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Trudy Pitts

Trudy Pitts with husband Mr. C at the Meiji-En Restaurant A dream gig might be this: three nights each week in a restaurant noted for its warmth, intimacy, musical freedom, and complete support for the artist. Sounds almost too good to be true, right? Well, in the City of Brotherly Love, the Meiji-En (thought to be the nation's biggest Japanese restaurant) offered such a piano trio gig to two of my favorite musicians, Trudy Pitts and Mr. C, and for the last five years it has seemed like a dream. I've been calling Trudy and Mr. C Philadelphia's best- kept secret, but the truth is that most people in the know have been hip to Trudy's piano and organ work and Mr. C's drumming and promoting for years.

Trudy is a native Philadelphian who began playing piano at age six. Her mother, too, was a musician and inspired this family tradition. "My family was deeply involved in the church community," says Trudy, "and I started playing piano for Sunday school when I was about nine or ten. As time went on, I was introduced to the church organ, and I played organ in Sunday school."

Trudy later helped with the senior choir during the main services and from there went on to her own church choirs in various other settings. As she puts it, "It was just a musical atmosphere. You did whatever you had to do wherever you were."

Earning a degree in music education was only natural for this talented prodigy. She studied at Philadelphia's Musical Academy, Temple University, and Juilliard, among other institutions. During these years she reached out to the classics and built a base from which future compositions and arrangements would spring.

Always seeking new musical challenges, Trudy accepted an offer to sit in the pit as an assistant to the pianist in the Tony Award-winning show Raisin' when it traveled through Philadelphia. "I did that for the month or two that they were in town. Then not too much later I got a call from the manager inquiring if I could join the company for the rest of the tour."

Thinking the music was truly beautiful and the show dynamic, Trudy entered yet another level in her development. "It was something I hadn't done before, and it was a great responsibility. I was playing piano and organ. She eventually became the assistant to the conductor of this nationally touring show, but she never lost sight of what she felt was her true charge, creative music.

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Radio & Podcasts

Random Acts of Roach 3, Trudy Pitts, Pete Rugolo

Read "Random Acts of Roach 3, Trudy Pitts, Pete Rugolo" reviewed by David Brown


This week, new and recent releases from Ethan Iverson, Ambrose Akinmusire, Mary Halverson, and others; We'll continue with Random Acts of Roach, a month-long centennial celebration of the legendary drummer Max Roach; and why not, I'll share a bit of my recent obsession with the Pete Rugolo Orchestra, and much more. Old, new, in, out... wherever the music takes us. Each week, we will explore the elements of jazz from a historical perspective. Playlist Thelonious Monk “Esistrophy (Theme)" ...

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Radio & Podcasts

New Releases From Mercedes Nicole, Danny Jonokuchi Big Band, With Singles By Trudy Pitts, Miki Yamanaka and Leny Andrade & More

Read "New Releases From Mercedes Nicole, Danny Jonokuchi Big Band, With Singles By Trudy Pitts, Miki Yamanaka and Leny Andrade & More" reviewed by Mary Foster Conklin


This broadcast includes new releases from Mercedes Nicole, Danny Jonokuchi Big Band, with singles from Trudy Pitts, Miki Yamanaka and Leny Andrade & Gilson Peranzzetta, with birthday shoutouts to Bernice Petkere (Lullaby of the Leaves, Close Your Eyes), Roberta Donnay, Kat Gang, Linda Dachtyl, Roberta Piket, Jenny Klukken, Cyrille Aimee||, and {{Noa Fort, among others. Thanks for listening and please support the artists you hear by seeing them live and online. Purchase their music so they can continue to distract, ...

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Book Excerpts

Trudy Pitts: Extraordinary Pianist & Master of the Hammond B-3

Read "Trudy Pitts: Extraordinary Pianist & Master of the Hammond B-3" reviewed by Pheralyn Dove


[The following is an excerpt from Pheralyn Dove's forthcoming memoir, No Time for Tears: A Book of True Life Stories, and the chapter titled “Today I Cried."]The Student Meets the MasterTalking to keyboardist Trudy Pitts is like going on an adventure. It's the type of escapade where wanderlust, laughter and discovery are all intertwined. Whether on the telephone or in person, the discourse is utterly unpredictable, always exciting. I remember one night we were on the ...

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Interview

Trudy Pitts: Meeting the Next Keyboard Challenge

Read "Trudy Pitts: Meeting the Next Keyboard Challenge" reviewed by Victor L. Schermer


On September 15, 2006, Trudy Pitts will have the distinction of being the first jazz musician to perform on the spectacular new organ in Verizon Hall, at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, in a concert opposite the great singer Nancy Wilson. The largest concert organ in the United States, officially known as The Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ (Dobson organ Op. 76), it was designed and constructed by the great organ builder, Lynn Dobson, and his ...

