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Pete Jolly (bornPeter A. Ceragioli Jr., June 5, 1932^[1] – November 6, 2004)^[2] was a two-timeGrammy-nominated AmericanWest Coast jazz pianist andaccordionist. He is known for his performance of televisionthemes and movie soundtracks.

Jolly began playing the accordion at age three^[3] and appeared on the radio programHobby Lobby at the age of seven. He was raised in Phoenix, Arizona, a hotbed of jazz at the time. One of his best friends and collaborators in Phoenix was guitaristHoward Roberts, whom he met at the age of 13. Following Roberts to Los Angeles in 1952, he immediately began working with the best players on the West Coast jazz scene, includingShorty Rogers.^[1] He moved easily into studio and session work.^[1] Besides his performances as a pianist, he also played the accordion.

His composition "Little Bird" (a minor hit onFred Astaire'sAva Records) was nominated for aGrammy Award in 1963, and he formed the Pete Jolly Trio in 1964. With the Trio and as a solo artist, he recorded several albums, including earning a Grammy nomination forBest Instrumental Jazz Performance – Small Group or Soloist with Small Group. One of the last albums was a collaboration—aptly entitledCollaboration—withJan Lundgren,Chuck Berghofer, andJoe LaBarbera in 2000. His final album,It's a Cool Heat, was recorded in Phoenix in May 2004 shortly before his death. He worked withBuddy DeFranco,Art Pepper, andRed Norvo, and for many years with music arranger and directorRay Conniff andHerb Alpert, recording on Alpert's record label,A&M as both sideman and leader.

Jolly's music can be heard on television programs such asGet Smart,The Love Boat,I Spy,Mannix,M*A*S*H andDallas, as well as hundreds of movie soundtracks. He recreated some ofBud Powell's playing withCharlie Parker for Clint Eastwood's biographical movie about Parker,Bird. By day, Jolly worked in the studios; by night, with his trio. He continued to perform with his trio in Los Angeles jazz clubs until shortly before being hospitalized in August 2004. His final public performance with his trio was in Reno, Nevada. Jolly died at the age of 72 in November 2004 inPasadena, California, from complications ofmultiple myeloma.^[2] He is buried at San Gabriel Cemetery inSan Gabriel, California.

The Pete Jolly Trio had only one bassist,Chuck Berghofer, and one drummer, Nick Martinis. Berghofer later said, "In all that time, Pete never once told me how to play or what to play."

Compilations

• Quartet, Quintet & Sextet (Fresh Sound, 1955–56)^[5]
• Pete Jolly and Friends (VSOP, 1962–64)^[5]

WithElmer Bernstein

• The Man with the Golden Arm (Decca, 1956)

WithKenny Burrell

• Heritage (AudioSource, 1980)

WithThe Carnival

• The Carnival (World Pacific, 1969)

WithBuddy Collette

• Porgy & Bess (Interlude 1957 [1959])

With Jerry Donato

• It's a Cool Heat (Tempest, 2005)

WithJoni James

• After Hours (MGM, 1962)

WithJ. J. Johnson

• Concepts in Blue (Pablo Today, 1981)

WithQuincy Jones

• Roots (A&M, 1977)

WithJohnny Mandel

• I Want to Live (United Artists, 1958)

WithGerry Mulligan

• I Want to Live (United Artists, 1958)
• If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em! (Limelight, 1965)

WithJack Nitzsche

• Heart Beat (Soundtrack) (Capitol, 1980)

WithShorty Rogers

• Shorty Rogers and His Giants (RCA Victor, 1954 [1956])
• The Swinging Mr. Rogers (Atlantic, 1955)
• Martians Stay Home (Atlantic, 1955 [1980])
• Martians Come Back! (Atlantic, 1955 [1956])
• Way Up There (Atlantic, 1955 [1957])
• Shorty Rogers Plays Richard Rodgers (RCA Victor, 1957)
• Gigi in Jazz (RCA Victor, 1958)
• Chances Are It Swings (RCA Victor, 1958)
• The Wizard of Oz and Other Harold Arlen Songs (RCA Victor, 1959)
• Shorty Rogers Meets Tarzan (MGM, 1960)
• The Swingin' Nutcracker (RCA Victor, 1960)
• The Music From An Invisible Orchard (RCA Victor, 1961 [1997])
• The Fourth Dimension in Sound (Warner Bros., 1961)
• Bossa Nova (Reprise, 1962)
• Jazz Waltz (Reprise, 1962)

WithTom Waits

• One from the Heart (film) soundtrack (CBS, 1982)

• Pete Jolly atAllMusic
• "Pete Jolly on Stars of Jazz (1956)" onYouTube
• Pete Jolly atIMDb
• Space Age Musicmakers
• Pete Jolly Jr. atFind a Grave

• 1932 births
• 2004 deaths
• American accordionists
• American jazz pianists
• American male jazz pianists
• American television composers
• Cool jazz keyboardists
• Musicians from New Haven, Connecticut
• West Coast jazz pianists
• Deaths from multiple myeloma in California
• 20th-century American pianists
• 20th-century American composers
• Jazz musicians from Connecticut
• 20th-century American male musicians
• Äva Records artists

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