Tony Gulizia, an Omaha jazz legend, died Saturday in Longmont, Colorado. His brother, Joey Gulizia, said Tony introduced many children to music and inspired them to pursue it as a career.
Jazz keyboardist Tony Gulizia made everything look effortless, whether he was playing clubs, teaching music or hosting a radio show.
"He was always going in so many directions at once," said Joey Gulizia, his younger brother and bandmate. "He was so hardworking that it was not unusual for him to have three gigs in a day while teaching and hosting, then hosting his radio program. He did it all so smooth."
Tony G, as he was known to many, died Saturday at age 72 in Longmont, Colorado, from liver disease, his brother said. Celebrations of life events are being planned for Omaha on Aug. 9 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Sons of Italy Hall, 1238 S. 10th St., and in Vail, Colorado, on Sept. 1 at the Gerald Ford Amphitheater.
"The Gulizia Three" combo in 1965, with Joe Gulizia Sr. on trumpet, Joey on drums and Tony on accordion. The combo played mostly polkas and waltzes, but the boys fell in love with jazz.
Tony and Joey Gulizia grew up in Omaha playing music with their father, Joe Gulizia Sr., in "The Gulizia Three" combo. They played mostly polkas and waltzes with dad on trumpet, Joey on drums and Tony on accordion.
People are also reading…
"We liked it when Dad would slip in some Duke Ellington or other music from the Great American Songbook," Joey Gulizia said. "That was the direction that we wanted to go."
By the time Tony and Joey graduated from Ryan High School, in 1968 and 1972, respectively, the Gulizia brothers realized they could make a living in music. Through the years, the "Gulizia Brothers" band played all over Omaha including Julio's West, steakhouses and the old downtown Hilton Hotel's revolving lounge.
"It was not unusual back in the day to play gigs six nights a week in Omaha," Joey said. "It was very possible to make a career as a musician with entertaining and teaching."
While studying music at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the brothers helped start the Iowa Lakes Reggie Schive Summer Jazz Camp, which now is in its 41st year. Through the years, the Gulizia brothers have worked for the Nebraska Arts Council, played in yearly gigs in Austria and Switzerland and worked nearly 40 cruise ships.
Suzanne Wise, executive director of the Nebraska Arts Council, shared a note that she sent to Tony earlier this year. The Lincoln resident said she learned years ago that the Gulizia brothers were the go-to musicians in Omaha.
"As the arts council’s director for the past 20 years, I can tell you that there are no other musicians on our artist rosters that have had the influence you’ve had on generations of students," Wise said. "There are a number of times when I’m talking to a young performer and ask them what got them interested in performing, and they’ll tell me having the Gulizias come to their school was the inspiration."
On stage, Joey marveled at his brother's ability to multi-task. Tony, he said, could sit at his keyboards playing bass with one hand and melody with the other while singing, tossing comments to the audience and keeping an eye on any sports that happened to be on TV.
"He was just amazing, and Tony had such a magnetic personality," Joey said. "We had musicians coming by to sit in all the time. Tony was always just so welcoming. People meeting him for the first time walked away knowing they had a new friend."
Tony's talents included writing commercial jingles. Two that sprang to his brother's mind were the Romeo's Mexican Food & Pizza theme — "Nacho typical restaurant" — and the jingle for the Garden Café, "We love food."
That composing talent also lent itself to Tony's co-writing a song, "Omaha," with Omaha saxophonist Matt Wallace. The piece appears on Maynard Ferguson's 1989 album, "High Voltage 2."
Wallace was among many people commenting on social media about the death of Gulizia, his former music teacher. He wrote about playing gigs with the Gulizia Brothers that prepped him to go on to stardom with Ferguson's band.
"I am painfully saddened by the loss of Tony Gulizia and deeply indebted to the Gulizia brothers, both Tony and Joey. I cut my teeth with them at places like Ross’ Steakhouse, Julio's West and (Omaha Musician's Association) trust fund gigs. Tony and Joey mentored me and hundreds of others, successfully. I could never ever have gotten as far as I got without learning from them on and off the bandstand."
Joe and Tony Gulizia at Joe Zawinul's Birdland in Vienna, Austria, in 2009. The Gulizia Brothers played jazz and music from the Great American Songbook every year in Austria and Switzerland.
In 1992, Tony and Liane moved to Vail, Colorado, where he later hosted a weekly radio program and his wife taught school. He was hired to head the "Vail Jazz Goes to School," a free program for fourth and fifth graders in Eagle County.
Tony, his brother said, introduced many children to music and inspired them to pursue it as a career. Some of his students studied jazz in college and won scholarships to The Juilliard School of performing arts in New York City.
"Tony is a huge reason I’m still playing music today," Mitch Towne, a Grammy-nominated jazz organist, wrote on social media. "Tony was my first jazz teacher in high school and nothing short of the coolest, hippest guy around. The word 'smooth' was created to eventually describe Tony."
David Smiley, a Vail resident, said Tony taught his children in elementary school. He also shared his thoughts on social media.
"In addition to teaching my twins at Brush Creek Elementary, Tony flew to Italy to jam on the keyboard for our (wedding) rehearsal dinner," Smiley wrote on social media. "He was there for less than 24 hours. Everyone remembers the piano guy from that night. The Vail Valley and the world is a little less cool now that Tony’s not a part of it. You are missed Tony G."
In addition his brother, Tony is survived by his wife of 50 years, Liane, and three sons, T.J. of Hood River, Oregon, and Nick and Marc of Longmont.
kevin.cole@owh.com, 402-444-1272
"smooth" - Google News
July 20, 2022 at 01:27AM
https://ift.tt/o3zfulX
Omaha jazz legend Tony Gulizia remembered for smooth style - Omaha World-Herald
"smooth" - Google News
https://ift.tt/OIJ2jdt
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Omaha jazz legend Tony Gulizia remembered for smooth style - Omaha World-Herald"
Post a Comment