Trudy Pitts Carney, 78, a Philadelphia-born jazz organist, pianist, and vocalist who played with many jazz greats died of pancreatic cancer Sunday, Dec. 19, at Chestnut Hill Hospital

[WASHINGTON DC JAZZ NETWORK]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trudy Pitts Carney, jazz organist, vocalist

By Dan Hardy and Vernon Clark

Inquirer Staff Writers

 

 

Trudy Pitts Carney, 78, a Philadelphia-born jazz organist, pianist, and vocalist who played with many jazz greats over a career that spanned more than four decades, died of pancreatic cancer Sunday, Dec. 19, at Chestnut Hill Hospital.

 

 

She had been living in West Oak Lane with her husband, William Theodore Carney II - Mr. C. - a percussionist with whom she had a long musical partnership and a marriage of more than 50 years.

 

 

Mr. C. had a band called the Hi-Tones in the mid-1950s. "He was quite the cat back in the day with his little band," said Bob Perkins, a longtime DJ at WRTI-FM (90.1).

 

Shirley Scott had been Mr. C's organist, and Trudy Pitts replaced her when Scott left. They married a few years later.

 

"Trudy was one of my favorites," Perkins said. "I often told her that she mixes genres of music like no one I ever heard. She was classically trained; she played in the church and assimilated jazz. She could put them all together, complementing all and offending none. That was her strong suit. When you have that kind of suit, you don't need anything else."

 

 

 

 

Mrs. Carney was born in South Philadelphia and stayed in the area all of her life, said her daughter, Anysha.

She played with jazz greats John Coltrane and Rahsaan Roland Kirk, among others, her daughter said. Actually, "she didn't play with them; they played with her. Just about whoever you could mention played with her."

 

 

Mrs. Carney was perhaps best known for her work on the Hammond B3 organ, which she helped popularize in the 1950s and '60s.

 

"She was a major, major artist in the evolution of that instrument," said Pat Martino, a Philadelphia-born jazz guitarist who played with Mrs. Carney and her husband and who was a longtime friend. Martino played on Mrs. Carney's 1967 album, Introducing the Fabulous Trudy Pitts, and its follow-up, These Blues of Mine.

"They were a team, in every way," Martino said of the couple.

 

Mrs. Carney "was completely fluent in the language of music, in every way," Martino said. "She had the ability to take the shape of whatever she was poured into - she was so good under any circumstance."

 

Beyond Mrs. Carney's musical abilities, Martino said, "she was an exceptional individual who transcended her gift as an artist and became transcendent as a person. She was magnificent - she radiated the presence of love under every condition I've seen her in."

 

 

 

In addition to her husband and daughter, Mrs. Carney is survived by her son, William Theodore Carney III - TC III, a jazz vocalist.

 

Funeral arrangements had not been finalized Sunday.

TRUDY PITTS

Organist, Pianist, Educator, Composer, Arranger




Trudy is a native Philadelphian who began playing piano at age six. Her mother, too, was a musician and inspired this family tradition. 

"My family was deeply involved in the church community," says Trudy, "and I
started playing piano for Sunday school when I was about nine or ten. As
time went on, I was introduced to the church organ, and I played organ
in Sunday school."

Trudy later helped with the senior choir during the main services and
from there went on to her own church choirs in various other settings.
As she puts it, "It was just a musical atmosphere. You did whatever you
had to do wherever you were."

Earning a degree in music education was only natural for this talented
prodigy. She studied at Philadelphia's Musical Academy, Temple
University, and Juilliard, among other institutions. During these years
she reached out to the classics and built a base from which future
compositions and arrangements would spring.

Always seeking new musical challenges, Trudy accepted an offer to sit in
the pit as an assistant to the pianist in the Tony Award-winning show
Raisin' when it traveled through Philadelphia. "I did that for the month
or two that they were in town. Then not too much later I got a call
from the manager inquiring if I could join the company for the rest of
the tour."

LORRAINE HANSBERRY

AUTHOR OF RAISIN IN THE SUN

STARRING SYDNEY POITIER

Thinking the music was truly beautiful and the show dynamic, Trudy
entered yet another level in her development. "It was something I hadn't
done before, and it was a great responsibility. I was playing piano and
organ. She eventually became the assistant to the conductor of this
nationally touring show, but she never lost sight of what she felt was
her true charge, creative music.

