Charlie Ventura (born Charles Venturo; December 2, 1916 – January 17, 1992)
Career
During the 1940s, Ventura played saxophone for the bands of
Gene Krupa and
Teddy Powell.
In 1945 he was named best tenor saxophonist by
DownBeat magazine.
[ Down Beat Poll ] He led a band which included
Conte Candoli,
Bennie Green,
Boots Mussulli,
Ed Shaughnessy,
Jackie Cain, and
Roy Kral.
He led big bands in the 1940s and 1950s and formed the Big Four with
Buddy Rich,
Marty Napoleon, and
Chubby Jackson.
He was a sideman with Krupa through the 1960s, then worked in Las Vegas with comedian
Jackie Gleason.
He died of lung cancer in 1992.
Discography
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Stomping with the Sax (Crystalette, 1950)
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Gene Norman Presents a Charlie Ventura Concert (Decca, 1953)
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F.Y.I. (EmArcy, 1954)
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In Concert (GNP, 1954)
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An Evening with Charlie Ventura and Mary Ann McCall (Norgran, 1954)
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Another Evening with Charlie Ventura and Mary Ann McCall (Norgran, 1954)
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Jumping with Ventura (EmArcy, 1955)
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An Evening with Mary Ann McCall and Charlie Ventura (Norgran, 1955)
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Charlie Ventura's Carnegie Hall Concert (Norgran, 1955)
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The New Charlie Ventura in Hi-Fi (Baton, 1956)
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Plays Hi-Fi Jazz (Tops, 1957)
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Crazy Rhythms (Regent, 1957)
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Adventure with Charlie (King, 1957)
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Here's Charlie (Brunswick, 1957)
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East of Suez (Regent, 1958)
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A Battle of Saxes (King, 1959)
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Plays for the People (Craftsmen, 1960)
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Live at the 3 Deuces! (Phoenix Jazz, 1975)
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Aces at the Deuces (Phoenix Jazz, 1976)
As sideman
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Dizzy Gillespie, The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (Bluebird, 1995)
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Gene Krupa, The Great New Gene Krupa Quartet Featuring Charlie Ventura (Verve, 1964)
