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Al Viola (1919-2007) grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and got his start playing the guitar by learning the basics from his mother and older brother. As a teenager he listened to and learned from to the work of Charlie Christian and Oscar Moore.
In 1941 he entered the army and was assigned to play in the army band, in Sacramento, CA. There he met a young piano player, Page Cavanaugh, and the Page Cavanaugh Trio was formed.
When their army duty was over, the Page Cavanaugh Trio moved to Los Angeles where they began playing local clubs and recording. A number of Trio recordings come out of this period on the RCA Victor, Signature and ARA labels. These early recordings always included a nice solo by Al Viola.
In 1946, the Page Cavanaugh Trio accompanied Frank Sinatra to New York where they played nightly behind Sinatra at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. During this same period the Cavanaugh Trio made a couple of recordings with Sinatra (That's How Much I Love You and You Can Take My Word For It Baby) both of which enjoyed broad distribution due to Sinatra's popularity. And, like the Cavanaugh Trio recordings the Sinatra recordings included a solo by Al Viola.
Later that same year Al Viola took up residence again in Los Angeles and settled into the music scene there. He played with Bobby Troup and Buddy Collette, toured and recorded with Julie London and played in the great Harry James Band of that period. He was also in high demand in the recording and television studios where he worked with Ray Anthony and Steve Allen. During this time Al Viola began playing with Frank Sinatra again, and this association continued for many years.
Al Viola took up the classical guitar in the late 1940's and in the next three decades made the solo guitar recordings for which he was best known; Solo Guitar, Guitar Lament and Alone Again. The solo recordings showed the remarkable versatility and musicianship of Al Viola. And, when taken in the total context of 50 plus years of music making, they completed the picture of a musician who was an early pioneer of the electric guitar, was able to swing with the best of them (check out his comping on Riviera from the 1958 Flute In Hi-Fi), provided backup for the best singers of the day, and could stay in the background providing solid rhythm for other soloists.
Well into the 21st century Al Viola stayed active in the LA music scene. He was frequently heard at places like Monteleone's West and the 72 Market Street Restaurant.
©Copyright 1998 - 2007 Classic Jazz Guitar
posted by Rob Jansen @ zaterdag, februari 24, 2007
