Photo: Courtesy Trudy Pitts
Bill "Mr. C" Carney, left, met Trudy Pitts in Philadelphia in the 1950s, when Carney had a band that included the young John Coltrane. Carney and Pitts have been married since 1958.
January 7, 2007
Trudy Pitts and Bill Carney have been partners in music, and in life, for half a century. Pitts plays piano and the Hammond B-3 electric organ. Carney, known as Mr. C, backs her up on drums.
Like many married couples who've been together for a long time, they often finish each other's thoughts. When Pitts and Carney play together, they say, words become unnecessary because they speak the private language of music.
"It's about knowing each other and feeding each other air and spirit," Pitts says. "He might do something on snare, or he might do a cymbal thing. If I'm working out something on the keys, he's into the point where he can lead me in a direction that I'm trying to go."
The two musicians met in Philadelphia in the 1950s. Carney had a group at the time called the Hi-Tones. It included a young saxophone player named John Coltrane, but Carney wanted to add an organist.
Photo: Courtesy Barbara Dennerlein.
Barbara Dennerlein and Trudy Pitts, after a concert at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia in 2007.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment