Paul Lingle

Paul Lingle was a local legend in San Francisco during the 1940s. A talented stride pianist who also played ragtime, Lingle was a fan of Jelly Roll Morton. He started playing piano when he was six and first worked professionally in San Francisco in the 1920s. Lingle was Al Jolson's accompanist in the late '20s, recording the soundtrack of some of his first sound films. He spent the 1930s working in radio and with Al Zohn's jazz band in San Francisco. During the Dixieland revival of the 1940s, Lingle at first was a piano tuner in Santa Cruz, but by 1944 was playing in San Francisco clubs, generally solo. When Leadbelly and Bunk Johnson passed through town, they both asked for him. In 1952, Lingle moved to Honolulu where he continued playing up until his death. Unfortunately, he was reluctant to record throughout his career and his only studio session resulted in just eight songs cut for Good Time Jazz in 1952. However, three and a half albums of private tapes from 1951-1952 were released posthumously on the Euphonic label that allow listeners to get a fuller picture of Paul Lingle's talent.
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