Lorraine Geller

Lorraine Geller
Born
Lorraine Winifred Walsh

September 11, 1928
Portland, Oregon, United States
DiedOctober 13, 1958(1958-10-13) (aged 30)
Los Angeles, California
OccupationMusician
SpouseHerb Geller (m. 1951-1958; her death)
Children1

Lorraine Winifred Geller (née Walsh; September 11, 1928 – October 13, 1958) was an American jazz pianist.

Geller was born in Portland, Oregon on September 11, 1928.[1] She started out with the all-female big band Sweethearts of Rhythm, based in New York.[2] She met saxophonist Herb Geller, and married him in 1951.[1] Together they moved to Los Angeles, where they played with many musicians on the West Coast jazz scene, such as Shorty Rogers, Zoot Sims, Stan Getz, and Red Mitchell; she also did sessions with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.[1] In 1957, she accompanied Kay Starr.[1] The following year, she concentrated on bringing up her daughter, so did not often perform,[2] but she did play at the first Monterey Jazz Festival.[1] On October 13, 1958, Lorraine Geller died in Los Angeles; this has been attributed to heart failure[1] or pulmonary infection.[2]

Discography

As leader/co-leader

  • The Gellers (EmArcy, 1955)[2]
  • Lorraine Geller at the Piano (Dot, 1959, recorded 1954)

As sidewoman

With Maynard Ferguson

With Herb Geller

With Red Mitchell

With others

  • Miles Davis At Last : Miles Davis And The Lighthouse All Stars (Contemporary, 1953 [1985])
  • Chet Baker, Miles Davis Complete performances with Lighthouse All Stars (Jazz Factory, 2004) – Lorraine Geller only present on the Miles Davis tracks

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Yanow, Scott. "Lorraine Geller". AllMusic. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e McCord, Kimberly; Kernfeld, Barry (2003), Geller [née Walsh], Lorraine (Winifred), Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J165700


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