Tony Pastor (bandleader)
{{Short description|Italian American novelty singer and tenor saxophonist (1907–1969)}}
For the Victorian era impresario of the same name, see Tony Pastor.
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Tony Pastor
| image = Tony Pastor Billboard 2.jpg
| image_upright =
| image_size =
| landscape =
| alt =
| caption = Pastor in 1944
| background = solo_singer
| birth_name = Antonio Pestritto
| birth_date = {{birth date|1907|10|26}}
| birth_place = Middletown, Connecticut, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1969|10|31|1907|10|26}}
| death_place = Old Lyme, Connecticut, U.S.
| genre = Jazz, novelty songs
| occupation = Singer, musician, bandleader
| instrument = Saxophone
| years_active =
| label =
}}
Tony Pastor (born Antonio Pestritto; October 26, 1907 – October 31, 1969) was an Italian American novelty singer and tenor saxophonist.{{Cite book |title=Pseudonyms: The Names behind the Names |first=Joseph F. |last=Clarke |publisher=Thomas Nelson Publishers |year=1977 |page=130 |isbn=978-0840765673}}{{Cite book |first1=Robert |last1=Hubbard |first2=Kathleen |last2=Hubbard |url={{Google books|WDkemrly_tAC|page=32|plainurl=yes}} |title=Legendary Locals of Middletown |date=2009 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-0-7385-6213-1 |page=32}}
Career
He was born in Middletown, Connecticut, United States.{{cite book|title=The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music|editor=Colin Larkin|publisher=Guinness Publishing|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-939-0|page=1918}} Pastor began playing saxophone when he was sixteen.{{cite magazine |title=Tony Pastor |url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/40s/1942/Billboard%201942-01-17.o.pdf |magazine=Billboard |date=January 17, 1942 |volume=54 |number=3 |page=4 |issn=0006-2510}} He played tenor sax with John Cavallaro (1927), Irving Aaronson (1928–30), and Austin Wylie (1930), then opened his own night club in Hartford, Connecticut and led the band there for three years. After that, he played with Smith Ballew (1934), Joe Venuti, Paul Fredricks, Vincent Lopez, and Artie Shaw's first (1936–37) and second (1937–39) orchestras. In November 1939, when Shaw walked off the bandstand in the Cafe Rouge located inside the Hotel Pennsylvania (essentially quitting his own band), Pastor was soon coaxed into leading his own big band, which he did from 1939 to 1959.
Radio
Soon after going out on his own, Pastor and his orchestra played at the Hotel Lincoln in New York City for seven months. That engagement included five broadcasts per week on NBC.
Death
Pastor died of a heart attack in Old Lyme, Connecticut, at the age of 62.{{Cite book |first=Tom |last=Nolan |url={{Google books|0nN-zXQfhUEC|page=318|plainurl=yes}} |title=Artie Shaw, King of the Clarinet: His Life and Times |date=2011 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |isbn=978-0393340105 |page=318}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Tony Pastor (bandleader)}}
- {{AllMusic |class=artist |id=tony-pastor-mn0000746037}}
- {{Discogs artist|313112-Tony-Pastor|Tony Pastor}}
- {{IMDb name|0665088}}
- {{Find a Grave|6844701}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pastor, Tony}}
Category:American people of Italian descent
Category:American jazz saxophonists
Category:American male saxophonists
Category:American jazz singers
Category:American jazz bandleaders
Category:American big band bandleaders
Category:20th-century American singers
Category:20th-century American saxophonists