The Wimp

GENERAL FICTION

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Some seeds are cursed from the moment they sprout; Johnny was one. Born to very nice, hard-working parents whose business began to grow rapidly almost immediately after he arrived, dealing with him only became more difficult. As Johnny grew, first through school and then into young manhood, he was constantly faced with obstacles that threatened to knock the bad seed out of him.

Vince was born in Connellsville, Pa. on November 18, 1937. When he was 3, he heard Tommy Dorsey play the trombone, and was thrilled. He earned a BS in music at Duquesne University, and became a professional jazz musician. He joined Lionel Hampton in 1959 and toured and recorded with him. He moved to New York and worked, toured and recorded with Woody Herman. He also worked with Kenny Dorham, Joe Henderson, and Frank Foster. At 34, he joined Duke Ellington and toured and recorded with him until Duke’s death. He continued with the orchestra led by Duke’s son, Mercer; until 1976, then on and off until 1986, including on Broadway in ‘Sophisticated Ladies’. He also played with Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, and Illinois Jacquet. Moving to California, he worked with Bill Berry, Buddy Collette, Joe Henderson, and at CSU, Chico, where he earned a MA and started a trio/quartet playing trombone and piano. From 1994 through 2007, he taught Jazz workshops at NYU while continuing to play and record his CD, ‘The Treatment’, with his group. He and his wife moved to France in 2012 and he began to write.