Piano Man

MIKE MELVOIN '59 HAS ACCOMPANIED SINATRA, SCORED FILMS WITH STREISAND AND ARRANGED SONGS FOR THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY. NOW HE'S TAKING HIS OWN SHOW ON THE ROAD.

BLAME IT ON SATCHMO.

When jazz legend Louis Armstrong I performed at Dartmouth in 1959, Mike Melvoin '59 snared a 20-minute interview with the trumpet great for WDCR radio. "It was a formative moment in my life," Melvoin says. "He heard my band play, he heard me play, and he said, 'Stay with it.' "

Or blame it on Blakey. As a young pianist Melvoin received encouragement from renowned drummer Art Blakey after sitting in with his band at a Pittsburgh club in the summer of 1958. "He said, 'You are already this. So keep it up,' " Melvoin recounts.

Prior to this encounter the English major had planned a career in television production. Instead, to the dismay of his family, Melvoin headed to "bebop city" after graduation to pursue music. "I just immersed myself in jazz in New York City, and it was like I hit the ground running," Melvoin says. "And I really seriously never stopped."

Which is fortunate for music lovers since the 67-year-old Milwaukee native has become a widely respected jazz pianist and composer, earning a 2004 Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo for "All or Nothing at All." Melvoin and his jazz trio toured the country this summer in support of his latest CD, It's Always You, and begin a European concert swing this fall.

Melvoin has also put his stamp on hundreds of hit records during the last 40 years. His jaunty organ riffkicks off Frank Sinatras "That's Life," and he played harpsichord on the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations." Additionally, he's made his mark as a musical director for singers such as Peggy Lee; as a composer of film scores such as Barbra Streisand's "The Main Event" and television soundtracks such as Fame; and as an arranger for artists as disparate as Barry Manilow and the Partridge Family.

How did Melvoin go from serious New York jazz musician to one of Los Angeles' most sought after studio musicians? Melvoin's West Coast relocation was trig- gered by his father's illness. After moving to Los Angeles in 1962 to be closer to him, Melvoin quickly found himself knee-deep in show business, landing a job as an accompanist for Betty Hutton and Pete Candoli's Las Vegas show. "This turned out to be my first serious money gig," says Melvoin, who earned $20 a night playing in New York and was now making $500 a week. "At least my poor father, who was on his way out, had the opportunity to see me earn a significant living playing the piano before he left."

This led to studio work: playing 15 threehour sessions a week for film scores and TV shows (including the theme for Mission Impossible) and with vocalists ranging from Diana Ross to the Monkees. "As a jazz player, if you'd told me when I first got to Los Angeles that two years later I was going to be up to my eyeballs in pop music, I would've laughed at you," says Melvoin, who lives in North Hollywood with his wife of 27 years, Sandy. "But it happened, largely because it was jazz players who were at the heart of the Golden Age of recording."

Melvoin served two terms as national president of The Recording Academy, which presents the Grammys. He was backstage in 1985 when daughter Wendy picked up two Grammys for Purple Rain as a member of Princes band,The Revolution. Wendy's twin, Susannah, is a singer/songwriter who has penned tunes for Madonna. And Melvoin's late son Jonathan, was a keyboardist and percussionist with the Smashing Pumpkins. Given that their father let them play along on his instruments when he rehearsed at home with the likes of Bette Midler, it's not surprising they followed in his musical footsteps.

At his recent 45th reunion Melvoin couldn't stop smiling as he performed with the band he led as a student, the Sultans. Comprised of fellow '59 ers Harry Washburn, Sam Swansen and Jack Lindsay, and accompanied by alto saxophonist Fred Haas '73 and Boston bassist Dave Landoni, their swinging set had classmates dancing under the tent until midnight. "I have great loyalty to the friends I made at Dartmouth, whom I love very much," Melvoin says. 'As far as I'm concerned, the Sultans is a band of brothers."

Now that Melvoin is stepping out of the studio and showcasing his own work, the public is learning what music insiders have known all along. "This man is a really, really accomplished musician," says Lindsay. "It's a shame that Michael didn't get recognized early, but I don't think that was his focus. And now he's just having fun going all over the country to do gigs. He loves it."

BONNIE BARBER is a freelance writer who livesin West Lebanon, New Hampshire.