Stanley Garlitz - Big Band Pianist

I've been an avid listener of big band music all my life. My father Stanley Garlitz was a Big Band musician, so I had an appreciation from an early age.

My father was born and raised in Mattapan, a neighborhood in Boston. He started playing piano professionally in 1950, at the age of 19. After moving from Boston to Miami in 1957, his career expanded to include performances with many bands including the Bob Crosby Band, Jimmy Dorsey (with Lee Castle), Art Mooney, Sammy Kaye, and Les Elgart. In the 1970s he played with Les Brown as one of a forty-piece orchestra at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach.

During this time he received a telephone call offering him a chance to play with the Glenn Miller Orchestra. He was asked to play two nights but unfortunately he had already committed himself for one of the two dates and his offer to play the night he was free was turned down.

In addition to bands, my father has also played piano for many singers, including Phyllis Diller, Johnny Mathis, and Billy Daniels. In 1973 he supported Jimmy Durante’s performance at a hotel in Miami Beach; he was Durante’s only accompaniment. He asked my grandmother, who lived near us, to come see the show, and she watched from a seat in the wings.

My father is still active in the South Florida area playing for comedians and singers. He also works with local clubs to produce musicals and original shows.

Here is my father playing on the Queen Mary in 2004:

Ivy Garlitz
Felixstowe, England
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