Al Viola
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Alfred Viola (June 16, 1919 – February 21, 2007) 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 ...
guitarist who worked with
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
for 25 years. He played the mandolin on the soundtrack of the film ''
The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, ...
''.


Biography

Viola grew up in an Italian family in Brooklyn and learned to play the guitar and mandolin as a teenager. He enlisted in the
Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
from 1942 to 1945 and played in an Army jazz band. After he was discharged in 1946, he and
Page Cavanaugh Walter Page Cavanaugh (January 26, 1922 in Cherokee, Kansas – December 19, 2008 in Los Angeles) was an American jazz and pop pianist, vocalist, and arranger. Career He began on piano at age nine and played with Ernie Williamson's band in 1938 ...
, whom he had met while serving in the Army, formed a trio with bassist Lloyd Pratt. The band appeared in several films, including ''
Romance on the High Seas ''Romance on the High Seas'' (released in the United Kingdom as ''It's Magic'') is a 1948 American musical film, musical romantic comedy film directed by Michael Curtiz, and starred Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Don DeFore and Doris Day in her film d ...
'' with Doris Day, and played a few dates in 1946 and 1947 with
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
. Viola continued to work with Sinatra regularly, accompanying him on several hundred studio recordings and concert dates between 1956 and 1980. Viola was a
session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...
in Los Angeles, performing in films, television and in commercials. His
mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
playing can be heard on the soundtrack of ''
The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, ...
''. Other credits include ''
West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1 ...
'' and ''
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of a middle-aged couple, Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they receive ...
''. He continued playing jazz as well, with
Bobby Troup Robert William Troup Jr. (October 18, 1918 – February 7, 1999) was an American actor, jazz pianist, singer, and songwriter. He wrote the song " Route 66" and acted in the role of Dr. Joe Early with his wife Julie London in the television progr ...
,
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,
Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...
,
Buddy Collette William Marcel "Buddy" Collette (August 6, 1921 – September 19, 2010) was an American jazz flutist, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He was a founding member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet. Early life William Marcel Collette was born in L ...
,
Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though K ...
,
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 ...
and
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. Re ...
. He also worked as a session musician on over 500 albums, including releases by
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 ...
,
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,
June Christy June Christy (born Shirley Luster; November 20, 1925June 21, 1990) was an American singer, known for her work in the cool jazz genre and for her silky smooth vocals. Her success as a singer began with The Stan Kenton Orchestra. She pursued a sol ...
,
Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...
,
Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...
,
Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...
,
Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...
,
Steve Lawrence Steve Lawrence (born Sidney Liebowitz; July 8, 1935) is an American singer, comedian and actor, best known as a member of a duo with his wife Eydie Gormé, billed as " Steve and Eydie", and for his performance as Maury Sline, the manager and fr ...
,
Julie London Julie London (née Peck; September 26, 1926 – October 18, 2000) was an American singer and actress whose career spanned more than 40 years. A torch singer noted for her sultry, languid contralto vocals, London recorded over thirty albums ...
,
Anita O'Day Anita Belle Colton (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006), known professionally as Anita O'Day, was an American jazz singer and self proclaimed “song stylist” widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appe ...
,
Nelson Riddle Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many world-famous vocalists at Capitol Records ...
,
Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...
and Joe Williams. Viola and Cavanaugh reunited in the 1980s with Phil Mallory and continued to play regularly in Los Angeles until the late 1990s.


Death

Viola died of cancer in 2007 at the age of 87.


Discography


As leader

* ''Solo Guitar'' (Mode, 1957) * ''Guitars'' (Liberty, 1959) * ''Guitars Vol. 2'' (Liberty, 1959) * ''Imagination'' (Liberty, 1960) * ''Guitar Lament'' (World Pacific, 1961) * ''Alone Again'' (Legend, 1973) * ''Salutations F.S.'' (PBR, 1977) * ''Prelude to a Kiss'' (PBR, 1980) * ''Mello as a Cello'' (Starline, 1994) * ''Stringin' the Blues'' with Howard Alden, Bucky Pizzarelli, Frank Vignola (Jazzology, 2003)


