Pete Candoli

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Pete Candoli (born Walter Joseph Candoli in Mishawaka, Indiana on June 28, 1923) is an American jazz trumpeter based on the West Coast of the US. He has played with the big bands of Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, and many others, and has worked extensively in the studios of the recording and television industries.

Pete (Walter) Candoli is one of the most under-appreciated musicians in jazz. His early notoriety rested mainly on his bravura high-note work with Woody Herman's Herd during World War II. During that brief period he was often regarded as second only to Ellington's Cat Anderson in his ability to stretch solos into the trumpet's upper registrar. This reputation was exacerbated by Herman's decision to have him appear in a Superman costume for high note solos on "Apple Honey". Many synopses of his career suggest that his most notable accomplishment during this period was bringing his equally, but differently, talented younger brother Conte into the big band major league.

In the end, however, this is misleading. It is difficult to construe the rest of Candoli's career as resting on these limited but formidable skills. After 1945, Candoli worked with several bands including notably that of Stan Kenton. Later, he drifted into the "West Coast Jazz" and studio scenes. Despite his range, he rarely played lead, reserved instead for feature roles. He became a favorite collaborator of many influential musicians and performers, including Peggy Lee, Henry Mancini, and Frank Sinatra. He was widely sought for studio work.

Pete Candoli's solo work is notable for his eloquent roles, supportive of the efforts of others. His adroit use of staccato is both notable and rare among modern jazz trumpeters. Despite his reputation for his high-note ability, he rarely used it unless explicitly called for by the conductor, the band leader, or the composer. More often, his solos began with low-to-mid-register staccato riffs which built into rolling cadenzas and ending, when appropriate, in high-note, bravura climaxes.

Strong evidence of his restraint can be found in his work on Peggy Lee's "Black Coffee", one of the first 33⅓ rpm long-play vocal albums. Pete appears on all of the original 10" tracks (recorded in 1953; expanded in 1956 to 12" with a different set of musicians). Muted but felicitously omnipresent on all the 10" tracks, he performs open-horned on the last chorus of "My Heart Belongs to Daddy", building from modest fills to a full-throated high-note climax that helps to make the song the centerpiece of the album and gives Lee arguable co-ownership of this song with Mary Martin.

Candoli performs sublimely on the two Mancini Peter Gunn albums, albeit as only one of similarly adroit group of musicians. He and his brother Conte were often seen playing in the background during scenes in "Mother's" nightclub. Most of Candoli's best solos are rather short. One of his best longer solos was wasted in the Peter Gunn medley on a forgettable concert album of Mancini's. It is an almost quintessential Pete Candoli performance in the staccato-to-climax mode described earlier. He is also the attributed soloist for the superb high-note work in the "Dance at the Gym" sequence in the movie version of West Side Story.

Candoli married several times, usually to other musicians, including singer-actress Betty Hutton and (post Ernie Kovacs) the singer Edie Adams, with whom he often toured. He also did some acting work, both in Hollywood and in summer stock. He has two daughters, Tara Clair and Carolyn, from different marriages. He is an avid animal lover and born under the astrology sign Cancer.

His younger brother, Conte, achieved an arguably stronger critical reputation. They often worked together in anonymous recording gigs and in several joint albums on minor labels. Pete did not shine noticeably in these efforts, possibly because he adjusted to Conte's rather different and more conventional solo trumpet style. In particular, Pete almost never showed his extended range in any joint performance with his brother.