Al Viola

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Alfred Viola
Viola in January 2007
Viola in January 2007
Background information
Birth nameAlfred Viola
Born(1919-06-16)June 16, 1919
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DiedFebruary 21, 2007(2007-02-21) (aged 87)
Los Angeles, California
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Guitar, mandolin
Years active1940s–1980s

Alfred Viola (June 16, 1919 – February 21, 2007) was an American jazz guitarist who worked with Frank Sinatra for 25 years. He played the mandolin on the soundtrack of the film The Godfather.[1][2]

Biography[edit]

Viola grew up in an Italian family in Brooklyn[3] and learned to play the guitar and mandolin as a teenager. He enlisted in the Army during World War II and played in an Army jazz band[3] from 1942 to 1945. He started a trio with Page Cavanaugh and bassist Lloyd Pratt.[3] The band appeared in several films, including Romance on the High Seas with Doris Day, and played a few dates in 1946 and 1947 with Frank Sinatra. Viola continued to work with Sinatra regularly, accompanying him on several hundred studio recordings and concert dates between 1956 and 1980.

Viola was a session musician in Los Angeles, performing in films and television. His mandolin playing can be heard on the soundtrack of The Godfather.[3] Other credits include West Side Story and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?[3] He continued playing jazz as well, with Bobby Troup, Ray Anthony, Harry James, Buddy Collette, Stan Kenton, Gerald Wilson and Terry Gibbs.[3]

He worked as a session musician on over 500 albums,[3] including releases by Natalie Cole, Neil Diamond, Marvin Gaye, Julie London, Steve Lawrence, Linda Ronstadt,[3] Jimmy Witherspoon, Helen Humes, June Christy, Ella Fitzgerald, Anita O'Day, Nelson Riddle, and Joe Williams.

Viola and Cavanaugh reunited in the 1980s with Phil Mallory and continued to play regularly in Los Angeles until the late 1990s.

Death[edit]

Viola died of cancer in 2007 at the age of 87.[2][3]

Discography[edit]

As leader[edit]

  • Solo Guitar (Mode, 1957)
  • Guitars (Liberty, 1959)
  • Guitars Vol. 2 (Liberty, 1959)
  • Imagination (Liberty, 1960)
  • Guitar Lament (World Pacific, 1961)
  • Alone Again (Legend, 1973)
  • Salutations F.S. (PBR, 1977)
  • Prelude to a Kiss (PBR, 1980)
  • Mello as a Cello (Starline, 1994)
  • Stringin' the Blues with Howard Alden, Bucky Pizzarelli, Frank Vignola (Jazzology, 2003)

As sideman[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Berg, Chuck (25 April 2019). "Longtime Sinatra Guitarist Al Viola Dies at 87". JazzTimes. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Al Viola, Guitarist Who Worked With Frank Sinatra for 25 Years, Dies at 87". Associated Press in The New York Times. February 25, 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i McLellan, Dennis (23 February 2007). "Al Viola, 87; longtime L.A. studio guitarist known for work with Frank Sinatra". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
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