No. 19 Vol. 1
My Life Publications • 973-809-4784
January 2023
William Paterson Professor, NJ Devils Organist, and Overall Street Pro: The Many Musical Hats of Pete Cannarozzi
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By Alexander Rivero his story started in a church in Chicago. When he was 11, Pete Cannarozzi, chest-deep into his Catholic grammar school years, caught the attention of his school principal. There was little Pete, casually, as easily as one might drink a glass of water when thirsty, playing the organ. But not only was he playing it; he was playing it beautifully, and by ear. The principal assigned the young Cannarozzi to play the Mass, a responsibility that quickly incorporated the playing of weddings, funerals, confirmations, and just about every other formal service the church had to offer is parishioners. Even during baseball season in the spring, where 11-yearold boys across the country tend to find themselves suddenly swamped, the organ awaited what was by then its primary handler—the kid with the golden touch (and ear). “The principal lassoed me into it,” says Cannarozzi over the phone, recalling those early days that set off a career he could not have possibly imagined then. “But in retrospect, I’m happy he did.” By 12, he was showing up to gigs. His father served as his roadie, and on weekends for the next six years, he would load that unloadable organ into his truck and together they would hit the road. Unbeknownst to him then, the time playing these gigs planted within Cannarozzi the seeds of what would later bloom into the inner confidence necessary to project himself fully into his music. Clocking in the hours and miles, within time his skillset grew sharper, more precise, his ear more sensitive, more lethal. Entering his college years at Indiana State University, he wanted to major in music but did not know how to read it. The skills were there, though, and so he matriculated into the basic musical courses to pick up the academics of the trade. Now into his third year, one day he came across a note on a bulletin board calling on an organist able to work immediately, for hotels. He left school at once, and spent the next three years on the road. By the time he came back to Chicago he enrolled in the American Conservatory for Music. The young man that emerged from those years was a polished debutante part deux, ready to relaunch himself into the great unknown, this time into the teeth of it all. “I really considered myself a street musician by ear, and a schooled musician by every other standard,” says
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8 LINCOLN AVE, POMPTON PLAINS Cannarozzi, manning the organ for the NJ Devils, a post he has held now for over 20 years.
3 Bedroom, 2 Bath Cape Cod
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SOLD: $710,000 Cannarozzi, seemingly relieved that his earliest exposures to playing live music did not, in fact, come from inside the cozy confines of a lecture hall basement, but in brick and mortar venues, in front of paying customers, and his supportive father. This time, Cannarozzi’s inner compass beckoned eastward, and a phone call from a buddy in New York was all it took for him to set his new bearings. His friend, also a musician, had a really big problem and needed Cannarozzi’s help. The problem: He had too much work and needed someone to give all of his overflow to. In no time, Cannarozzi, now in the heart of the world’s capital, was playing jingles, film scores, records, backup gigs. He was a solid guy, dependable and of good fundamentals, continued on page 4
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