: Trudy Pitts With Pat Martino''. Recent festival appearances include the 11th Annual
Mary Lou Williams
Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records (in 78, 45, and ...
Women in Jazz Festival at the Kennedy Center 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, ...
, in May 2006. On September 15, 2006, Pitts was the first jazz artist to play a concert on Philadelphia' Kimmel Center's 7,000 pipe organ "taking the medium to a whole new level".
In 2008, she again performed on an exceptional organ, this time the Kennedy Center's
Filene
Filene's (formally William Filene & Sons Co.) was an American department store chain; it was founded by William Filene in 1881. The success of the original full-line store in Boston, Massachusetts, was supplemented by the foundation of its off-pr ...
Organ.
Trudy Pitts died on December 19, 2010, aged 78, from
pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...
.
Discography
As leader
Singles
*1962: Trudy Pitts & Mr. Carney: "I Really Mean It" // "Theme From Exodus" (Coral 62330)
*1963: Trudy Pitts & Mr. Carney: "Meetin' Place" // "Swingin' Bonnie" (Coral 62347)
*1967: "Steppin' In Minor" // "Take Five" (Prestige PR 45-448)
*1968: "Bucket Full Of Soul" // "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" (Prestige PR 45-461)
*1968: "Trudy 'N' Blue, Part 1" // "Trudy 'N' Blue, Part 2" (Prestige PR 45-705)
Albums
*1967: ''
Introducing the Fabulous Trudy Pitts
''Introducing the Fabulous Trudy Pitts'' is the debut album by jazz organist Trudy Pitts which was recorded in 1967 and released on the Prestige Records, Prestige label.Prestige
Prestige refers to a good reputation or high esteem; in earlier usage, ''prestige'' meant "showiness". (19th c.)
Prestige may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Films
* ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnet ...
PR 7523) with
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" ...
and 'Mr. C'
*1967: ''
These Blues of Mine
''These Blues of Mine'' is the second album by jazz organist Trudy Pitts, recorded in 1967 and released on the Prestige label.A Bucketful of Soul'' (Prestige PR 7560) with Wilbert Longmire and 'Mr. C'
*1968: '' The Excitement of Trudy Pitts (Recorded Live! At Club Baron)'' (Prestige PR 7583) with Wilbert Longmire and 'Mr. C'
*1993: ''Me, Myself And I'' (Scorp Leo) solo piano album
*1999: ''Legends Of Acid Jazz: Trudy Pitts With Pat Martino'' (Prestige 24208) (compilation of ''Introducing The Fabulous Trudy Pitts'' + ''These Blues Of Mine'')
*2007: Trudy Pitts Trio Featuring 'Mr. C' - ''Live At The Great American Music Hall'' (Doodlin' DR 005 el. 2009
As sidewoman
With
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" ...
* 1967: ''
El Hombre
''El Hombre'' is the debut album by jazz guitarist Pat Martino. It was recorded in 1967 and released by Prestige Records
Reception
Allmusic gave the album 4½ stars, stating, "Guitarist Pat Martino's debut as a leader finds the 22-year-old show ...
Star Bag
''Star Bag'' is an album by saxophonist Willis Jackson which was recorded in 1968 and released on the Prestige label.
'' (Prestige PR 7571) with Bill Jennings
With
Roland Kirk
Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Franks, Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known ...
* 1976: ''
Other Folks' Music
''Other Folks' Music'' is an album by the jazz multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk, recorded in March 1976. It contains performances by Kirk with
Richard Williams, Kermit Moore, Gloria Agostini, Trudy Pitts, Hilton Ruiz, Henry Mattathias P ...
'' (Atlantic SD 1686)
* 1976: ''
The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man
''The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man'' is an album by the jazz multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk.Kirkatron
''Kirkatron'' is an album by jazz multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk featuring performances by Kirk recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1975 and studio sessions from 1975 and 1976.