Al Gallodoro
| Al Gallodoro | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Alfred J. Gallodoro |
| Born | June 20, 1913 |
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Died | October 4, 2008 (aged 95) Oneonta, New York, United States |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | alto saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet |
| Years active | 1920's–2008 |
| Labels | Golden Rooster, Basta, Chmusic Productions |
| Associated acts | the Paul Whiteman orchestra |
| Website | http://www.algallodoro.com/ |
Alfred J. Gallodoro, (June 20, 1913 – October 4, 2008) was an American jazz clarinetist and saxophonist, who performed from the 1920s up until his death. He is notable for having played lead alto sax with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra and bass clarinet for 12 years with the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini. Bandleader Jimmy Dorsey praised him as "the best sax player who ever lived."
Gallodoro was born to a Chicago steelworker, but moved with his family to Birmingham, Alabama when he was five years old. About the same time his father began teaching him clarinet on the "Albert Method". Devoting himself to practice, Gallodoro earned a spot with Romeo and His Juliets and made his first stage appearance at Birmingham's Lyric Theatre in 1926. The next summer he toured the Gulf Coast with Birmingham banjo player George Evans and decided to settle in New Orleans, Louisiana, where his family joined him.
After six years of playing nightclubs, speakeasies and vaudeville shows at the Orpheum Theater, Gallodoro moved to New York City and worked in radio bands. In 1933 he briefly joined Isham Jones' big band, making one record session with it. In 1936 he was hired to play lead alto saxophone in Paul Whiteman's orchestra, among the most popular performing groups of the era. After that group disbanded in 1940 he was hired to play bass clarinet in the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini. Among his credits is the famed opening clarinet glissando from the 1945 Warner Brothers film Rhapsody in Blue. He claimed to have performed that particular piece over 10,000 times in his career, more than any other person.
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