BILL PONTARELLI

Clarinet and Vocals

Bill's musical career began in grade school with piano lessons, followed by the study of accordian. He discovered the clarinet in high school around the time he started listening to Dixieland jazz. An early influence was Benny Goodman, but serious pursuit of the clarinet is credited to listening to a record given him by his father - Eddie Condon's All Stars with clarinetist Bob Wilber.

Bill later organized a dixie band, the Dixie Hot Seven, played with trios and played "any place I could play." His "real break" came when he joined the Platte River Jazz Band for a ten year hitch. Exploration of the music world has led to his own style. Besides traditional style, mainstream and swing bands, experimentation with bluegrass on clarinet landed him a place with Pete Wernick's Live Five.

Bill is a busy man as he is also involved with the Alan Frederickson Jazz Ensemble, the Bill Pontarelli Trio, the Fred Moldenhauer Swingtet and others. Recent recordings include a CD with the Live Five and a CD with Irish folk singers Truner and Crowley. (....and he still finds time for his dental practice!)