As sideman

*
Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-cre ...
, ''Terry Gibbs, Captain'' (Mercury, 1958) *
Laurindo Almeida Laurindo Almeida (September 2, 1917 – July 26, 1995) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer in classical, jazz, and Latin music. He and Bud Shank were pioneers in the creation of bossa nova. Almeida was the first guitarist to receive Gra ...
, ''Viva Bossa Nova!'' (Capitol, 1962) * Laurindo Almeida, ''Acapulco '22'' (Capitol, 1963) *
Hadda Brooks Hadda Brooks (October 29, 1916 – November 21, 2002) was an American pianist, vocalist and composer, who was billed as "Queen of the Boogie". She was Inducted in the Rhythm and Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1993. Career Her first recording ...
, ''Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere'' (DRG, 1994) * Hadda Brooks, ''Time Was When'' (Pointblank, 1996) * Roy Burns, ''Big, Bad & Beautiful'' (FPM, 1973) *
Red Callender George Sylvester "Red" Callender (March 6, 1916 – March 8, 1992) was an American string bass and tuba player. He is perhaps best known as a jazz musician, but worked with an array of pop, rock and vocal acts as a member of The Wrecking Cre ...
, ''Basin Street Brass'' (Legend, 1973) *
June Christy June Christy (born Shirley Luster; November 20, 1925June 21, 1990) was an American singer, known for her work in the cool jazz genre and for her silky smooth vocals. Her success as a singer began with The Stan Kenton Orchestra. She pursued a sol ...
, ''Do-Re-Mi'' (Capitol, 1961) * June Christy, ''The Intimate Miss Christy'' (Capitol, 1963) *
Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...
, '' Unforgettable... with Love'' (Elektra, 1991) *
Buddy Collette William Marcel "Buddy" Collette (August 6, 1921 – September 19, 2010) was an American jazz flutist, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He was a founding member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet. Early life William Marcel Collette was born in L ...
, ''Buddy's Best'' (Dooto, 1958) * Buddy Collette, ''Polynesia'' (Music & Sound, 1959) *
Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...
, ''The Dorsey/Sinatra Sessions 1940–1942'' (RCA Victor, 1972) *
Michael Feinstein Michael Jay Feinstein (born September 7, 1956) is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an archivist and interpreter for the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988 he won a Drama Desk Special Award for cele ...
, ''Pure Imagination'' (Elektra, 1992) *
Bob Florence Bob Florence (May 20, 1932 – May 15, 2008) was an American pianist, composer, arranger, and big band leader. Career A child prodigy, Florence began piano lessons before he was five years old and at seven gave his first recital. Although hi ...
, ''Bongos/Reeds/Brass'' (HiFi, 1960) *
Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...
, ''Ella Fitzgerald'' (Verve, 1987) *
The Four Freshmen The Four Freshmen is an American male vocal quartet that blends open-harmonic jazz arrangements with the big band vocal group sounds of The Modernaires, The Pied Pipers, and The Mel-Tones, founded in the barbershop tradition. The singers accom ...
, ''First Affair'' (Capitol, 1960) * Tommy Garrett, ''50 Guitars Go South of the Border'' (Liberty, 1961) *
Earl Grant Earl Grant (January 20, 1931 – June 10, 1970) was an American pianist, organist, and vocalist popular in the 1950s and 1960s. Career Grant was born in Idabel, Oklahoma. Though he would be known later for his keyboards and vocals, Grant also p ...
, ''The End'' (Decca, 1958) *
Dick Grove Richard Dean Grove (1927 – December 26, 1998) was an American musician, composer, arranger, and educator. He is best known as the founder of the Dick Grove School of Music. Its students include Michael Jackson, Linda Ronstadt, and Barry Manilow ...
, ''Little Bird Suite'' (Pacific Jazz, 1963) *
Al Hibbler Albert George Hibbler (August 16, 1915 – April 24, 2001) was an American baritone vocalist, who sang with Duke Ellington's orchestra before having several pop hits as a solo artist. Some of Hibbler's singing is classified as rhythm and blue ...
, ''Sings the Blues Monday Every Day'' *
Helen Humes Helen Humes (June 23, 1913 – September 9, 1981) was an American singer. Humes was a teenage blues singer, a vocalist with Count Basie's band, a saucy R&B diva, and a mature interpreter of the classic popular song. Early life She was born on ...
, ''Helen Humes'' (Contemporary, 1960) * Helen Humes, ''Swingin' with Humes'' (Contemporary, 1961) * Calvin Jackson, ''Jazz Variations On Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue'' (Liberty, 1957) *
Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...
, ''Harry James and His New Swingin' Band'' (MGM, 1959) * Harry James, ''Harry James Twenty-fifth Anniversary Album'' (MGM, 1964) *
Julie London Julie London (née Peck; September 26, 1926 – October 18, 2000) was an American singer and actress whose career spanned more than 40 years. A torch singer noted for her sultry, languid contralto vocals, London recorded over thirty albums ...
, ''Lonely Girl'' (Liberty, 1956) * Julie London, ''Julie...at Home'' (Liberty, 1960) *
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, s ...
, ''
My Son the Jazz Drummer! ''My Son the Jazz Drummer!'' (subtitled ''Modern Jazz Versions of Jewish and Israeli Songs'') is an album by drummer Shelly Manne performing jazz adaptations of traditional and contemporary Jewish music, recorded in 1962 and released on the Contem ...
'' (Contemporary, 1963) *
Anita O'Day Anita Belle Colton (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006), known professionally as Anita O'Day, was an American jazz singer and self proclaimed “song stylist” widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appe ...
