Johnny Guarnieri (1917-85) was one of the great stride and swing pianists, a natural who when he was 15 had not only heard of James P. Johnson but had met and learned directly from him. He overcame having small hands to develop his own style (sometimes using the thumb of his right hand as part of his left) and also the ability to emulate some of his favorite pianists.
In Superstride, Derek Coller not only relates and evaluates every aspect of Guarnieri’s career but, through diligent research, he includes excerpts from practically every review written during the pianist’s lifetime, quotes and storytelling from his contemporaries, and parts of Guarnieri’s many interviews.
Johnny Guarnieri had an episodic career that evolved logically. A descendant of the Guarnieri dynasty that made world class violins, his father was a violinist and a music teacher while his mother was a talented (but not professional) singer. After a stint on violin, Guarnieri developed quickly as a pianist and was a major part of the swing era, working with the big bands of George Hall (1937-39), Benny Goodman (1939-40 and in 1941), Artie Shaw (1940-41 and 1941-42 including playing harpsichord with Shaw’s Gramercy Five), Will Bradley, and Jimmy Dorsey. Guarnieri may very well have been the only musician to work at the same time with the orchestras of Goodman and Shaw; there was a brief period when both o
