Joe Pass (Joseph Anthony Passalaqua ) was born on January 13,1929 in New Brunswick, New Jersey and raised in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. His father, an Italian steel-worker bought him his first guitar at age 9 and encouraged him to learn songs and improvise by ear after witnessing the youngster’s early musical tendencies. By the time he was 14, Pass was already working with local bands and later went on the road at 18 with the Tony Pastor band. After serving in the military he spent a period in New York during which he started using drugs and eventually ended up spending time in several rehabilitation centers as well as jail. As a result of his drug addiction, Pass spent most of the 50’s in obscurity. After over10 years trying to kick drugs, Pass entered the Synanon Center in California where he made his famous Sounds of Synanon (1961) recording with other residents who were also jazz musicians.
Upon leaving Synanon, Pass gradually became one of the most in demand guitarists in the Los Angeles studio scene where he worked for 10 years. During this period he worked as a sideman with Louis Bellson, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Joe Williams, Della Reese, Johnny Mathis, as well as on numerous TV shows including the The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Merv GriffinShow, The Steve Allen Show, and others.
After recording several albums for the Pacific Jazz and World Pacific labels throughout the 60’s, Pass was signed by Norman Granz, the producer of Jazz at the Philharmonic and founder of Verve Records to his new Pablo Records label in 1970. In 1974, Pass released his now classic solo album Virtuoso. This initial recording along with the entire series that followed, has redefined the art of solo jazz guitar. As a result of these solo recordings and concerts, Pass finally achieved the notoriety he deserved and was consistently listed in the jazz polls year after year. During this same period at Pablo, he recorded a set of widely acclaimed guitar/vocal duet records with Ella Fitzgerald.
Joe Pass died from liver cancer in Los Angeles, California at the age of 65.
Joe Pass Selected Discography:
- Sounds of Synanon (Pacific, 1961)
- Catch Me (Pacific, 1963)
- Joy Spring (Blue Note,1964)
- For Django (Blue Note,1964)
- The Stones Jazz (World Pacific,1965)
- A Sign Of The Times (World Pacific,1966)
- Intercontinental (MPS, 1970)
- Virtuoso (Pablo, 1973)
- The Trio w/ Oscar Peterson (Pablo, 1973)
- Take Love Easy w/ Ella Fitzgerald (Pablo, 1973)
- Two for the Road w/ Herb Ellis (Pablo, 1974)
- Portraits of Duke Ellington (Pablo, 1974)
- Oscar Peterson et Joe Pass à Salle Pleyel (Pablo, 1975)
- Joe Pass at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1975 (Pablo, 1975)
- Virtuoso No. 2 (Pablo, 1976)
- Fitzgerald and Pass… Again (Pablo, 1976)
- Virtuoso No. 3 (Pablo, 1977)
- Quadrant (Pablo, 1977)
- Chops (Pablo, 1978)
- Tudo Bem! (Pablo, 1978)
- I Remember Charlie Parker (Pablo, 1979)
- Northsea Nights (Pablo, 1979)
- George, Ira and Joe (Pablo, 1981)
- Eximious (Pablo, 1982)
- Virtuoso No. 4 (Pablo, 1983)
- Speak Love w/ Ella Fitzgerald (Pablo, 1983)
- We’ll Be Together Again w/ JJ Johnson (Pablo, 1983)
- Live at Long Beach City College (Pablo, 1984)
- Whitestone (Pablo, 1985)
- University of Akron Concert (Pablo, 1985)
- Easy Living w/ Ella Fitzgerald (Pablo, 1986)
- Blues for Fred (Pablo, 1988)
- One for My Baby (Pablo, 1988)
- Summer Nights (Pablo, 1989)
- Appassionato (Pablo, 1990)
- Duets w/ John Pissano (Pablo, 1991)
- Virtuoso Live (Pablo, 1991)
- Live at Yoshi’s (Pablo, 1992)
- My Song (Telarc, 1993)
- Songs for Ellen (Pablo, 1994)
- Roy Clark & Joe Pass Play Hank Williams (Buster Ann Music, 1994)
- Unforgettable (Pablo, 1998)
- Meditation: Solo Guitar (Pablo, 2002)
- Virtuoso in New York (Pablo, 2004)
INSTRUCTION VIDEOS
- Joe Pass: Solo Jazz Guitar (Hot Licks )
- Joe Pass: The Blue Side of Jazz (Hot Licks )
- Joe Pass – Jazz Lines Video (REH)
CONCERT VIDEOS
- An Evening With Joe Pass (DVD)
All The Things You Are (solo) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWa6aChSf1w
Donna Lee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI-1sq5dFD4
Joe Pass Interview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIOp4TLTPYg&feature=related
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Joe Pass will always be one of my favorite musicians! Thanks for the treat!
Jimmy What a great site! Bellissima! Way cool music transcriptions and i can’t veeilbe the thousands italian of jazz fans dedicated to taking photos and painting their idols. When you think about the size of the country in comparison to one of our states the passion for jazz is staggering .