Joe Mooney, March 11, 1911 – May 12, 1975
Joe Mooney, the blind vocalist, organist, accordionist, composer and arranger, was never a superstar – except to his colleagues. His fans included Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, George Shearing, Marian McPartland, Alec Wilder, Bucky and John Pizzarelli among many others. He studied organ with Fats Waller and wrote arrangements for the big bands of Paul Whitman and Les Brown. However, this show will sample his music from 1945 to 1965 in small group settings, including recordings which were rescued from the trash heap and garage sales by collectors and reissued on CDs.