, ''Trav'lin' Light'' (Verve, 1961) *
Frankie Ortega Frankie Ortega (November 27, 1927 – February 7, 1994) was an American jazz piano player and bandleader with the Frankie Ortega Trio during the 1950s and 1960s. Biography He was born on November 27, 1927 in Alhambra, California, United States ...
, ''The Piano Styling of Frankie Ortega'' (Imperial, 1956) * Frankie Ortega, ''Keyboard Caravan'' (Imperial, 1959) *
André Previn André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved ...
, ''Previn at the Piano'' (RCA Victor, 1947) * André Previn, ''Skylark'' (RCA Victor, 1955) *
Terry Reid Terrance James Reid (born 13 November 1949) is an English rock vocalist and guitarist. He has performed with high-profile musicians, as a supporting act, session musician, and sideman. Biography Reid was born in Paxton Park Maternity Home, L ...
, ''
Seed of Memory ''Seed of Memory'' is the fourth studio album by English vocalist Terry Reid, released in 1976 by ABC Records. It was produced by Graham Nash and written by Terry Reid. It was re-released in 2004. The songs "Brave Awakening", "Seed of Memory" ...
'' (ABC, 1976) *
Rudy Render Rudolph Valentino Render (July 1, 1926 – September 11, 2014)Leonard Kniffel, "My Interview with Musician, Teacher Rudy Render", ''PolishSon.com'', December 3, 2014 Retrieved 5 November 2016 After leaving the US Army, he had a small cameo app ...
, ''If You Knew Rudy'' (Page, 1957) *
Googie Rene Googie architecture ( ) is a type of futurist architecture influenced by car culture, jets, the Atomic Age and the Space Age. It originated in Southern California from the Streamline Moderne architecture of the 1930s, and was popular in the U ...
, ''Romesville!'' (Class, 1959) *
Pete Rugolo Pietro "Pete" Rugolo (December 25, 1915 – October 16, 2011) was an American jazz composer, arranger and record producer. Life and career Rugolo was born in San Piero Patti, Sicily. His family emigrated to the United States in 1920 and settle ...
, ''
The Music from Richard Diamond ''The Music from Richard Diamond'' is an album by composer, arranger and conductor Pete Rugolo featuring compositions written for ''Richard Diamond, Private Detective'' recorded in 1959 and first released on the EmArcy label.Ten Trumpets and 2 Guitars ''Ten Trumpets and 2 Guitars'' is an album by composer, arranger and conductor Pete Rugolo featuring performances recorded in 1961 and first released on the Mercury label as part of its audiophile Perfect Presence Sound Series.Warren Schatz Warren Schatz, born in New York City, is a prominent producer, arranger and orchestra conductor during the 1970s. Warren Schatz is famous for composing, producing, arranging, and conducting the orchestra for such mid- to late-1970s disco recordin ...
, ''Warren Schatz'' (Columbia, 1971) *
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
, ''Forever Frank'' (Capitol, 1966) * Frank Sinatra, ''Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim'' (Reprise, 1967) *
Joanie Sommers Joanie Sommers (born Joan Drost, February 24, 1941) is an American singer and actress with a career concentrating on jazz, standards and popular material and show-business credits. Once billed as "The Voice of the Sixties", and associated with to ...
, ''Softly the Brazilian Sound'' (Warner Bros., 1964) * The Strollers, ''Swinging Flute in Hi-Fi'' (Score, 1958) *
The Sugar Shoppe The Sugar Shoppe was a Canadians, Canadian sunshine pop vocal group who recorded in the late 1960s and featured actor Victor Garber. History The group was formed in Toronto by lead singer, songwriter and pianist Peter Mann. Born in New York City, ...
, ''The Sugar Shoppe'' (Now Sounds, 2013) *
The Manhattan Transfer The Manhattan Transfer is a Grammy award–winning vocal group founded in 1969 that has explored a cappella, vocalese, swing, standards, Brazilian jazz, rhythm and blues, and pop music. There have been two editions of the Manhattan Transfer, ...
, ''
Mecca for Moderns ''Mecca for Moderns'' is the sixth studio album by The Manhattan Transfer. It was released in 1981 by Atlantic Records. This album was the highest-charting album to date for the group, peaking on ''Billboard'' magazine's Top Pop Catalog Albums ...
'' (Atlantic, 1981) *
Bobby Troup Robert William Troup Jr. (October 18, 1918 – February 7, 1999) was an American actor, jazz pianist, singer, and songwriter. He wrote the song " Route 66" and acted in the role of Dr. Joe Early with his wife Julie London in the television progr ...
, ''Do Re Mi'' (Liberty, 1957) * Joe Williams, ''With Love'' (Temponic, 1972) *
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 ...
, ''Spoon'' (Reprise, 1961) *
Weird Al Yankovic Weird derives from the Anglo-Saxon word Wyrd, meaning fate or destiny. In modern English it has acquired the meaning of “strange or uncanny”. It may also refer to: Places * Weird Lake, a lake in Minnesota, U.S. People *"Weird Al" Yankovic (b ...
, ''Dare to Be Stupid'' (Rock 'n' Roll 1985) * Weird Al Yankovic, ''This Is the Life'' (Rock 'n' Roll 1984) *
Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...
, ''Lumpy Gravy'' (Verve, 1967)


References

;Footnotes ;General references
Al Viola at AllMusic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Viola, Al 1919 births 2007 deaths Guitarists from New York (state) Jazz musicians from New York (state) Musicians from Brooklyn 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American jazz guitarists American male guitarists American people of Italian descent Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Deaths from cancer in California American male jazz musicians United States Army personnel of World War II