Allegro
Requiem
Volume CI, No. 10October, 2001
Ronald Ambrogi – Trombone
Thomas D’Agostino – Trumpet
Artie Drelinger – Saxophone
Albert S. Dudley – Saxophone
Arnold Grant – Piano
Abe Kolumpus – Hawaiian Guitar
Leo L. Lauro – Drums
Jose “Pin” Madera – Saxophone
Flip Phillips – Saxophone
Karl Ulrich Schnabel – Piano
Richard Schulze – Conductor/Clarinet/Recorder
Raymond R. Viola – Piano/Conductor
Philip Wayne – Piano/Conductor/Arranger
Dottie Williams – Piano
Artie Drelinger
Artie Drelinger, 86, a saxophone player and an 802 member since 1937, died on Aug. 16.
Born in Worcester, Mass., Mr. Drelinger began his career as a musician at age 14. During the big band era, he played with Paul Whiteman, Benny Goodman, Charlie Parker and many other jazz legends. He later was a member of the CBS staff orchestra for 35 years, doing such shows as Ed Sullivan and Carol Burnett. He was widely respected as a fine musician and continued to play until he was 85.
Mr. Drelinger is survived by his wife of 25 years, Dorothy, sons Jay and Sanford, daughter Debra, stepdaughters Susan and Janet, and two grandsons.
Leo L. Lauro
Leo Lauro, 87, a drummer and an 802 member since 1932, died on Dec. 13, 2000.
Born in West Hoboken, N.J., Mr. Lauro settled in Mariners Harbor in 1925. He played gigs around Staten Island, with stints in the Joe Cass Orchestra from 1934-1936, in the Isle Troubadours, a group he had formed himself, from 1936 till 1954, and in the Reggie Greet Orchestra from 1954 until the mid ’70s. Until a few years ago he played in the John Folino Trio.
From 1936 until 1960, Mr. Lauro worked at the Bethlehem Steel Corp. shipyard in Marine Harbor, as a foreman in the tin shop. He worked briefly for Brewster’s Drydock in the early ’60s, and then for Willowbrook State School from 1961 until his retirement in 1975. He bought and sold drums and music equipment on the side.
His wife Adline died last November. Mr. Lauro is survived by sons Richard and Leonard, brother Thomas and sisters Evelyn and Lillian.
Jose “Pin” Madera
Jose Madera, 90, one of the original tenor saxophonists in the legendary Machito Afro Cubans, and an 802 member for more than 65 years, died on Aug. 19.
Born in Guayama, Puerto Rico, Mr. Madera came to the United States in 1929 and joined the orchestra of Alberto Iznaga. When the Machito orchestra was formed in 1939, Mr. Madera was hired as first saxophone, and he was the orchestra’s first arranger.
He served in the U.S. infantry in Germany and France from 1941 until 1945. On his return to New York after the war, he rejoined the Machito orchestra, playing with them from 1945 until 1980. Over the years Mr. Madera also wrote for such artists as Augusto Coen, Noro Morales, Daniel Santos and Tito Rodriguez. He recorded widely, including on some classic recordings with the Tito Puente Orchestra, an enmsemble his son, Jose Madera Jr., now leads.
He is survived by his wife Irma, sons Jose and Gerardo, daughter Rafaela and six grandchildren.
Flip Phillips
Flip Phillips, 86, a tenor saxophonist who was one of the last links to the swing era, died on Aug. 17 in Florida. He had joined Local 802 in 1939.
Born Joseph Filippelli in Brooklyn, he began playing alto saxophone and clarinet in Brooklyn restaurants as a teenager. In the early 1940s, the end of the swing era, he was playing on Manhattan’s 52nd Street with Frankie Newton, and then performed with Benny Goodman, Wingy Manone and Red Norvo.
