Pia Beck ( September 18, 1925 - November 26, 2009 ) was a
Dutch jazz pianist and singer.
Pia was born Pieternella Beck in The Hague, Zuid-Holland,
Netherlands. As a young child she was a natural talent on the piano. While
members of her family all dabbled on various instruments, Beck had no formal
training and has been said to possess a remarkable ear.
She began her career shortly after the end of WWII when she
left home at the age of 18 to play the piano and sing in the Miller Sextet, performing
in Belgium, Germany, Sweden and Dutch-India.
In 1949 she started her own combo. Her first composition,
Pia's Boogie, became a hit. She regularly toured Europe and had her own stage
in the seaside resort of Scheveningen near The Hague. Unable to read music she
could still play boogie woogie, jazz, rock'n roll or blues.
In 1952 she made her first visit to the United States, where
she performed annually until 1964. Due to so much flying she was nicknamed “The
Flying Duchess.” New Orleans and Atlanta conferred honorary citizenships on
her. Pia reached the height of her popularity in Europe in the 1950's and
1960's, particularly through her interpretations and unique phrasing of standards
like 'Dancing on the Ceiling' and George Shearing's 'Lullaby of Birdland'. On
several of her recordings from that period, she was accompanied by noted
American jazz musicians, such as Milt Hinton and Barry Galbraith. Her friend
Oscar Peterson, named her the best jazz pianist in the world .
In April 1965, she emigrated with her partner to the Costa
del Sol , where she first started a piano bar.
After this bankruptcy took place, she explained the writing of travel
guides and the brokerage . In 1975 she
made her comeback as an artist in the Circustheater in Scheveningen. On September 18, 2003 (her 78th birthday),
she performed a concert in the Castellum
Novum restaurant in Hilversum after which she retired. In her later years began concentrating on composing music and writing articles about jazz.
Novum restaurant in Hilversum after which she retired. In her later years began concentrating on composing music and writing articles about jazz.
Pia Beck was one of the first artists open to her
homosexuality. With her life partner Marga Samsonowski and three sons of
Samsonowski from her marriage to disk jockey Pete Feldman , she lived in the
Malaga district of Churriana in Torremolinos in southern Spain from 1965. Pia
Beck died from a heart attack November 26, 2009 in Churriana, Spain. She was 84
years old.
In 2017 a previously unnamed bridge in Amsterdam was renamed
Pia Beckbrug .
(Information vary scarce but managed to compile small bio
from various sources mainly Wikipedia)
1 comment:
Managed to find a few mp3’s on the web…..
For “Meet Pia Beck – Pia Beck & Her Trio” go here:
https://www.mediafire.com/file/lavodb0u5akp8tn/Meet%20Pia%20Beck.rar
01) Flight of the Bumble Bee
02) Haven't got a Worry
03) J'ai deux amours
04) Pretty Eyed Baby
05) Flip, Flop and Fly
06) I told ya I love ya, now get out !
07) Ganz Paris träumt von der Liebe
08) Get up them stairs
09) Just A Gigolo
10) I’m Feeling Blue At The Blue Note
11) Teach me Tonight Cha Cha
12) I’m Feeling Like A Stranger In A Big Town
13) Beat Me Pia Eight To The Bar
14) Pia’s Boogie
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