- Joe Marsala
Infobox musical artist
Name = Joe Marsala
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Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name = Joe Marsala
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Born = Birth date|1907|1|4
Died = death date and age|1978|3|4|1907|1|4
Origin =Chicago, Illinois , USA
Instrument =Clarinet
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Genre =Dixieland
Swing
Occupation =Clarinetist
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Associated_acts =Joe Marsala And His Chosen Seven Joe Marsala And His Delta Four
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Notable_instruments =Joe Marsala (born
January 4 ,1907 inChicago ; diedMarch 4 ,1978 omSanta Barbara, California ) was aChicago -basedjazz clarinetist and songwriter. He was active during thebig band era. Marsala is notable as one of the early employers of drummerBuddy Rich . Among his other musicians included pianistJoe Bushkin and guitaristCarmen Mastren .Leonard Feather , among others, gives him a good deal of credit for breaking down race segregation in jazz. [ [http://www.nfo.net/usa/m1a.html Big Band database] ]Marsala's own playing was rich and graceful, owing a lot to
Jimmie Noone . Although usually thought of as a "dixielander" along with Eddie Condon, Marsala was more adventurous: in the 1940's he used Dizzy Gillespie on a recording session, for instance.That said, he did have some difficulties adjusting to the
bebop era and other clarinetists also found their skills less in demand. By 1949 he partly switched to writing songs in the genre now calledclassic pop . He did this primarily forFrank Sinatra andPatti Page . Among these songs was the hitDon't Cry, Joe (Let Her Go, Let Her Go, Let Her Go) , which led friends to the unfounded fear his marriage toAdele Girard was over. [ [http://www.pitt.edu/~atteberr/jazz/articles/Girard.html Mississippi Rag] ] He also wroteAnd So to Sleep Again for Patti Page.According to his wife, Adele, Joe Marsala also suffered from chronic
colitis and was unable to drinkalcohol .Web sources
External links
* [http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/card/0,,463644,00.html Bio from ArtistDirect.com]
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