Dave Pell started out touring with the
Tony Pastor, Bob Astor, and
Bobby Sherwood bands as a teenager, before moving to California in the mid-'40s. He found work with
Bob Crosby on the latter's Ford radio show in 1946, then played with the
Les Brown band from 1947 to 1955. Drawing from the ranks of the
Brown band, he began leading his own groups in 1953, usually in an octet format, augmented by guests like
Pepper Adams,
Benny Carter,
Mel Lewis,
Red Mitchell,
Marty Paich, and
Art Pepper. He also played as a sideman on records by
Shorty Rogers,
Pete Rugolo,
Benny Goodman, and
Gene Krupa in the 1950s, while recording under his own name for Atlantic, Kapp, Coral, Capitol, and RCA Victor. His primary focus of activity in the 1950s and '60s was in the record business, working as a producer for the budget Tops label in the '50s, and Liberty (where he supervised a few hit pop/rock records for
Gary Lewis & the Playboys) and briefly Uni in the '60s. He formed a group in the late '70s called Prez Conference, a variation on the theme of
Supersax, as a tribute to
Lester Young, recording two albums for GNP/Crescendo. In the '80s and '90s,
Pell revived his octet for recordings on the Fresh Sound (1984) and Headfirst (1988) labels, and sporadic live dates in the Los Angeles area, including an appearance at the Jazz West Coast festival in 1994. ~ Richard S. Ginell