A Life in Tune

This occasional series profiles longtime performers and aficionados to mine their memories and knowledge of a lifetime in music.

Betty Brown and the Crawford Grill
Betty Brown has never played a note of meaningful music, but she's heard some of the greatest jazz ever performed. And the best part about that is, she didn't have to travel too far to hear it. (July 1, 2007)
By Nate Guidry

Sandy Staley carries torch for her music
Singer Sandy Staley is respected by her peers and has devoted fans who follow her wherever and whenever she performs. (April 8, 2007)
By Nate Guidry

For Gus Dolfi, 84, a big-band career made the sweetest of memories
Gaston "Gus" Dolfi still loves music. If he had to do over again, he wouldn't change a thing. (Aug. 20, 2006)
By Nate Guidry

'Spider' Rondinelli drums up musical camaraderie
Arnold "Spider" Rondinelli is easily one of the most engaging musicians you'll ever come across. It doesn't matter where or when you encounter him, there's a smile and a kind word.
By Nate Guidry

New works trumpet Doc Wilson's longevity on the music scene
John H. "Doc" Wilson is a 78-year-old trumpeter and arranger whose career has spanned big bands and music instruction at Duquesne University. (May 8, 2005)
By Nate Guidry

Chuck Austin, the 'perfect sideman,' raises the bar for career jazz players
Now and then Chuck Austin gets to stand, take a solo and bow. Mostly, though, he operates in the rear, a silhouette in the shadows of the spotlight. That's the life of a sideman. They go unnoticed and underappreciated until needed. But they are always called upon because sidemen make up the bulk of musicians in every community. (July 11, 2004)
By Nate Guidry

Walt Harper enjoys holding on to 'Satin Doll'
Satin Doll" has been a part of Walt Harper's repertory so long that many fans think it is he, not Duke Ellington, who wrote the tune. If you've heard his band, you've heard the song. No concert is complete without the gravely voiced vocalist belting out the lyrics. (Dec. 21, 2003)
By Nate Guidry

Gene Ludwig grooves on jazz organ
It had come to this for Gene Ludwig. He was only 21 and already at a significant crossroads. So he walked to the bathroom mirror, stared intently into it and then flipped a coin. Heads, he would continue working as a civil engineer. Tails, he would pursue a career in music. (Oct. 26, 2003)
By Nate Guidry

Balladeer Jerry Betters rubbed shoulders with legends
Jerry Betters sits on a couch in his Garfield Heights apartment sifting through old photographs. A montage of pictures he has taken over the years of some of jazz's more popular performers stretch across a large foam board. (July 20, 2003)
By Nate Guidry

Symphony orchestras and jazz ensembles coveted the services of bass player Joe Wallace
Joe Wallace sits silhouetted, peering out of a third-floor window in his Lawrenceville apartment. Across the street is a row of houses, and in one of them lives a young bass player. Wallace doesn't know him, but he occasionally sees him toting that instrument around. Sometimes that nameless fiddle player arrives and departs in a limousine, the kind that stretches a city block. (May 11, 2003)
By Nate Guidry

Joe Negri has proved handy on the guitar
Joe Negri's been playing guitar so long he can hardly remember a time he wasn't. For a few minutes back in the 1940s, he had a notion of becoming a sports announcer, hoping to be legendary in the mold of his childhood idols, Pirate broadcasters Bob Prince and Rosey Rowswell. As with most kids who love baseball, he knew he was never going to play professionally but figured he could be involved in sports on another level. (March 2, 2003)
By Nate Guidry

William Condeluci recalls glory days as a percussionist
It's an early November afternoon in Stowe. William Condeluci, a show drummer and vibraphonist, leads his guest through his home and into the kitchen. He slides over a circular tray of fruit -- grapes, bananas and oranges -- then offers to whip up a quick pot of spaghetti. "Won't take but a few minutes," he says. (Dec. 8, 2002)
By Nate Guidry

Danny Conn: Trumpeting a jazz icon
This Pittsburgher might not be a household name, but the hall of fame trumpeter has accompanied everyone from Sinatra to the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.

The real heyday of Slim Bryant
On a hazy, oppressively hot morning, Slim Bryant stands tall as he greets a visitor at the door of the modest, tidy Dormont home where he's lived 53 of his 93 years. His handshake is firm, his smile wide. The Georgia baritone retains much of the resonance it had half a century ago, when he was a Pittsburgh institution. The Gibson L-5 guitar he used throughout his peak years sits in a corner of his dining room. (Aug. 11, 2002)
By Rich Kienzle

Collector goes on the record about his jazz-infused 90 years
A few days past his 90th birthday, William Charles Dobie reacquaints himself with a Pete Fountain vinyl purchased during the Eisenhower administration. He wipes the record slowly, meticulously, then spins it on a moody old Panasonic turntable that has aged gracefully but has become increasingly cantankerous. (July 21, 2002)
By Nate Guidry