Al Viola

Alfred Viola (June 16, 1919 – February 21, 2007) was an American jazz guitarist who worked with Frank Sinatra for 25 years. He played the mandolin on the soundtrack of the film The Godfather.[1][2]

Alfred Viola
Viola in January 2007
Background information
Birth nameAlfred Viola
Born(1919-06-16)June 16, 1919
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DiedFebruary 21, 2007(2007-02-21) (aged 87)
Los Angeles, California
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsGuitar, mandolin
Years active1940s–1980s
Associated actsFrank Sinatra, Frankie Ortega, Carl Frederick Tandberg, Bobby Troup, Ray Anthony, Harry James, Buddy Collette, Stan Kenton, Gerald Wilson, Terry Gibbs

Biography

Viola grew up in an Italian family in Brooklyn and learned to play the guitar and mandolin as a teenager. He enlisted in the Army during World War II from 1942 to 1945 and played in an Army jazz band. After he was discharged in 1946, he and Page Cavanaugh, whom he had met while serving in the Army, formed a trio with bassist Lloyd Pratt. The band appeared in several films, including Romance on the High Seas with Doris Day, and played a few dates in 1946 and 1947 with Frank Sinatra. Viola continued to work with Sinatra regularly, accompanying him on several hundred studio recordings and concert dates between 1956 and 1980.

Viola was a session musician in Los Angeles, performing in films, television and in commercials. His mandolin playing can be heard on the soundtrack of The Godfather. Other credits include West Side Story and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. He continued playing jazz as well, with Bobby Troup, Ray Anthony, Harry James, Buddy Collette, Stan Kenton, Gerald Wilson and Terry Gibbs. He also worked as a session musician on over 500 albums, including releases by Jimmy Witherspoon, Helen Humes, June Christy, Natalie Cole, Neil Diamond, Ella Fitzgerald, Marvin Gaye, Steve Lawrence, Julie London, Anita O'Day, Nelson Riddle, Linda Ronstadt and Joe Williams. Viola and Cavanaugh reunited in the 1980s with Phil Mallory and continued to play regularly in Los Angeles until the late 1990s.

Death

Viola died of cancer in 2007 at the age of 87.[2]

Discography

As leader
  • Solo Guitar (Mode, 1957)
  • Guitars (Liberty, 1959)
  • Guitars Vol. 2 (Liberty, 1959)
  • Imagination (Liberty, 1960)
  • Guitar Lament (World Pacific, 1961)
  • Alone Again (Legend, 1973)
  • Salutations F.S. (PBR, 1977)
  • Prelude to a Kiss (PBR, 1980)
  • Mello as a Cello (Starline, 1994)
  • Stringin' the Blues with Howard Alden, Bucky Pizzarelli, Frank Vignola (Jazzology, 2003)

As sideman

References
  1. Berg, Chuck (25 April 2019). "Longtime Sinatra Guitarist Al Viola Dies at 87". JazzTimes. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  2. "Al Viola, Guitarist Who Worked With Frank Sinatra for 25 Years, Dies at 87". Associated Press in The New York Times. February 25, 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.