Charlie Ventura

Charlie Ventura (1916–1992) was a tenor saxophonist and bandleader. Ventura was born Charles Venturo in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 2nd December 1916. He had his first successes working with Gene Krupa. In 1945 he won the Down Beat readers' poll in the tenor saxophone division. In the late 1940s he ran a few successful ensembles with vocalists Jackie Cain, and Roy Kral, and went on to be known for "bop for the people". After the 1950s he made few recordings, but did club work in Las Vegas, where he worked with Jackie Gleason.