Fred Vigorito

Fred Vigorito, cornetist and leader of Connecticut’s Galvanized Jazz Band, died March 10th. Over a professional career that spanned sixty years, he became one of the most recognizable figures in the New England traditional jazz revival.

Vigorito began playing professionally in 1965 with Big Bill Bissonnette’s Easy Riders Jazz Band. With the Easy Riders, he recorded at Preservation Hall in New Orleans alongside veteran musicians including Kid Thomas Valentine and George Lewis, placing the young Connecticut cornetist in direct contact with the musicians who helped define the New Orleans revival sound. Those experiences helped shape the musical approach he would champion throughout his career.

When the Galvanized Jazz Band formed in 1971, Vigorito became its cornetist and leader. The band soon established a long-running weekly engagement at the Millpond Tavern in Northford, Connecticut, a residency that continued for roughly twenty-five years and helped make the ensemble a fixture of the regional traditional jazz scene. With a core lineup that included Noel Kaletsky, Bill Sinclair, Art Hovey, and Bob Bequillard, the group developed a reputation for faithful interpretations of classic New Orleans repertoire while remaining active on the festival circuit and in concerts throughout New England and beyond.

As both front-line cornetist and bandleader, Vigorito remained the central figure in the Galvanized Jazz Band for decades. Music remained a constant throughout his life, and he continued performing with the GJB until only weeks before his death.