Adrian Rollini

Adrian Rollini
Adrian Rollini with Allen Haulon (guitar) c. 1946–48
Background information
Birth name	Adrian Francis Rollini
Born	(1903-06-28)June 28, 1903 New York City
Died	May 15, 1956(1956-05-15) Homestead, Florida
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Bass saxophone, vibraphone
Years active	1922–55
Associated acts	California Ramblers, Little Ramblers, Goofus Five, Adrian Rollini and his Orchestra, Adrian Rollini Quintette, The Adrian Rollini Trio, Adrian and his Tap Room Gang

Adrian Francis Rollini (June 28, 1903 – May 15, 1956) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who played the bass saxophone, piano, vibraphone, and many other instruments. Rollini is also known for introducing the goofus in jazz music. As leader, his major recordings included "You've Got Everything" (1933), "Savage Serenade" (1933) and "Got The Jitters (1934) on Banner, Perfect, Melotone, Romeo, Oriole, "A Thousand Good Nights" (1934) on Vocalion, "Davenport Blues" (1934) on Decca, "Nothing But Notes", "Tap Room Swing", "Jitters", "Riverboat Shuffle" (1934) on Decca, and "Small Fry" (1938) on Columbia.

Rollini was born in New York on June 28, 1903 of Italian descent to Ferdinand Rollini and Adele (née Augenti) Rollini. (Some sources will date 1904, but his brother Arthur Rollini, as well as Social Security Administration records cite the earlier year.) Arthur Rollini played tenor saxophone with Benny Goodman from 1934 to 1939, and later with Will Bradley). Growing up in Larchmont, New York, Adrian showed musical ability early on, and began to take piano lessons on a miniature piano, at the age of two. At the age of four, he played a fifteen-minute recital at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Among the selections played were Chopin's Minute Waltz—he was hailed as a child prodigy and was billed as "Professor Adrian Rollini".

Rollini continued with music and by age 14 he was leading his own group composed of neighborhood boys, in which he doubled on piano and xylophone. Rollini left high school in his third year. He cut piano rolls for the Aeolian company on their Mel-O-Dee label, and the Republic brand in Philadelphia. When he was 16, he joined Arthur Hand's California Ramblers. Rollini was equally skilled at piano, drums, xylophone, and bass saxophone, which gained him the respect of Hand, who transferred the band to Rollini when he later retired from the music field. According to Arthur Rollini's book Thirty Years with the Big Bands, Adrian came home with a bass saxophone one day and in a week knew how to play it.