Page Cavanaugh

Page Cavanaugh (January 26, 1922 in Cherokee, Kansas – December 19, 2008 in Los Angeles) was an American jazz and pop pianist, vocalist, and arranger.

Cavanaugh began on piano at age nine[1] and played with Ernie Williamson's band in 1938–39[2] before moving to Los Angeles and joining the Bobby Sherwood band at age 20.[1]

While serving in the military during World War II, Cavanaugh met guitarist Al Viola and bassist Lloyd Pratt, with whom he formed a trio. After the war's end they performed together in the style of the Nat King Cole Trio, scoring a number of hits in the late 1940s including "The Three Bears", "Walkin' My Baby Back Home", and "All of Me".[2] The trio appeared in the films A Song Is Born, Big City, Lullaby of Broadway (with Doris Day) and Romance on the High Seas (Doris Day's first film, in 1948).[3][4]

In the early 1950s, Cavanaugh had a program, Page Pages You, on the short-lived Progressive Broadcasting System.[5]

Additionally, they played on Frank Sinatra's Songs by Sinatra[6] radio program and on The Jack Paar Show.[4] He played in Los Angeles area nightclubs through the 1990s, both in a trio setting (with Viola for many years) and as a septet, the Page 7.[2] He also recorded with Bobby Woods & Les Deux Love Orchestra. Cavanaugh recorded for MGM, Capitol, RCA, Star Line, Tiara and Dobre Records over the course of his career, releasing his final Page Cavanaugh Trio CD, Return to Elegance, in 2006.[3] The Page Cavanaugh Trio may also be seen and heard in the 1958 horror movie, "Frankenstein's Daughter", directed by Richard E Cunha and produced for $60,000 by Layton Film Productions. The Page Cavanaugh Trio appeared on the Tonight Show on October 7, 1965 in Hollywood (and rebroadcast on October 9, 1966), playing Cole Porter's "Love for Sale" at a brisk tempo. In his introduction to the trio's performance, Johnny Carson recalled his going to hear Cavanaugh play at "The Captain's Table" when Carson was just getting started in television on the west coast. He added, "I think he's one of the fine, fine jazz pianists around". Carson also mentioned that the trio was currently playing at "Sneaky Pete's" (at that time on Sunset Boulevard).

His Page Cavanaugh Trio played in various formations, one of them with Las Vegas bassist Milan Rezabek in Sahara Casino in Lake Tahoe, Nevada (1968–1970).

Death

Cavanaugh died on December 19, 2008, of kidney failure.[4]

Selected discography

References

  1. 1 2 Page Cavanaugh dies at 86; pianist-singer led Southland jazz trio
  2. 1 2 3 Scott Yanow, Page Cavanaugh at Allmusic
  3. 1 2 Page Cavanaugh, Leader of Jazz Trio, Dies at 86
  4. 1 2 3 Jazz Pianist-Singer Page Cavanaugh Dies at 86. CTV News, December 24, 2008.
  5. ↑ "WCFC Music Shows To Offer Wide Choice". The Raleigh Register. November 26, 1950. p. 14. Retrieved September 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Schaden, Chuck (Spring 2009). "Necrology for 2008". Nostalgia Digest. 35 (2): 55–59.
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