Don Lodice

b. Dominici LoGuidice, 25 October 1919, USA, d. 29 April 1995, Los Angeles, California, USA. Playing chiefly tenor saxophone, Lodice was sideman with many bands, including Bunny Berigan in 1939 and the same year Teddy Powell. Early in 1940 he joined Tommy Dorsey and featured on successful recordings such as "Well, Git It!" and "So What". He remained with Dorsey into the mid-40s, appearing in some films, including Girl Crazy (1943) where he was featured on "Fascinating Rhythm". In 1946 and now settled in Los Angeles, he played in Jerry Gray's band on record and also was with Charlie Barnet and Red Nichols and with various studio bands. Among these was Paul Weston's band on a 1951 record date backing Sarah Vaughan.
In the late 50s through into the early 60s, Lodice was on recording dates with big bands led by Si Zentner, Jerry Fielding, Gus Bivona and Maxwell Davis. In 1965, he was a member of Stan Kenton's Los Angeles Neophonic Orchestra. Late in the decade and into the early 70s, Lodice was with Billy May's studio band on more than a dozen swing era nostalgia albums.