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Video / DVD

Video: Trudy Pitts

Video: Trudy Pitts

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Trudy Pitts was not as well known as Shirley Scott or as thoroughly recorded, but the organist was just as potent. In fact, it's fair to say she was scantily recorded. She recorded just seven leadership albums compared with Scotts' several dozen. A special thanks to Andrew J. Sordoni III, who sent along a link to the first video below. I added a few: Here's Trudy Pitts and her husband, Bill “Mr. C" Carney ... Here's Part 1 of an ...

195

Obituary

Trudy Pitts (1932-2010)

Trudy Pitts (1932-2010)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Trudy Pitts, a Hammond B3 organist with a swirling, stinging style rich with technique and whose attack on the instrument was as aggressive as many of her male counterparts, died December 19. She was 78. A late jazz-soul bloomer, Pitts was signed by Prestige in 1967 just as jazz was losing young listeners to rock and soul. Unlike many organists of the period who had learned to play the Hammond B3 in church and on the road, Pitts studied music ...

60

Music Industry

Reflections on Trudy Pitts

Reflections on Trudy Pitts

Source: JazzStage.net

By Linda Dachtyl It is hard to know how to begin to talk about the recent passing of Trudy Pitts and the ways in which she touched my life in the brief time I got to know her over the last two years, so I will start at the beginning. I am always amazed at how our lives can be orchestrated through coincidence, synchronicity, or divine providence concerning the terms, but the result is the same regardless. In some casual ...

50

Obituary

Trudy Pitts Carney, Jazz Organist, Vocalist -- R.I.P.

Trudy Pitts Carney, Jazz Organist, Vocalist -- R.I.P.

Source: JazzStage.net

Trudy Pitts Carney, 78, a Philadelphia-born jazz organist, pianist, and vocalist who played with many jazz greats over a career that spanned more than four decades, died of pancreatic cancer Sunday, Dec. 19, at Chestnut Hill Hospital. She played with jazz greats John Coltrane and Rahsaan Roland Kirk, among others, her daughter said. Actually, “she didn't play with them; they played with her. Just about whoever you could mention played with her." Click here for complete obituary from philly.com. When ...

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Obituary

Organist Trudy Pitts Carney Dies

Organist Trudy Pitts Carney Dies

Source: Schicker

Philadelphia-based organist Trudy Pitts Carney died on Sunday, Dec. 19, of pancreatic cancer. She was 78.

During the 1950s and '60s, Pitts blended her church background and classical training to a classic blues-based organ sound, often alongside her husband, percussionist William Theodore Carney. She also delved into the burgeoning free-jazz movement and performed with John Coltrane and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Her 1967 album Introducing The Fabulous Trudy Pitts (Prestige) also featured guitarist Pat Martino.

“She was a major, major artist ...

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Obituary

Jazz Organist Trudy Pitts

Jazz Organist Trudy Pitts

Source: Victor L. Schermer


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Event

Jazz Musicians Jymie Merritt and Trudy Pitts to be Honored

Jazz Musicians Jymie Merritt and Trudy Pitts to be Honored

Source: All About Jazz

Jazz fair will be held July 12, 2009 at The University of the Arts Philadelphia, PA – On Sunday, July 12, jazz aficionados from the Philadelphia area and beyond will gather on the campus of The University of the Arts to celebrate the city’s rich musical legacy and to honor two of the area’s most distinguished jazz musicians. Philadelphia Jazz Fair 2009 will be presented by the Philadelphia Jazz Heritage Project and The University of the Arts. It will feature ...

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Event

Trudy Pitts in Huntington Valley, Pennsylvania, September 30th

Trudy Pitts in Huntington Valley, Pennsylvania, September 30th

Source: All About Jazz

Hospice of Philadelphia and Jazz Bridge are joining forces on September 30th when the incomparable jazz pianist Trudy Pitts will play at St. John's Episcopal Church, 1333 Old Welsh Road, Huntingdon Valley, PA, at 3PM to benefit jazz musicians in crisis and hospice patients from our area. Tickets are $12.50. Please call 215-581-2360 or 215-517-8337 for info. Hospice of Philadelphia is a division of the Visiting Nurses Association of Philadelphia. Trudy Pitts is an international jazz star on the piano ...

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Music Industry

Jazz Organ Legend Trudy Pitts to Appear at Smoke NYC on Thursday June 22

Jazz Organ Legend Trudy Pitts to Appear at Smoke NYC on Thursday June 22

Source: All About Jazz

Organ Legend Trudy Pitts to appear with All-Star BandSmoke Jazz Club and Cocktail Lounge. One night only: Thursday June 22 at nine and eleven.

Trudy Pitts Hammond B-3 Organ Eric Alexander Tenor Sax Bob DeVos Guitar Joe Farnsworth Drums

2751 Broadway at 106th Street - 212.864.6662- $15 cover- shows at 9 and 11

Organ legend Trudy Pitts comes together with an all-star band for a rare NYC appearance.

Fresh from her headline ...

Charlie Wood
organ, Hammond B3

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Me, Myself And I

Self Produced
2003

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A Bucketful Of Soul

Jazzizit Records
1968

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The Excitement Of...

Jazzizit Records
1968

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These Blues Of Mine

Jazzizit Records
1967

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Introducing The...

Jazzizit Records
1967

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