Burt Bales, born April 20, 1917 in Stevensville, Montana, and died October 26, 1989 in San Francisco, was an American jazz pianist. Bales started playing piano at the age of twelve and continued to play in nightclubs and hotels in California during the 1930s. He was a regular player in San Francisco during the 1940s with Lu Watters’s Yerba Buena Jazz Band. However, he was drafted in 1943. The only recording he did with that band was with Bunk Johnson. After being discharged from the army for myopia, he led his own band between 1943 and 1946. He then spent a long time at San Francisco’s 1018 Club. He was a member of the Turk Murphy (1949-50), Bob Scobey (1966), and Marty Marsala (1966). One of his regular gigs at Pier 23 was with Marty Marsala. He recorded extensively for labels Good Time Jazz and Arhoolie as well as ABC-Paramount and Euphonic. From Wikipedia
