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Dodo Marmarosa

Michael "Dodo" Marmarosa (December 12, 1925 – September 17, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger.

Originating in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Marmarosa became a professional musician in his mid-teens, and toured with several major big bands, including those led by Tommy Dorsey, Gene Krupa, and Artie Shaw into the mid-1940s. He moved to Los Angeles in 1945, where he became increasingly interested and involved in the emerging bebop scene. During his time on the West Coast, he recorded in small groups with leading bebop and swing musicians, including Howard McGhee, Charlie Parker, and Lester Young, as well as leading his own bands.

Marmarosa returned to Pittsburgh due to health reasons in 1948. He began performing much less frequently, and had a presence only locally for around a decade. Friends and fellow musicians had commented from an early stage that Marmarosa was an unusual character. His mental stability was probably affected by being beaten into a coma when in his teens, by a short-lived marriage followed by permanent separation from his children, and by a traumatic period in the army. He made comeback recordings in the early 1960s, but soon retreated to Pittsburgh, where he played occasionally into the early 1970s. From then until his death three decades later, he lived with family and in veterans' hospitals.

Birth and Death Data: Born January 12, 1925 (Pittsburgh), Died September 17, 2002 (Pittsburgh)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1943 - 1947

Roles Represented in DAHR: piano

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 26-32 of 32 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Decca L 3488 10-in. 8/3/1944 Sharecroppin' blues Charlie Barnet Orchestra ; Kay Starr instrumentalist, piano  
Decca L 3489 10-in. 8/3/1944 Come out, come out, wherever you are Charlie Barnet Orchestra instrumentalist, piano  
Decca L 3490 10-in. 8/3/1944 What a difference a day made Charlie Barnet Orchestra instrumentalist, piano  
Decca L 4560 11/14/1947 Cherokee Lionel Hampton Sextet instrumentalist, piano  
Decca L 4561 11/14/1947 No. 2 Re-bop and be-bop Lionel Hampton Sextet instrumentalist, piano  
Decca L 4562 11/14/1947 Zoo-baba-da-oo-ee Lionel Hampton Sextet instrumentalist, piano  
Decca L 4563 11/14/1947 Be-bop's turning blue-1 Lionel Hampton Sextet instrumentalist, piano  
(Results 26-32 of 32 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Marmarosa, Dodo," accessed November 22, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/329797.

Marmarosa, Dodo. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 22, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/329797.

"Marmarosa, Dodo." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 22 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/329797

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