Pete Candoli

Career

A native of Mishawaka, Indiana, Candoli was the older brother of Conte Candoli.

During the 1940s he performed with a number of big bands, including those led by Sonny Dunham, Will Bradley, Ray McKinley, Tommy Dorsey, Teddy Powell, Woody Herman, Boyd Raeburn, Tex Beneke, and Jerry Gray. Known for his ability to play in the upper register of the trumpet, he was nicknamed "Superman". While performing with Woody Herman's First Herd, he occasionally wore a Superman costume during solos. In the 1950s he joined the bands of Stan Kenton and Les Brown and later moved to Los Angeles, where he worked extensively as a studio musician. His studio work included contributions to film and television soundtracks such as Bell, Book and Candle, The Man with the Golden Arm, and Peter Gunn. He also made occasional on-screen appearances in television series and films during this period.

Candoli frequently collaborated with his brother Conte Candoli; the two led a joint band in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and reunited for performances intermittently from the 1970s to the 1990s. In the early 1970s he also performed in nightclubs with his second wife, singer Edie Adams. Health issues temporarily interrupted his career in the late 1970s, but he later returned to performing at festivals and appeared with Lionel Hampton. He also rejoined the Woody Herman orchestra for its anniversary concerts.

Candoli was featured as a performer on the soundtrack of the animated series The Ant and the Aardvark, which incorporated jazz elements.

Candoli died on January 11, 2008, at the age of 84, from complications of prostate cancer.

Awards and honors

International Jazz Hall of Fame, 1997

Big Band Hall of Fame, 2003

Look magazine named him one of the seven all-time outstanding jazz trumpet players.

Discography

As leader

For Peter's Sake (Kapp, 1960)

Blues, When Your Lover Has Gone (Somerset/Stereo-Fidelity, 1961)

Moscow Mule and Many More Kicks (Decca, 1966)

From the Top (Dobre, 1978)

Live at the Royal Palms Inn Vol. 9 with Bill Perkins, Carl Fontana (Woofy, 1994)

With Conte Candoli

The Brothers Candoli (Dot, 1957)

Bell, Book, and Candoli (Dot, 1959)

2 for the Money (Mercury, 1959)

There Is Nothing Like a Dame (Warner Bros., 1962)

Candoli Brothers (Dobre, 1978)

Two Brothers (Hindsight 1999)

As sideman

With Glen Gray

Sounds of the Great Bands! (Capitol 1958)

Sounds of the Great Bands Volume 2 (Capitol, 1959)

Solo Spotlight (Capitol, 1960)

Please Mr. Gray (Capitol, 1961)

Themes of the Great Bands (Capitol, 1963)

With Woody Herman

Woody Herman and the Herd at Carnegie Hall (Lion, 1958)

The Thundering Herds (Columbia, 1961)

The First Herd at Carnegie Hall (VSP, 1966)

Live at Carnegie Hall (VSP, 1966)

The Turning Point 1943–1944 (Coral, 1969)

With Stan Kenton

Popular Favorites by Stan Kenton (Capitol, 1953)

This Modern World (Capitol, 1953)

Kenton in Hi-Fi (Capitol, 1956)

By Request (Creative World, 1971)

By Request Volume II (Creative World, 1972)

With Peggy Lee

Black Coffee (Decca, 1956)

Things Are Swingin' (Capitol, 1958)

Blues Cross Country (Capitol, 1962)