ArtistInfo

Tony Pastor

voc, sax, ts, 1907-1969 US, Middletown, Connecticut
Singer / Musician of Jazz
A.k.a. Anthony Pestritto.

(For the Victorian era impresario of the same name, see Tony Pastor)Tony Pastor (born Anthony Pestritto) (October 26, 1907 – October 31, 1969) was an Italian American novelty singer and tenor saxophonist who began playing saxophone when he was 16. He played tenor sax with John Cavallaro (1927), Irving Aaronson (1928–30), and Austin Wylie (1930), then opened his own night club in Hartford, Connecticut and led the band there for three years. After that, he played with Smith Ballew (1934), Joe Venuti, Paul Fredricks, Vincent Lopez, and Artie Shaw's first (1936–37) and second (1937–39) orchestras. In November 1939 when Shaw walked off the bandstand in the Cafe Rouge located inside the Hotel Pennsylvania (essentially quitting his own band), Pastor was soon coaxed into leading his own big band,

Instruments

• Vocals
• Saxophone
• Tenor sax

Genres

• Jazz
• Pop
• Soundtrack

Plays With