Jimmy Bruno
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Bruno started playing at the age of 7. … Read Full Bio ↴Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Bruno started playing at the age of 7. He began his professional career at the age of 19, touring with Buddy Rich.[1] Among his many credits, he is the only guitarist to have ever led Frank Sinatra's band. He played for many years in Los Angeles before returning to the Philadelphia area.
He counts Johnny Smith, Hank Garland, Joe Pass, Tal Farlow, Wes Montgomery, Howard Roberts, Jim Hall, and Pat Martino amongst his influences
(2) One of the finest jazz guitarists in Philadelphia, Jimmy Bruno is a passionate hard bopper who loves to swing aggressively but can be a very sensitive ballad player when he puts his mind to it. The Italian-American was raised in South Philly, where he fell in love with jazz as a kid and took up the guitar at the age of seven. Growing up, he was influenced by such bop guitar greats as Joe Pass, Kenny Burrell, Barney Kessel and Jimmy Raney but also admired the pre-bop work of Eddie Lang, Charlie Christian and Django Reinhart. At 19, Bruno hit the road as a sideman for The Buddy Rich Big Band before ended up spending much of his youth living in the West--where he did a lot of non-jazz gigs in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Although those live and studio pursuits paid the bills for Bruno, he never gave up hard bop and hoped to eventually be a full-time jazz musician. Returning to Philly in 1988, a 35-year-old Bruno was determined to do exactly that even it meant being poor for awhile. An article in the Philadelphia Weekly quoted Bruno as saying that he went from earning several thousand dollars a week in the West to working for minimum wage at "a real dive" in Philly's Fairmount section--but that he was happy and fulfilled because he was playing live jazz five nights a week. Eventually, Bruno was able to give up part-time bartending and concentrate on nothing but playing and teaching jazz. In the early 1990s, he came to the attention of the late Concord Jazz founder/president Carl Jefferson, who was impressed with his playing and signed him to the label. Bruno's first album as a leader, Sleight of Hand, was recorded in 1991, followed by other bop-oriented Concord dates like Burnin' in 1994 and Like That (which featured organist Joey DeFrancesco) in 1995. The late 1990s found Bruno continuing to record for Concord while playing and teaching extensively around Philly. His first Live at Birdland recording appeared in 1997; its sequel, a collaboration with tenor saxophonist Scott Hamilton, followed two years later. Bruno next resurfaced in the spring of 2000 with Polarity. ~ Alex Henderson
He counts Johnny Smith, Hank Garland, Joe Pass, Tal Farlow, Wes Montgomery, Howard Roberts, Jim Hall, and Pat Martino amongst his influences
(2) One of the finest jazz guitarists in Philadelphia, Jimmy Bruno is a passionate hard bopper who loves to swing aggressively but can be a very sensitive ballad player when he puts his mind to it. The Italian-American was raised in South Philly, where he fell in love with jazz as a kid and took up the guitar at the age of seven. Growing up, he was influenced by such bop guitar greats as Joe Pass, Kenny Burrell, Barney Kessel and Jimmy Raney but also admired the pre-bop work of Eddie Lang, Charlie Christian and Django Reinhart. At 19, Bruno hit the road as a sideman for The Buddy Rich Big Band before ended up spending much of his youth living in the West--where he did a lot of non-jazz gigs in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Although those live and studio pursuits paid the bills for Bruno, he never gave up hard bop and hoped to eventually be a full-time jazz musician. Returning to Philly in 1988, a 35-year-old Bruno was determined to do exactly that even it meant being poor for awhile. An article in the Philadelphia Weekly quoted Bruno as saying that he went from earning several thousand dollars a week in the West to working for minimum wage at "a real dive" in Philly's Fairmount section--but that he was happy and fulfilled because he was playing live jazz five nights a week. Eventually, Bruno was able to give up part-time bartending and concentrate on nothing but playing and teaching jazz. In the early 1990s, he came to the attention of the late Concord Jazz founder/president Carl Jefferson, who was impressed with his playing and signed him to the label. Bruno's first album as a leader, Sleight of Hand, was recorded in 1991, followed by other bop-oriented Concord dates like Burnin' in 1994 and Like That (which featured organist Joey DeFrancesco) in 1995. The late 1990s found Bruno continuing to record for Concord while playing and teaching extensively around Philly. His first Live at Birdland recording appeared in 1997; its sequel, a collaboration with tenor saxophonist Scott Hamilton, followed two years later. Bruno next resurfaced in the spring of 2000 with Polarity. ~ Alex Henderson
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Jimmy Bruno Lyrics
-On The Sunny Side Of The Street Walked with no one and talked with no one And I…
Body And Soul My heart is sad and lonely For you I sigh, for…
Eleanor Rigby Ah look at all the lonely people Ah look at all…
Emily Emily, Emily, Emily Has the murmuring sound of may All sil…
Have You Met Miss Jones? "Have you met Miss Jones?" someone said as we shook…
Here's That Rainy Day Maybe I should have saved those left over dreams Funny, but…
How Long Has This Been Going On As a tot, when I trotted in little velvet panties, I…
I Can't Give You Anything But Love Gee, but it's tough to be broke, kid. It's not a…
I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You I need your love so badly, I love you, oh,…
I Want To Be Happy I'm a very ordinary man Trying to work out life's happy…
I'm In The Mood For Love I'm in the mood for love Simply because you're near me. Funn…
Just Friends Just friends, lovers no more Just friends, but not like befo…
Love Is Here To Stay It's very clear, our love is here to stay Not for…
My One and Only Love The very thought of you makes my heart sing Like an…
On The Sunny Side Of The Street Walked with no one and talked with no one And I…
One For Amos I'm in the mood for love Simply because you're near me. Funn…
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town I just came back from a lovely trip along the…
Secret Love Once I had a secret love, That lived within the heart…
Stars Fell On Alabama Moonlight and magnolia, starlight in your hair All the worl…
That's All I can only give you love that lasts forever, And the…
There Is No Greater Love There is no greater love Than what I feel for you No…
Witchcraft Those fingers in my hair That sly come hither stare That s…