Jane Jarvis

Jane Jarvis
Jarvis in 1984
Background information
Birth name	Louella Jane Nossette
Born	(1915-10-31)October 31, 1915 Vincennes, Indiana,U.S.
Died	January 25, 2010(2010-01-25)(aged 94) Englewood, New Jersey
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician, programmer forMuzak
Instrument(s)	Piano, organ

Jane Jarvis(néeNossette,October 31, 1915 – January 25, 2010) was an Americanjazzpianist. She was also known for her work as a composer, baseball stadium organist and music industry executive.

Life and career

Jarvis was born inVincennes, Indiana,to Charles and Luella Nossette. She was recognized as a piano prodigy at the age of five and she studied under aVincennes Universityprofessor as a young girl.Her family moved toGary, Indianasoon afterward, and Jarvis was hired to play the piano at radio station WJKS in Gary in 1927. She was orphaned at 13 when her parents died in a train-auto wreck and returned to Vincennes, graduating from high school in 1932.She continued her studies at theChicago Conservatory of Music,theBush Conservatory of Music,Loyola University ChicagoandDePauw University.

By 1954, Jarvis was on television at station WTMJ-TV inMilwaukee,hosting a show called "Jivin' with Jarvis" while serving as staff pianist and organist. At the time, theMilwaukee Braveshad just relocated fromBostonand sought her out to be the organist at Milwaukee County Stadium.In a 1984 interview, Jarvis told John S. Wilson ofThe New York Timesthat she asked when she would get to perform and a Braves official replied, "When theumpiresays 'Threeouts.' "Jarvis, a sports neophyte, then asked," And when would that be? "

Jarvis stayed with the Braves for eight seasons and then went to New York City, where she took a position withMuzakcorporation as a staff composer and arranger. She would rise to become a corporate vice-president and its director of recording and programming.

In 1964, she was hired by theNew York Metsto play the organ atShea Stadium.She is remembered at Shea for playing the Mets theme song, "Meet The Mets"(music and lyrics by Ruth Roberts and Bill Katz), which debuted in the 1963 season before every home game, followed by the Jarvis composed"Let's Go Mets",as the team took the field.

Jarvis left Muzak in 1978, and the next year left the Mets to concentrate on her first musical love, jazz piano. She became a fixture at New York nightclubs, frequently playing alongside bassistMilt Hinton.She became a founding member of theStatesmen of Jazz,a group of jazz musicians aged 65 and older sponsored by theAmerican Federation of Jazz Societies,and was featured on their 1994 album. She performed with this group across the US as well as in Japanand elsewhere.

Jarvis released several albums of her jazz piano work, includingJane Jarvis JamsatAllMusic(1995) andAtlantic/PacificatAllMusic(2000). JazzTimes described Jane as "a wonderful ensemble player; her musical knowledge is encyclopedic and her musical communication is topnotch."In addition to Hinton, Jarvis has often collaborated with trombonistBenny Powelland bassistEarl May.As a member ofASCAP,she also had over three hundred compositions to her credit.

Married and divorced three times, Jarvis lived inCocoa Beach, Florida,where she was honored in 2003 by the Space Coast Jazz Society for her lifetime achievement. Following a move back to New York, she was displaced from her residence in 2008 when aconstruction crane collapsed,damaging her building on East 50th Street.

Jarvis spent the final years of her life at theLillian Booth Actors HomeinEnglewood, New Jersey.

Discography

As leader

• Atlantic–Pacific(Arbors)
• Jane Jarvis Jams(Arbors)

With others

WithStatesmen of Jazz

• Statesmen of Jazz

External links

• Jane Jarvis papers, 1896–2004,Music Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
• Vincennes School District tribute page to alumna Jane Jarvis
• International Who's who in Popular Music 2002
• Ballpark Tour organists
• New York Daily Newsarticle about Jarvis
• The New York Times, "From Organ Caterpillar to Jazz Piano Butterfly", January 20, 1984, p. C16
• Grove Music