Charlie Ventura
A fine swing-oriented tenor saxophonist, Ventura is best-remembered for his attempt at popularizing bebop during the tail end of the music's mid- to late-'40s heyday. Born Charles Venturo, he came from a large, musically inclined family. His first instrument was C-melody sax. He switched to alto before eventually settling on tenor. Ventura left his day job at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1942 to join Gene Krupa's band. He became a featured soloist with Krupa, playing with the drummer from 1942-1943 and 1944-1946 (working in the interim with guitarist/bandleader Teddy Powell). Ventura achieved considerable popularity while with Krupa, winning a Down Beat magazine award as best tenor saxophonist in 1945. He started his own big band in 1946 with middling results. He had more success fronting a small band, one version of which included trumpeter Conte Candoli, trombonist Bennie Green, alto saxophonist Boots Mussulli, drummer Ed Shaughnessy, and vocalists Jackie Cain and Roy Kral. Ventura recorded for small labels before getting signed to RCA Victor, which at the time wanted to capitalize on the emergence of bebop. An RCA executive purportedly told him that they wanted the word "bop" in the band's name. Ventura came up with the phrase "Bop for the People," which implied an accessible form of the music. Ventura formed a big band in 1948, but soon cut it down to eight members, retaining Cain and Kral, who were crucial components of the band's sound. The Bop for the People band worked through 1949 (during which time Ventura employed modern jazz's greatest saxophonist, Charlie Parker, on a record date), but in the end Ventura's stab at making a commercial success of bop failed. Indeed, as fine a player as he was, Ventura himself was never really a bopper. During the early '50s Ventura led another big band; formed a highly acclaimed group called the Big Four with bassist Chubby Jackson, drummer Buddy Rich, and pianist Marty Napoleon; briefly ran his own night club in Philadelphia; and also worked again with Cain and Kral. Ventura's health was not the best, yet he continued to work with Krupa into the '60s. After the '50s, Ventura recorded commercially only once (in 1977, with pianist John Bunch for the Famous Door label). Still, he remained active. He worked in Las Vegas (with comedian Jackie Gleason), and fronted various groups in the '70s and '80s, before dying of lung cancer in 1992.
© Chris Kelsey /TiVo
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Someone to Watch over Me
Jazz - Released by Legacy International on Nov. 26, 1965
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fine Sax
Charlie Ventura, Jazz Saxophone
Bebop - Released by Jazz Masters on Jun. 6, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Golden Selection (Remastered)
Jazz - Released by Master Tape Records on Jul. 9, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live at the Three Deuces (Recorded Live in 1947)
Bebop - Released by HighNote Records on Jan. 1, 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live at the Three Deuces, Vol. 2 (Recorded Live in 1947)
Bebop - Released by HighNote Records on Jul. 9, 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Honeysuckle Rose
Jazz - Released by Vintage Music on Jan. 1, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Very Best Of
Bebop - Released by Master Classics Records on Apr. 1, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Charlie Ventura - In Concert
Jazz - Released by GNP Crescendo on Apr. 23, 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Complete Jazz Series 1949
Jazz - Released by Complete Jazz Series on Jun. 29, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The complete pasadena concert 1949
Charlie Ventura, and His 'Bop for the People' Septet
Jazz - Released by Fresh Sound Records on Jul. 25, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live In Pasadena
Bebop - Released by Master Classics Records on Apr. 1, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
It's All Bop To Me
Jazz - Released by RCA - Legacy on Jan. 1, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Complete Jazz Series 1949 - 1951
Jazz - Released by Complete Jazz Series on Jun. 29, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gene Norman Presents a Charlie Ventura Concert (Album of 1953)
Jazz - Released by Jazz Classics on Jun. 30, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
It Don't Mean a Thing
Jazz - Released by Vintage Music on Mar. 5, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vintage Dance Orchestras No. 297- EP: Duke Ellington For Dancing
Jazz - Released by Vintage Music on Jun. 10, 1953
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Complete Jazz Series 1951 - 1953
Jazz - Released by Complete Jazz Series on Jun. 29, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
If I Had You (Remastered)
Jazz - Released by Vintage Records on Jul. 30, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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