Joe Negri Explained

Joe Negri
Background:non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth Name:Joseph Harold Negri
Birth Date:10 June 1926
Birth Place:Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genre:Jazz
Instrument:Guitar
Years Active:1929–present

Joseph Harold Negri (born June 10, 1926) is an American jazz guitarist and educator.[1] He appeared as himself and as "Handyman Negri" in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe segments on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.[1] He appeared on the 1959 children's television program Adventure Time and with Johnny Costa on the 1954 TV series 67 Melody Lane hosted by Ken Griffin.

Negri taught jazz guitar for 49 years at the University of Pittsburgh,[2] where jazz guitar was first offered as a discipline in higher education.[3] [4] He taught for 46 years at Duquesne University,[3] [1] as well as at Carnegie Mellon University.

Biography

Joe Negri began performing on radio at age three, playing the ukulele and singing. He joined the local musicians' union and began playing professional engagements. In the 1940s, he toured nationally and was a member of the Shep Fields Orchestra from 1943 until 1944, when he entered the Army for two years.

After returning home, he performed in Pittsburgh with his brother, pianist Bobby Negri. He enrolled at Carnegie Mellon University, concentrated on music composition, and spent the 50's playing locally around the Pittsburgh area and often worked with pianist Johnny Costa on KDKA television. His trio, with accordionlist Dom Trimarkie and bassist Lou Mauro, were the regular band on the live KDKA variety show "Buzz and Bill," hosted by the team of Buzz Aston and Bill Hinds. Around 1960, WTAE, Pittsburgh's ABC television outlet, hired him as their Music Director. Negri played on various live programs and composed theme music as well. He spent the next twenty-two years working at WTAE as music director. He met Fred Rogers at WTAE, when Rogers hosted a short-lived children's show. In 1968, Negri began appearing as Handyman Negri in the children's program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood for nearly 40 years until Rogers stopped producing new episodes in 2000. Though many assume Negri was part of the musical ensemble on the show, in fact he only occasionally joined the show's band on special occasions. Most of his work on the program involved his Handyman Negri character or portraying himself as owner of "Negri's Music Shop" when Rogers presented musical guests.

Negri taught guitar and later helped Duquesne University establish a jazz guitar program. Over the years he taught many students including Ralph Patt,[5] the inventor of major-thirds tuning.[6] Negri and Patt recorded in 1989.[7]

In 2010 he recorded the album Fly Me to the Moon with Michael Feinstein[1] and performed with him during the next year at the Newport Jazz Festival. Negri was the subject of a profile in the September 2010 issue of Vintage Guitar magazine written by Rich Kienzle.

Joe Negri archives

The Joe Negri archives consist of the collection of manuscripts, recordings, memorabilia, and original hand-written scores that document his life, work and influence. The collection was donated by Negri in 1999 to the Center for American Music within the University Library System (ULS) at the University of Pittsburgh. The donation became the 1,000th collection at the ULS to have an electronically accessible finding aid (i.e., a guide that describes the contents of an archival collection and creator).[8] [9] [10] The archives contains correspondence, commissioned commercial musical compositions, scores, recordings and television archival footage. His donation also included his college coursework, compositions written for the River City Brass Band, television scores, commercial jingles, and film work.[9] [11] Companies that commissioned work from Negri included McDonald's, Alcoa, Kaufmann's, and Westinghouse.

Discography

As leader

As sideman

Other works

References

Further reading

Articles

Books

Notes and References

  1. News: Joe Negri: From handyman to jazz guitarist . Joel . Rose . All Things Considered. NPR, National Public Radio. August 9, 2010. October 4, 2012.
  2. News: Iconic Pittsburgh musician Joe Negri retires from Pitt . JoAnne Klimovich. Harrop. Pittsburgh Triune-Review. April 25, 2019. April 26, 2019.
  3. News: Joe Negri retires from teaching at Pitt. But he's not putting away his guitar.. Kevin. Kirkland. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. April 26, 2019 . April 26, 2019.
  4. Iconic Pittsburgh musician Joe Negri . TribLive.com. MP4. April 25, 2019 . April 26, 2019.
  5. Web site: Biography. Ralph. Patt. Ralph Patt. ralphpatt.com. Biography. Patt's jazz web page. 14 April 2008. August 10, 2012.
  6. Web site: The major 3rd tuning. Ralph . Patt . ralphpatt.com. Ralph Patt for 6-, 7-, and 8-string guitars . Ralph Patt's jazz web page. April 14, 2008 . June 10, 2012. cited by and .
  7. Web site: Streaming audio index: Audio clips. Ralph Patt's Jazz Web Page . Like Someone in Love. 1989. 16 December 2012. Neil. Slater. Dave . LaRocco. Joe. Negri. Ralph. Patt . Rodger . Ryan. Ralph Patt.
  8. Web site: Joe Negri Archives. Benedetto Guitars. September 28, 2015. September 29, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150929212139/http://benedettoguitars.com/2015/01/25/joe-negri-archives/. dead.
  9. Web site: Joe Negri collection. Guides to Archives and Manuscript Collections at the University of Pittsburgh Library System. September 28, 2015.
  10. News: Tipping. Emily. Joe Negri Donates Musical Collection to Pitt. October 15, 2015. Pitt Campaign Chronicle. University of Pittsburgh. https://web.archive.org/web/20150630112041/http://chronicle2.pitt.edu/media/pcc010205/negri.html. June 30, 2015. dead.
  11. Web site: Guides untangle 1,000 ULS collections. Barlow. Kimberly K.. University Times. September 28, 2015.

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