Tony Pastor, stage name of Antonio Pestritto, (Middletown (Connecticut), 26 October 1907 - Old Lyme (Connecticut), 31 October 1969) was an American tenor saxophonist,noveltysinger and big band leader from the swing era. In his Orchestra sang, among other things, the Clooney Sisters.
Pastor played sax at the Wesleyan Serenaders, John Cavallaro (1927), Irving Aaronson (1928-1930) and Austin Wylie. In 1931 he started his own Orchestra, an adventure that lasted three years. He then played briefly with Smith Ballew, Joe Venuti and Vincent Lopez. In 1936 he joined Artie Shaw. Here he played sax and sang and was one of Shaw's star. In 1939 stopped Pastor Shaw with it and to take over. Pastor started his own band, however, introducing, with novelty numbers and swing. He sang and played sax, the packages were modern. Vocalists who sang with his group included Rosemary and Betty Clooney, Johnny McAfee, Dorsey Anderson, Eugenie Baird and Dolores Martel. He played with the Orchestra until the end of fifties. Then he founded a small group, in which his sons played. The combo was mainly engaged in Las Vegas. At the end of the 1960s, Pastor sick and he stopped with it.
Discography[Edit][]
- Dance Parade,
- Your Dance Date With Tony Pastor, Columbia, 1950 (with ' Dance Parade ' in 2002 on cd re-released on collectables)
- Radio Days (radio recordings, with Les Paul & Mary Ford), Canby
- T-you're Adorable (compilation, recordings 1940-1949), Jasmine
- Mr. Pastor Goes To Town (compilation, recordings 1937-1950), Living Era
- The Weird Tony Pastor and His Orchestra (Columbia recordings, recordings 1947-1950, including Pearl Bailey), collectables
- Tony Pastor Plays and Sings Shaw, collectables, fifties
- The Complete Tony Pastor With the Clooney Sisters, Collectors ' Choice Music
- Tony Pastor: 1941-1945 (compilation), Circle
- Tony Pastor: 1944-1946 (compilation), Circle
- Tony Pastor: 1945-1950 (compilation), Circle
- Tony Pastor: 1946-1950 (compilation), Circle