Carl Perkins Biography & Awards

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Artist Info

Born

August 16, 1928 Indianapolis, IN

Died

March 17, 1958 Los Angeles, CA

Biography

A fine bop-oriented pianist who overcame a slightly crippled left hand (due to polio), Carl Perkins was a victim of his drug problems, passing away when he was just 29. After stints with Tiny Bradshaw and Big Jay McNeely, he became a fixture on the West Coast. Perkins was with Oscar Moore's trio (1953-1954) and briefly played with an early version of the Max Roach-Clifford Brown quintet (1954), but is best-known for his association with Curtis Counce (1956-1958). Perkins, who composed one jazz standard ("Grooveyard"), recorded with Counce, Chet Baker, Jim Hall, Art Pepper, and as a leader for Savoy (1949), Dootone (1956), and Pacific Jazz (1957), but did not live long enough to realize his potential. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide