Conte Candoli is best-known for his role as the leader of Doc Severinsen’s Tonight Show Band’s trumpet section. He was also a great jazz stylist, most at home in West Coast cool jazz and bop. He was four years younger than his brother Pete, a similarly talented trumpet-playing musician. Conte Candoli was born Secondo in Mishawaka (IN) on July 12, 1927. After he saw the greats Harry James, Roy Eldridge and Dizzy Gilespie, he began to model himself after them. He later discovered Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, and more. He was 16 when his brother Pete suggested that he take a summer gig with Woody Herman’s Thundering Herd. After graduating high school, however, he joined the team full-time. He continued to play in several bands, including Stan Kenton’s, which he quit in 1954 to start his own band. After a few recording gigs, he found a more comfortable life. He moved to Los Angeles, where he took session jobs between his gigs with Howard Rumsey’s Lighthouse All-Stars. He left after four years to join Shelly Manne as a drummer, and he and Pete enjoyed the top-dog status within the L.A. session scene. Candoli joined the Tonight Show Band in 1968 as a part-time performer and was permanently enrolled in 1972 when the show moved to Burbank. He continued his collaborations with his brother and was a member of Supersax during the 1970s. Candoli, along with Johnny Carson, retired from The Tonight Show in 1992. He continued playing until his battle with cancer. Candoli passed away in a hospital on December 14, 2001.
