Page Cavanaugh

Walter Page Cavanaugh (January 26, 1922 in Cherokee, Kansas – December 19, 2008 in Los Angeles) was an American jazz and pop pianist, vocalist, and arranger.

Career

He began on piano at age nine[1] and played with Ernie Williamson's band in 1938–39[2] before moving to Los Angeles and joining the Bobby Sherwood band at age 20.[1]

While serving in the military during World War II, he met guitarist Al Viola and bassist Lloyd Pratt, with whom he formed a trio. After the war's end they performed together in the style of the Nat King Cole Trio, scoring a number of hits in the late 1940s, including "The Three Bears", "Walkin' My Baby Back Home", and "All of Me".[2] The trio appeared in the films A Song Is Born, Big City, Lullaby of Broadway (with Doris Day) and Romance on the High Seas (Doris Day's first film, in 1948).[3][4] He recorded dozens of tracks with Doris Day, Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore, June Christy, Mel Torme and other legendary singers.

In the early 1950s, Cavanaugh had a program, Page Pages You, on the short-lived Progressive Broadcasting System.[5] Additionally, the trio played on Frank Sinatra's radio program, Songs by Sinatra,[6] and on The Jack Paar Show.[4]

Cavanaugh played in Los Angeles nightclubs through the 1990s, both in a trio setting (with Viola for many years) and as a septet, the Page 7.[2] He recorded with Bobby Woods & Les Deux Love Orchestra.[7] He recorded for MGM, Capitol, RCA, Star Line, Tiara, and Dobre Records over the course of his career, releasing his final trio album, Return to Elegance, in 2006.[3]

Cavanaugh died on December 19, 2008, of kidney failure.[4]

Discography

  • Page Cavanaugh Carries the Torch (ERA, 1956)
  • The Girl (Vaya, 1956)
  • Page Cavanaugh Plays for the Cocktail Hour (Tops, 1957)
  • Fats Sent Me (Capitol, 1957)
  • Music for the Cocktail Hour (Craftsmen, 1958)
  • Softly (Time, 1964)
  • Is Alive (Dobre, 1978)
  • Return to Elegance (Moon over Leg, 2006)

Death

Page Cavanaugh died at the age of 86. He died on friday morning after a protracted kidney fairlure at a skilled nursing facility in Granada Hills,[8]

References

  1. "Pianist-singer-composer led an enduring Southland trio". Los Angeles Times. December 24, 2008.
  2. Scott Yanow, Page Cavanaugh at AllMusic
  3. "Page Cavanaugh, Leader of Jazz Trio, Dies at 86". The New York Times. Associated Press. December 25, 2008.
  4. Jazz Pianist-Singer Page Cavanaugh Dies at 86. CTV News, December 24, 2008.
  5. "WCFC Music Shows To Offer Wide Choice". The Raleigh Register. The Raleigh Register. November 26, 1950. p. 14. Retrieved September 5, 2015 via Newspapers.com. open access
  6. Schaden, Chuck (Spring 2009). "Necrology for 2008". Nostalgia Digest. 35 (2): 55–59.
  7. "Les Deux Love Orchestra Remembers Our Friend: Page Cavanaugh 1922 - 2008". hearttimescoffeecup.com.
  8. McLellan, Dennis (2008-12-24). "Page Cavanaugh dies at 86; pianist-singer led Southland jazz trio". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.