Proposed Jazz Festival could draw thousands to Youngstown, Ohio
A proposed Jazz Festival in Youngstown featuring some of the nation's well-known jazz artists could draw thousands of jazz enthusiasts from the Cleveland and Pittsburgh areas and elsewhere.
So says Jimmy Mulidore, who left Brier Hill in Youngstown when he was 19 with a saxophone and $50 for La Vegas where he has become one of best-known and recognized jazz musicians in the country.
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Jimmy Mulidore (left) plays the clarinet and
Tom Scott the sax during a recent concert. |
"My dream has always been to promote a Jazz Festival to Youngstown, and I can bring in some of finest jazz performers in the world," he said. "The Chevy Centre could be a great place for such an event."
Known to the world of jazz, Mulidore's Jazz Festival in Rising Sun, Ind., drew over 4,000 appreciative fans in 2005. It featured his own jazz group, the Dizzy Gillespie.
All-Stars and such jazz artists as James Moody, the legendary sax player, jazz organist Joey DeFranceso and his Trio, Pat Martino, one of the finest jazz guitarists in the world; Benny Golson and Richie Cole, saxophone greats and special guest Isabella Rosselini.
He recorded a live video of that appearance in Rising Sun and recently taped a DVD with Tom Scott, another saxophone great. In this, Jimmy plays the clarinet is some of the selections. He also is a master of the flute and some nine other instruments. All in all,, he has recorded ten CDs and three DVDs.
As a soloist, ensemble player, composer and arranger, Jimmy is regarded as one of the most versatile and diverse reed players in the world. He has played in Europe, Italy, Mexico and throughout the United States. He knows just about everybody in show biz, and everyone knows him.
Besides his own All-Stars, he says he could bring to the area vocalists like Jack Jones and Buddy Greco to perform in a Jazz Festival in Youngstown. "Tom Scott and two other sax greats, Benny Colson, Richie Cole, drum legend Louie Bellson as well as trumpeter Randy Brecker could come," he told this writer.
"I could bring two of my best friends, actors Joe Pesci and Dennis Farina, as well Tomoko Ono, an outstanding Japanese girl keyboard artist who performs in a couple of my videos, we could have 'Boom Boom' Mancini, Kelly Pavlik and maybe Eddie DeBartolo as guests. Everyone would have an exciting time at this festival which could run for three days."
How it all began
Jimmy Mulidore's story could make a great plot for a move. As a young teen-ager, he was tutored on the sax and other reed instruments by Al Calderone, who played lead sax for the local Carmen Mico orchestra. Carmen got Jimmy some gigs in Idora Park, Yankee Lake and the Elm Ballroom.
"Al got me started and I thank him. While I was a pretty good sax player, I was more inclined to be a halfback on the Rayen football team with my pals, Tony
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Jimmy Mulidore (left) was last seen in the area in 2004 when he and actor and singer Gianni Russo (of The Godfather fame) appeared in Tony Trolio's dinner show. The show attracted a large crowd. Here, he poses with his old Brier Hill buddy, Tony Trolio. Photo by Mike Varveris. |
Trolio, Anthony Corelli and others," Jimmy recalled. "Al wised me up. He said I could play sax until I was an old man like him. In football, you exit early."
Mulidore began playing with big names like Woody Herman while still in high school. After graduating, he continued his music education in YSU, Ohio State and finally at Julliard in New York City.
In 1957 he landed in Las Vegas where he pursued his musical career. He started working at the Sands during the time when the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.,) entertained. "I got to be good friends with all three," he added. "They always came to our jam sessions after the show, and Frank showed me some of his jazz-singing ability at that time."
He later moved to Rancho Hot-Spot, a Vegas casino at the time. In 1969, he got his first big break in show biz. He came musical director of the Las Vegas Hilton where he remained for 18 years. He conducted for an array of stars like Barbra Streisand, Racquel Welch, Betty Grable, Natalie Cole, Perry Como, Ann Margret, Bobby Darin, Pearl Bailey, Olivia Newton John, Paul Anka, Louis Armstrong, Elvis Presley, Sinatra, Liberace and others. He was and still is on a first-name basis with those who are alive today.
One his most memorable moments was conducting the orchestra at Elvis' closing night at the Las Vegas Hilton which Elvis acknowledged Jimmy's outstanding flute solo in Presley's "American Trilogy"
After leaving the Hilton in 1987, Jimmy began touring with his Jazz All-Stars featuring Jimmy's mentor and friend, jazz legend James Moody. For the past 20 years, he has been dedicated to playing jazz. His present itinerary includes performing in various jazz festivals.
In the near future, he wants to publish his autobiography and tell in detail some great stories about the many show biz stars he has worked with.
This Saturday, he will be the featured soloist playing the National Anthem at the Democratic debates at the Cashman Theatre in Las Vegas. Jimmy, Scott, Brecker, Golson and jazz vocalist Herb Jeffries are among to scheduled to appear at the annual Temecula, Calif., three-day Jazz Festival on July 11-13, 2008.
For more information on Jimmy Mulidore, you are invited to click on to www.jimmymulidor.com to view his extensive website which includes some musical selections by him and his All-Stars. You can also reach him at his home in Vegas where he lives with this mother at 1-702-873-0572 or his cell at 1-702-292-2790.
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