Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Dave Pell was born on February 26, 1925 in New York City. Growing up in Brooklyn between Brighton and Manhattan beaches, as a teenager he was playing the saxophone and touring with the Tony Pastor, Bob Astor, and Bobby Sherwood bands as a teenager, before moving to California in the mid-’40s. He found work with Bob Crosby on the Ford radio show in 1946, and then played with the Les Brown band from 1947 to 1955.

Drawing from the ranks of the Brown band, Pell, one of the founding fathers of the West Coast jazz, began leading his own groups in 1953, usually in an octet format, augmented by guests like Pepper Adams, Benny Carter, Mel Lewis, Red Mitchell, Marty Paich, and Art Pepper.

He also played as a sideman on records by Shorty Rogers, Pete Rugolo, Benny Goodman, and Gene Krupa in the 1950s, while recording under his own name for Atlantic, Kapp, Coral, Capitol, and RCA Victor.

During the 1950’s and ‘60s his primary focus of activity in the record business was as a producer for the budget Tops label and Liberty, supervising a few hit pop/rock records for Gary Lewis & the Playboys.

Then in the late 1970s Dave put together a tribute band to Lester Young called Prez Conference, recording two albums for GNP/Crescendo. In the ’80s and ’90s, the saxophonist and bandleader revived his octet for recordings and sporadic live dates in the Los Angeles area, including an appearance at the Jazz West Coast festival in 1994. He has had several reissues on CD along with a few imports and new recordings over the past decade. Saxophonist Dave Pell, known for his octet recordings and performances, passed away on May 7, 2017, at the age of 92.

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