Trudy Pitts


Gertrude E. "Trudy" Pitts was an American soul jazz keyboardist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was known primarily for playing the Hammond B3 organ.

Biography

Trained as a musician and a music educator, Pitts studied at the Philadelphia Musical Academy, Temple University and Juilliard, as well as other institutions. Early work experience included a position as an assistant to the pianist in the Tony Award-winning musical Raisin.
At the end of the musical's tour, she was encouraged by her husband to continue developing her repertoire.
In 1967, the Boston Globe printed a piece calling her a rising star and complimented her drawbar :wikt:variation|variation, vibrato shadings, and bass pedal work. Her husband, William Theodore Carney II, aka "Mr. C.", often joined her on the drums.
Trudy Pitts eventually went on to play with Ben Webster, Gene Ammons, and Sonny Stitt. She recorded four albums for Prestige Records, appearing with Willis Jackson among others. In 1999, a compilation album of several records was released as Legends of Acid Jazz: Trudy Pitts With Pat Martino. Recent festival appearances include the 11th Annual Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in May 2006. On September 15, 2006, Pitts was the first jazz artist to play a concert on Philadelphia's , "taking the medium to a whole new level".
In 2008, she again performed on an exceptional organ, this time the Kennedy Center's Filene Organ.
Trudy Pitts died on December 19, 2010, aged 78, from pancreatic cancer.

Discography

As leader

Singles
Albums
WIth Pat Martino
WIth Willis Jackson
With Roland Kirk