Pete Candoli

The elder of the trumpet-playing Candoli brothers, Pete initially made the greater impact of the two in Woody Herman's First Herd at the tail end of the swing era. A powerful, flamboyant soloist, his big moment came toward the end of "Apple Honey," where he would appear in a Superman costume and cut loose scorching, dissonant flurries of high notes.

Pete started with the Sonny Dunham band in his 17th year (1940-1941) and passed through the bands of Will Bradley, Benny Goodman, Ray McKinley, Tommy Dorsey, Freddie Slack, and Charlie Barnet before settling into the Herman band from 1944 to 1946. He worked for Tex Beneke (1947-1949) and Jerry Gray (1950-1951) before moving to Los Angeles, where he became immersed in studio work with side trips into the Les Brown (1952) and Stan Kenton (1954-1956) bands.

From 1957 to 1962, he co-led a group with Conte and later fronted his own band, while...

Read more

Albums featuring Pete Candoli

61 records