Season 5: "The Pete Christlieb Show"

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Listeners, today we get to share our talk with music LEGEND, Pete Christlieb!

We are so very honored to have him on our show and hope you enjoy and share it with us!

Inside this Episode with your host, Mitch Hampton

Pete Christlieb has been among my favorite saxophonists and all around musicians for the past forty to fifty years at least. His biography reads like a who's who in jazz and popular music and he has excelled at having an original identity as a jazz improviser as well as one of the top flight performers in ensemble contexts, whether big back, symphony or rock group.

Christlieb has been working as a musician since he left high school at age 16 and has so many great stories about his unique career.

It was an honor to get to sit down with him and talk about his life and music and I hope you get as much joy from this episode as we did recording it.

Pete Christlieb Biography

Born into a home filled with classical music, there was little
question about Pete Christlieb’s career path. Pete’s father, Don Christlieb was a world renowned double reed player. His distinctive sound was heard on more than 750 productions over 50 years at 20th Century Fox.

Pete started working professionally just out of High School. He did gigs at the Lighthouse as a sub for his teacher Bob Cooper. His father took Pete to The Carriage House in Burbank, (Later renamed to Chadnies) to sit in with pianist Jimmy Rowles. Jimmy liked his playing and became a big influence on Pete’s conception. Jimmy trained Pete in his unique approach to jazz, inviting him to come by and sit in on Sundays.

Sarah Vaughan came in to perform several times. They became friends for many years. He met Carmen McRae and was able to play and record with her too.

It was a seven year sprint. “It was like swinging from one vine to the next. one band would end and the next would begin.” Pete was ready for a change. He had been playing with Louie Bellson “He was like a father and a best friend,” Pete said of his association with Bellson. In those days serial TV shows would vacation in other towns during the summer, mostly to get out of New York. Carson would take the Tonight Show to Los Angeles.” Carson productions was looking for musicians to fill out the band stand in Los Angles and asked Louie for some players to come in. He recommended Christlieb for the two week gig and again the next year. When the tonight show moved to Los Angels Pete was asked to join the band on a permanent basis, that became 20 years with the tonight show.

Pete was a regular at Dante’s , The Baked Potato and Al Fonses playing with other jazz greats like his favorites, Frank Rossolino and Conte Condoli.

Pete started Bosco records, his great dane’s namesake, and recorded his first solo Album, Self Portrait in 1981. These were followed by Going My Way & Dino’s Live and several others. Pete is well known for his albums with other tenor sax greats Bob Cooper, Warne Marsh, Gene Ammons, Don Lamphere, Hadley Caliman, Ferdinand Polvel, Ernie Watts & Rickey Woodard. Pete produced records for other artists including Louie

Bellson, Don’t Stop Now which earned him one of three Grammy Nominations for best jazz soloist.

He recorded an album with Freddy Hubbard. and has featured solos on Records and CDs like Natalie Cole’s “ Unforgettable.” The TV show, Family Guy featuring the Ron Jones Orchestra was recently added to his long list of credits. Pete continues to record with well-known musicians and recording artists.

Pete plays in his own quintet with wife Linda on trombone. Together they created the Tall and Small band, a ten piece band with their first CD out called “High On You.”

When asked if he didn’t become a musician what would he be doing with his life, he grins and says, “I’d probably be racing cars.”

Links to Pete’s beautiful works https://petechristlieb.com/

#NBC #johnnycarson #thetonightshow #tenor saxophone #saxophone #hollywood #pablorecords #buddyrich #docseverinson #jazz #rock #freddiehubbard

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