Rest in Peace Tony Gilio, musician, bandleader, mentor, friend. It has been an honor and privilege to work with Tony over the past thirty five years. Tony Gilio was a grandmaster of the clarinet with a career spanning seven decades. Mr. Gilio was also an accomplished saxophonist, pianist, arranger, bandleader and composer. As a young musician, he supplemented his income by tuning and repairing pianos. Early in his career, Tony played clarinet and bass clarinetist with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. During the 1953-1954, season, Van Cliburn was performing Schumann’s Concerto in A Minor with the Buffalo Philharmonic. The concert came to a halt when the pedals fell off the piano. Tony left his seat in the woodwind section and repaired the piano, while Mr. Cliburn and the audience cooled their heels in good humor. A graduate of the Julliard School of Music holding both a B.A. and an M.A. from that institution, he was also an educator. Tony was musical director at Hackensack High School, in Bergen County for thirty-five years. He has performed with artists too numerous to mention in both a Jazz and Classical settings, and has led many of his own bands, notably, Tony Gilio’s Dixieland All Stars. Tony was a life member of the American Federation of Musicians, having served as President of Local 248, Paterson, NJ. With the String Jazz Society, Mr. Gilio performed selections from the Great American Songbook in the style of the Hot Club of France.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Oct 2013 08:40:33 +0000
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