Lorraine Geller

Lorraine Geller (born Lorraine Winifred Walsh, September 11, 1928, Portland, Oregon – October 13, 1958, Los Angeles, California) was an American jazz pianist.

Geller started out with the all-female big band, Sweethearts of Rhythm, under Anne Mae Winburn; this group was a successor to the International Sweethearts of Rhythm. She met alto saxophonist Herb Geller, then playing with Claude Thornhill, in 1950, and married him in 1951; together they moved to Los Angeles. There they played with many of the stalwarts of the West Coast jazz scene, such as Shorty Rogers, Zoot Sims, Stan Getz, and Red Mitchell; she also did sessions with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1957, she accompanied Kay Starr. She performed at the first Monterey Jazz Festival in 1958. Later that year, she died suddenly of heart failure.

Discography

with Herb Geller
Solo

References