Pianist and Educator JIMMY AMADIE Passes Away
at Age 76 After Long Battle with Cancer
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Photo Credit: Danny Miller
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Jimmy
Amadie, the celebrated Philadelphia pianist and educator known for his
contributions in improvisational jazz theory, passed away on December
10, 2013 in Philadelphia, PA. He was 76. His death comes after being
diagnosed with lung cancer in 2007.
Amadie
was known not only for his supreme musicality, but also for his
unrelenting fighting spirit. As a rising jazz pianist in the late 1950s,
Amadie toured with the Woody Herman Band, accompanied Mel Torme, and
played with some of jazz's greatest musicians including Coleman Hawkins,
Red Rodney, and Charlie Ventura (taking over piano duties from Dave
McKenna). He led the house band at the Red Hill Inn in New Jersey, and
briefly at the Copacabana in New York. But just years into what promised
to be an exciting career as a leading jazz pianist, his performing
career ended. Hours and hours of playing and practice - Amadie recalled
spending 70 to 80 hours a week at the piano - took its toll on his
hands. He developed a devastating tendonitis condition, which caused him
great pain when he would play.
As
music critic Francis Davis wrote "his hands simply gave out on him. To
understand how this could have happened, you need to know something
about Amadie's psychic makeup. He doesn't know when to quit. In the long
run, this has been his salvation. But it was also once his undoing."
Refusing
to quit, Amadie immersed himself in teaching and jazz theory, and went
on to become one of the country's leading jazz educators, writing two
highly influential books on jazz theory, Harmonic Foundation for Jazz and Popular Music (1981) and Jazz Improv: How To Play It and Teach It
(1990). He led master classes at the Berklee College of Music in Boston
and at Villanova University in Philadelphia, and taught students in his
Bala Cynwyd home (including Kurt Rosenwinkel, John Di Martino and famed
TV composer Edd Kalehoff).
But
he never turned his back on the piano. The physical limitations
bestowed on him were no match for his determination to fight through the
pain. After seven surgeries and grueling physical therapy, Amadie was
able to extend the amount of time he could play. He had only a few
precious minutes a day at the piano before the pain in his hands forced
him to stop, but he kept himself in shape with what he described as
mental exercises, playing tunes in his head, conceiving harmonies and
solos note for note in all keys, and constantly analyzing the melodic
content of his playing.
Amadie with Hank Jones
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In
1994, Amadie installed recording equipment and began recording himself
at his home, recording a few minutes at a time followed by long periods
of rest. This led to his first CD Always With Me, a solo piano
recording which took him two years to complete, released in 1995, nearly
three decades after he had retired from performing. Eventually, Amadie
produced a series of nine CDs, featuring guest performers Joe Lovano,
Benny Golson, Phil Woods, Lew Tabackin, Randy Brecker and Lee Konitz.
Drummer Bill Goodwin and bassist Steve Gilmore, followed by Tony Marino,
completed the rhythm section for Amadie's trio.
44
years after the last time he played in public, Amadie prepared himself
to do what was once a shattered and forgotten dream, to play live again
in concert. On October 14, 2011, in the Grand Hall of the Philadelphia
Museum of Art, The Jimmy Amadie Trio performed a spectacular evening of
music. "That was one of the happiest days of my life," Amadie said of
the performance, "it was like a rebirth." The concert was released as an
album the following August, and was broadcast on WHYY, Philadelphia's
public television station. A 30-minute documentary on Amadie produced by
Villanova University, Get Me a Fight, was released shortly after.
Don
Lucoff, Amadie's friend, publicist and neighbor, arranged the Art
Museum performance. "Jimmy never underestimated his role as the
ultimate underdog competing with other players who did not face the
physical challenges that were thrown his way" Lucoff said. "But in the
face of impossibility, time and time again, he proved that no matter how
hard you hit him in the ring, he always got back on his feet. His
life's work is a testament to the unlimited power of the human soul, and
what can be overcome in the face of adversity. Perhaps Jimmy's greatest
lesson to us all was to always strive for that one moment when we feel
alive the most. All the work and dedication by the time we get there
makes it all worth it, even if for a little while."
"It
was inevitable that Jimmy would return to playing and eventually
record" according to his long-time friend and former piano student Danny
Miller, the Executive Producer of NPR's Fresh Air. "His persistence and
obsession with playing - the very qualities which got him into trouble
in the first place when he pushed himself to play so many hours - were
the qualities that allowed him to claw himself back into playing at a
level few other players attain. His playing was eloquent, rich and
distinctive. You knew it was Jimmy."
Amadie
was born on January 5, 1937 in Philadelphia, PA. He was a star athlete
as a young man, excelling in football, baseball and boxing. His
competitive nature and fighting spirit continued to drive him forward as
a musician, and later in life when confronted with injury and disease.
Amadie
is survived by his wife of nearly 49 years, Lucille Amadie, whose love,
encouragement and support enabled him to accomplish his life's work;
sister Arlene Marinari and brother Ralph Amadie.
A memorial gathering will be held on Saturday, December 21 at 1:00pm at The Church of St. John, 404 Levering Mill Road, Bala Cynwyd PA, 19004.
Donations may be sent to:
The Jimmy Amadie Academy for Jazz
c/o The Office of Music Activities
Villanova University
800 E Lancaster Lane
Villanova, PA 19085
For more information on Jimmy Amadie, please visit: JimmyAmadie.com
For national media inquiries, please contact:
DL Media· 610-667-0501
Don Lucoff · don@dlmediamusic.com
Don Lucoff · don@dlmediamusic.com
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