Charlie Ventura, who was born Charles Venturo on December 2, 1916, and passed away on January 17, 1992, was an American tenor sax player and bandleader from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States.
Career
During the 1940s, Ventura played the saxophone for the bands of Gene Krupa and Teddy Powell. In 1945, he was named the best tenor saxophonist by DownBeat magazine. He led a band that included Conte Candoli, Bennie Green, Boots Mussulli, Ed Shaughnessy, Jackie Cain, and Roy Kral. He directed big bands in the 1940s and 1950s and formed a group called the Big Four with Buddy Rich, Marty Napoleon, and Chubby Jackson. He worked as a supporting musician with Krupa through the 1960s and later performed in Las Vegas with comedian Jackie Gleason.
He died from lung cancer in 1992. His great-grandson is the musician MJ Lenderman.
Discography
- Stomping with the Sax (Crystalette, 1950)
- Gene Norman Presents a Charlie Ventura Concert (Decca, 1953)
- F.Y.I. (EmArcy, 1954)
- In Concert (GNP, 1954)
- An Evening with Charlie Ventura and Mary Ann McCall (Norgran, 1954)
- Another Evening with Charlie Ventura and Mary Ann McCall (Norgran, 1954)
- Jumping with Ventura (EmArcy, 1955)
- An Evening with Mary Ann McCall and Charlie Ventura (Norgran, 1955)
- Charlie Ventura's Carnegie Hall Concert (Norgran, 1955)
- The New Charlie Ventura in Hi-Fi (Baton, 1956)
- Plays Hi-Fi Jazz (Tops, 1957)
- Crazy Rhythms (Regent, 1957)
- Adventure with Charlie (King, 1957)
- Here's Charlie (Brunswick, 1957)
- East of Suez (Regent, 1958)
- A Battle of Saxes (King, 1959)
- Plays for the People (Craftsmen, 1960)
- Live at the 3 Deuces! (Phoenix Jazz, 1975)
- Aces at the Deuces (Phoenix Jazz, 1976)
- Dizzy Gillespie, The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (Bluebird, 1995)
- Gene Krupa, The Great New Gene Krupa Quartet Featuring Charlie Ventura (Verve, 1964)