Jazz made its way into Trudy's life and was nurtured by her soul mate
and husband, Bill Carney (a.k.a. Mr. C). He became a major influence
shaping and implementing Trudy's musical skills. Raisin' ultimately lost
Trudy's attention. "You've got to be of a particular mind-set to play
the same book the same way every night, and the saving grace there was
that the book was so beautifully written that all the time I was with
it, there were things that I looked forward to each night. I count that
as a real bright moment in my whole career, the theater."


Trudy has managed to consolidate her mission to play creatively with the
values taught to her by her mother. "She taught me early on, don't let
anything get in between you and your music." For Trudy, this meant
carrying those values into her own marriage and making the whole thing
jell. "I always felt family was top on the list of priorities." Trudy
and Mr. C became a family of music and a musical family. They unified
their efforts and forged ahead.


Early in Mr. C's career as a drummer, he associated with Jazz organists.
He knew that what Bill Davis and later Jimmy Smith were on to was
definitely happening. He had worked with Shirley Scott, and now he
encouraged Trudy, knowing full well what she was capable of. "Bill
brought me right into the business playing Jazz on the organ," Trudy says. 
In 1967 the Boston Globe pronounced her a rising star and complimented her drawbar variations, vibrato shadings, and bass pedal work.

Trudy became a sensation on the Hammond organ, and everybody who is
anybody knows why: she has a strong foundation on which to build her new
sound and a musical genius that is matched only by her determination to
succeed. "Whatever I undertook, the job got done, and it wasn't a
matter of not being prepared or not having the skills or not having the
right vibe or attitude. Because my contention is that you begin to know
your outer edges, and if you're not emotionally prepared to do a job,
then you should not take it rather than take it and complain," she says.
Trudy and Mr C at the 1992 Organ Jam in Philadelphia Trudy Pitts
emerged in the world of Jazz organ and was soon swinging away with
Mr. C alongside such greats as 

Ben Webster 

Gene Ammons

and Sonny Stitt 

She recorded four albums for Prestige, appearing with Willis Jackson, 

Pat Martino, and later 

Rahsaan Roland Kirk. 

Bootsie Barnes, Grover Washington, Trudy Pitts, Tommy Jordan

She handled herself formidably in an arena of musicians made up mostly of men. Her musical prowess would have taken her much further down the halls of fame, some have speculated, were it not for her noble decision to maintain the integrity
of her family.

"It's not easy to be a wife, a mother, and a career person at the same
time. That is no harder today than it was yesterday." Trudy's decision
was a supreme commitment to the family. "l paid a lot of dues in that regard with a lot of prayers and meditation and commitment in that area and help from Mr. C, who realized the magnitude of being all these different people. We did it together. I couldn't have done it without him."

Today, Trudy's dream gig provides her with freedom to be true, while Mr.
C insulates her from things that don't pertain to her mission, creating
music. "Sometimes people ask me [about] things other than playing the
piano, and I tell them, 'You'll have to talk to Mr. C,' because my part
in this whole thing is to sit down and play the piano or organ. Outside
of that, I don't know from nothing!"

TC III

Vocalese/Lyricist

HOST of the Jazz Vocalist Workshop every Sunday at St. Nick's Pub, Harlem, NY

 

 

 

My sincere condolences go out to the Carney Family.

Trudy Pitts was an amazing musician, woman and human being.
It was a blessing to have known her.  Trudy's music

and kind spirit will live forever!  My Philadelphia jazz mom!!

 

George V Johnson Jr

Executive Director & Founder

Washington DC Jazz Network

240.694.7560

 

 

Listen to internet radio with George V Johnson Jr on Blog Talk Radio

[Bobby Watson]

Trudy, Mr. C, and TC III are like family to me and Pam. We are truly saddened by her passing and are comforted knowing she is in a better place. We will miss her spirit and music very much.

 

Our condolences to the rest of the family,

 

Sincerely,

 

Bobby and Pam Watson