In 1944 he joined Woody Herman’s First Herd, as one of the main soloists, and soon won attention thanks to the improvisational freedom Herman gave him. He went on to play in the Jazz at the Philharmonic’s touring revues for 11 years; many of these performances were recorded, and several are considered classics. In the 1950s Mr. Phillips occasionally co-led a group with the trombonist Bill Harris, and he worked with Benny Goodman again in 1959. In the mid-’50s he settled in Broward County, Fla., coming out of retirement sporadically to play at festivals and jazz parties. A record he made last year for Verve was warmly received; “Swing Is the Thing” paired him with tenor saxophonists Joe Lovano and James Carter.
He is survived by his wife Miyoko, sister Theresa, and a grandson.
Karl Ulrich Schnabel
Karl Ulrich Schnabel, 92, son of the pianist Artur Schnabel and an influential piano teacher and recitalist in his own right, died on Aug. 27 in Danbury, Conn. He had been an 802 member since 1947.
As a performer, Mr. Schnabel was best known for his devotion to the repertory for piano four-hands. He recorded some of this repertory with his father. In 1939 he formed the Duo Schnabel with Helen Fogel, an American pianist. They married and continued to play duo recitals for more than three decades. After his wife’s death, in 1974, he formed a duet with the Canadian pianist Jean Rowland.
Born in Berlin, he studied piano at the State Academy of Music there, both with Leonid Kreutzer and with his father. He made his professional debut in Berlin in 1926. In 1933 he emigrated to New York, but continued to perform in Europe until the outbreak of the war in 1939. In New York, he was appointed chair of the piano faculty at the Dalcroze School of Music. Much of his teaching thereafter took place in master classes at universities around the world. Among the pianists who attended them were Claude Frank, Murray Perahia, Richard Goode, Peter Serkin and Ursula Oppens.
Mr. Schnabel’s book, “Modern Technique of the Pedal,” was published in 1950. In 1985 he joined the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music, from which he retired last year.
He is survived by his companion Patricia Lutnes and daughter Ann Mottier.
Raymond R. Viola
Raymond R. Viola, 78, a pianist and later a conductor at the Radio City Music Hall from 1953 until 1983, died in Florida on Aug. 24. He had joined Local 802 in 1949.
Originally from Toledo, Ohio, he came to New York in 1946 to study at the Juilliard School of Music, graduating with a B.S. in 1949. He was the pianist for the Robert Shaw Chorale in the late ’40s and early ’50s, and the accompanist, soloist and coach for three tours of Christopher Lynch, “Voice of Firestone.”
Mr. Viola worked with Leopold Stokowski on the 1952 RCA Victor recording of Bartok’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion and preparing vocal soloists such as Eugene Conley, George London and Frances Yeend. He worked with Arturo Toscanini in preparing choruses and soloists for NBC Symphony’s radio performances and recordings. Besides playing the piano in the Radio City Music Hall orchestra and soloing on stage, Mr. Viola conducted the orchestra his last 11 years at Radio City.
He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Mary Jane, and their many children and grandchildren.
Philip Wayne
Philip Wayne, 83, a pianist, conductor and arranger, and an 802 member since 1939, died on Aug. 5.
Born Philip Weiner, on the Lower East Side of New York, he started piano lessons at the age of nine. He showed such promise, after only four years, that his teacher recommended continuing his studies in Heidelberg. But with the rise of fascism, that was impossible.
When World War II broke out he was drafted into the Army and assigned to Camp Cook, California. He entered the Special Forces band as third trumpet, but soon became the pianist. He also created the army camp entertainment newspaper, coordinated performances of his big band for the army and local residents, and brought in an array of notables to entertain. After his discharge he performed with Barney Rapp, Chico Marx and Edith Piaf, and led his own orchestra in performances across the country.
Back in New York, he became the orchestra leader for the new Danny Thomas show at La Martinique. It was in that show that he met his wife of 48 years, Faye, a former Errol Carroll Vanity girl. Over the course of his career he played for such notables as President Harry Truman, the Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson. Because he no longer wanted to tour and be away from his family, he ultimately managed to work as a musician continually for 30 years in New York. His band performed at the Pierre Hotel for some 20 years.
Mr. Wayne is survived by his son, 802 member Hayden Wayne, and grandson Sebastian.