Gene Ludwig
| Gene Ludwig | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 4, 1937 Twin Rocks, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | July 14, 2010 (aged 72) Monroeville, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Genres | Soul jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Hammond organ, piano |
| Website | www |
Gene Ludwig (September 4, 1937 – July 14, 2010) was an American jazz and rhythm and blues organist, who recorded as a leader as well as a sideman for Sonny Stitt, Arthur Prysock, Scott Hamilton, Bob DeVos, and Leslie West, and others. Ludwig received international acclaim as a Hammond organ player and was a prominent figure in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania jazz scene.
Born in Twin Rocks, Cambria County, Ludwig was raised in the boroughs of Wilkinsburg and Swissvale, near Pittsburgh. He began studying the piano at age 6. Ludwig became interested in rhythm and blues after hearing Ruth Brown, Big Joe Turner and organists Bill Doggett and Wild Bill Davis played by disc jockey Porky Chedwick on WHOD in Homestead.
Ludwig graduated from Swissvale High School in 1955, and studied physics and mathematics at Edinboro State Teachers College. He left due to his father going on strike at Westinghouse Electric, and returned to Pittsburgh to work in construction. Ludwig also began performing in local vocal groups. He heard organist Jimmy Smith perform at the Hurricane nightclub in the Hill District, which inspired him to take up the Hammond organ. Ludwig bought an M100 organ, then a C model, and then a B-3 after sharing a bill with Jimmy Smith in 1964 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
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