DIBARTOLO, Joel

Arizona Daily Sun, Flagstaff, AZ Saturday, October 01, 2011 Bassist Joel DiBartolo played 18 years with the 'Tonight Show' band and taught legions of NAU students By LARRY HENDRICKS News Team Leader He will be remembered as a world-class musician. He will be remembered for his classic personality. And he will be remembered for his dedication to his students Joel DiBartolo, 65, director of Jazz Studies and associate professor of string bass at NAU, died Tuesday. "He had a great style about him," said Stephen Dunn, associate professor at the NAU School of Music. "He had a very classic, personable style about him that people really clung to. They really liked him." Dunn knew of DiBartolo for his past accomplishments as a musician before he met him. "He was extremely supportive," Dunn said. "He was my mentor in the jazz area for six years, and he was just really a terrific guy to work with. He had a larger than life personality." DiBartolo was always willing to help and had a great sense of humor. The two also shared a love of great musical performances, and Dunn marveled at DiBartolo's incredible knowledge of recorded music. As a musician, DiBartolo played with many of the greats in jazz. Among them were Doc Severinsen, Buddy Rich, Maynard Ferguson, John Abercrombie and Ernie Watts, according to information from NAU. He also was a member of the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra. As a musician, DiBartolo had an extensive history as a jazz studio musician in Los Angeles, and one of his longest gigs was with Severinsen and the band on the "Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson. DiBartolo, as did the whole band, left the show in 1992 when Carson retired. In 1995, he began his tenure at NAU. "The students would really like him and his personality on stage when he had a mike in his hand," Dunn said. At NAU, DiBartolo also headed the annual Jazz Festival, which brought in middle school, high school and community college students from around the state to learn and perform. Dunn said DiBartolo had been battling health issues for the last two years, and he took a year off before returning last year. His death was not a surprise to his students. "But it was extremely hard-felt from the students," Dunn said. DiBartolo's wife, Mary, former NAU senior lecturer at the School of Music and currently a cellist with Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra and Arizona Opera Orchestra, said that her husband had a full career performing. "But I know and his students have told me from all over the country that he loved teaching as much, if not more," Mary said Friday. Those same students have told her that her husband was a mentor who not only taught them about music, but about life, Mary said. And it is her goal, and the goal of many of those students, to carry his spirit forward. Members of student organizations had been coming up to Dunn and offering to help in some way, Dunn said. And a big piece of paper hanging in a hallway at the School of Music has messages to DiBartolo from the students. The paper is filled with accounts of DiBartolo helping and inspiring students in more ways than he could ever have known. According to NAU, because of DiBartolo's experience in all fields of music he was granted the highest academic honor possible. "He was also recognized as one of the top eight faculty mentors in the NAU centennial yearbook ..." according to NAU information. DiBartolo is survived by wife Mary, two daughters from a previous marriage and a grandson. A musical tribute is planned for Oct. 9 in the Valley, Mary said. Details are still being finalized. Larry Hendricks can be reached at 556-2262 or lhendricks@azdailysun.com. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Arizona Daily Sun, Flagstaff, AZ Sunday, October 09, 2011 A musical tribute is planned for jazz legend, string bass virtuoso, and educator Joel DiBartolo on Sunday, October 9, 4:00 pm, at the Kerr Cultural Center in Scottsdale, AZ. The NAU School of Music jazz ensembles will offer a second musical tribute on Tuesday, November 15, 7:30 pm, in Ardrey Memorial Auditorium. Joel DiBartolo passed away quietly in his Scottsdale condominium on September 27, 2011. He was born on November 24, 1945, in Buffalo, NY, the son of Rose Sedola and Angelo DiBartolo. He is survived by wife Mary Frances Beadell DiBartolo; two children from a previous marriage, Adriana DiBartolo (Claremont, CA), and Cristina DiBartolo (Thousand Oaks, CA); a grandson, Miles Bennett (Thousand Oaks, CA); two brothers, Russell DiBartolo (Shirley), Henderson, NV, and Henry DiBartolo, (Susan Rall), San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; and two sisters, Joanna DiBartolo (Ray Miller), Chicago, IL, and Rosanne Bushnell (Art), Manassas, VA. Joel received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Buffalo and played with the Buffalo Philharmonic under Josef Krips and Lukas Foss. He subsequently served in the military during the Vietnam War as a member of the U.S. Army Band Jazz Ambassadors. Following his discharge, Joel's jazz performing career skyrocketed through high-profile collaborations with Maynard Ferguson, Chuck Mangione, and Buddy Rich. A few years later, trumpeter Doc Severinson invited Joel to join The Tonight Show Band (Johnny Carson, host), where he remained for 18 years. As a band member, DiBartolo received a Grammy Award for "Best Jazz instrumental Performance-Big Band" for the 1986 recording, Doc Severinsen and The Tonight Show Band, Volume I. Joel's impressive Broadway and Hollywood credits included musical theater productions (Cats, Evita, Les misérable), television theme songs and soundtracks (M.A.S.H., Dallas, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Heat of the Night, Little House on the Prairie), and more than 60 film scores (Saturday Night Fever, Jaws, Star Wars, Rocky). Throughout his long and distinguished jazz career, Joel performed with celebrated musicians such as Frank Sinatra, Carmen McRae, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Williams, and Sarah Vaughn. Seeking a change of pace from the Los Angeles studio scene, Joel moved to Arizona in 1994. A year later, he joined the School of Music faculty at Northern Arizona University as Director of Jazz and Assistant (later, Associate) Professor of String Bass. Joel was sought after nationally and internationally as a jazz educator. His technique book, Serious Electric Bass, has influenced an entire generation of bass players. Locally, Joel performed with the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra. Friends, students, colleagues, and family will cherish memories of the roguish humor, mischievous glimmer in the eye, love of Italian sports cars, and devoted friendship that also characterized Joel DiBartolo. In lieu of flowers and gifts, contributions may be made to the Joel DiBartolo Jazz Scholarship(#1327), NAU Foundation, P.O. Box 22459, Flagstaff, AZ 86002-2459, or, to the Local 47 (LA) Musicians Foundation, www.47Foundation.org. Arrangements are entrusted to Messinger Pinnacle Peak Mortuary. This entry was prepared by the Advertising Department (928) 556-2279.