Joe Marsala
b. 4 January 1907, Chicago, Illinois, USA, d. 4 March 1978. After playing locally, Marsala's first name-band job was with Wingy Manone in 1929. In the early '30s he gigged in Chicago and elsewhere, returning several times to Manone, with whom he appeared at a number of leading New York nightspots. In 1935, he played and recorded with Adrian Rollini's Tap Room Gang before yet another spell with Manone, this time at the Hickory House. Taking over the band on Manone's departure in 1936, Marsala became one of the first bandleaders on 52nd Street to regularly front a racially-mixed band which included Red Allen. The Hickory House engagement was another long-running affair, extending into the mid-40s, but interspersed with leading bands on cruise ships he also briefly led a big band which played charts commissioned from Don Redman. In some of these bands, Marsala was joined by his brother, trumpeter Marty Marsala (b. 2 April 1909, d. 27 April 1975). In 1938, Marsala married harpist Adele Girard with whom he recorded and later collaborated on the composition of a number of songs, including such popular hits as Little Sir Echo and Don't Cry, Joe. During the early '40s, the bands Marsala led at the Hickory House included not only swing era veterans but also several younger musicians in transition to bebop and the mainstream, among them Buddy Rich, Charlie Byrd and Shelly Manne. He was also instrumental in giving an early career boost to Frankie Laine. The Hickory House job finally ended in 1947 ; thereafter, Marsala redirected his career to songwriting and administrative work in music publishing and related businesses. During the '60s, he sometimes played on recording sessions, on one occasion teaming up with Bobby Hackett to accompany Tony Bennett. Although he deliberately ended his full-time playing career while still at his peak, Marsala left some very good recordings featuring his Jimmie Noone-inspired clarinet playing.