Gene DiNovi

As a precocious 15-year-old in 1943, pianist Gene DiNovi worked with bandleader Henry Jerome, who was at that time converting his Hal Kemp-styled dance band into a modern bop ensemble. DiNovi's transition from swing to bop manifested itself in recordings with woodwindists Joe Marsala and Aaron Sachs, paving the way to work with jazz icons such as Lester Young, Benny Goodman, and Artie Shaw. Beginning in 1950, DiNovi evolved into an accomplished accompanist for popular vocalists including Peggy Lee, Tony Bennett, Lena Horne, Dinah Shore, and Carmen McRae. He wrote an arrangement for Lena Horne's version of "Out of This World," and Horne introduced DiNovi to Billy Strayhorn, who hooked him up with Duke Ellington. Working predominately as a solo act during the '70s, DiNovi distinguished himself as a gifted interpreter of the Ellington/Strayhorn songbook and established an annual seven-day birthday tribute to Ellington in Toronto during the '90s.