Pete Fountain

Pete Fountain
Pete Fountain at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, 2006
Background information
Birth name	Pierre Dewey LaFontaine, Jr.
Born	July 3 1930 (1930--) (age 77) New Orleans, Louisiana
Genre(s)	Dixieland Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instrument(s)	Clarinet

Pierre Dewey LaFontaine, Jr. (born July 3, 1930) is a New Orleans clarinetist. According to a Belgian radio program ("La troisieme oreille", produced by Marc Danval) his name was originally Pierre de la Fontaine.

About Fountain

Pete Fountain was born in New Orleans and started playing clarinet heavily influenced by Irving Fazola. Early on he played with the bands of Monk Hazel and Al Hirt. With his long time friend, trumpeter George Girard, Fountain founded The Basin Street Six in 1950. After this band broke up 4 years later Fountain was hired to join the Lawrence Welk band, and became well known for the many solos he took on Welk's national television show, The Lawrence Welk Show. Fountain returned to New Orleans, played with The Dukes of Dixieland, then began leading bands under his own name, owning his own club in the French Quarter in the 1960s and 1970s. He later acquired "Pete Fountain's Jazz Club" at the Riverside Hilton in downtown New Orleans.

Pete Fountain Day in New Orleans

The New Orleans Jazz Club presented the Pete Fountain Day on October 19, 1959, with celebrations honoring the pride of their city concluding with a packed concert that evening. His quartett was made up of his studio recording musicians,Stan Kenton's bassist Don Bagley, vibist Godfrey Hirch, pianist Merle Kock and the outstanding double bass drummer Jack Sperling. Fountain brought these same players together in 1963 when they played the Hollywood Bowl. Pete would make the trek to Hollywood many times appearing on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson 56 times.

In 2003 Fountain closed his club at the Hilton with a performance before a packed house filled with musical friends and fans. He then began performing two nights a week at Casino Magic in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi where he had a home (later destroyed by Hurricane Katrina).

After heart surgery in 2006 he performed at JazzFest, and helped reopen the Bay St. Louis Casino which has the new name of the Hollywood Casino. As of March, 2007 he has returned to performing Tuesday and Wednesday nights there.

Fountain was a founder and is the most prominent member of The Half Fast Walking Club, one of the best known marching Krewes that parades in New Orleans on Mardi Gras Day. The original name was "The Half-Assed Walking Club" and was an excuse to take a "lubricated" musical stroll down the parade route. Pete changed the name under pressure exerted by the parade organizers. On Mardi Gras Day 2007 Pete once again joined his Half Fast Walking Club, having missed the event in 2006 due to illness.

Fountain's clarinet work is noted for his sweet fluid tone. He has recorded over 100 LPs and CDs under his own name, some in the Dixieland style, many others with only peripheral relevance to any type of jazz.

Loyola University New Orleans awarded Fountain an honorary degree in 2006.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Pete Fountain

• Pete Fountain discography
• Interview with Pete Fountain
• With his men Pete Fountain Day 1959
• Live in Santa Monica
• Pete returns for Mardi Gras after Katrina
• Information on Pete Fountain from IMDB
• Pete Fountain on the Welk Show - Pete Fountain plays "Round and Round" on the Lawrence Welk Show in this 1957 video.
• Complete Pete Fountain recording history and discography
• Sample recordings Best of Pete Fountain

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