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183:. After the concert, Potenza made his way to Pass's dressing room, shook his hand, and asked if he was giving lessons while in town. According to Potenza, "I had my first lesson with him the very next day, and that was the beginning of a 20-year friendship with him. It was a great blessing to be able to spend as much time as I got to spend with Joe." Their friendship lasted until May 1994, when Pass succumbed to liver cancer.
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A native of
Providence, Rhode Island, Potenza started playing his sister Norma's acoustic guitar. At age 12, he was influenced by his cousin, Jimmy Gagliardi, who "played and sang in rock and roll shows and nightclubs", drove a convertible, smoked Lucky Strikes, and was "the epitome of cool".
195:. During this time, the Commercial Music Program was directed by George Shaw, who was instrumental in bringing in guest musicians to play with the student big band. In 1995, Potenza joined the faculty of the Studio/Jazz Guitar Department at the
163:. After high school, he attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, graduating in 1972 with a bachelor's degree in music. During the rest of the 1970s, Potenza he with jazz bands at clubs in New England, including with Diamond Centofanti.
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at
California State University in Los Angeles. Shortly after, Potenza was promoted to full professor at USC. In 2006, he became chair of the Studio/Jazz Guitar Department at USC, stepping down in 2018.
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tunes. He was exposed to jazz via his father's record collection, but by his early teens, Potenza was more interested in the electric guitar sounds of rock and roll.
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In 1981, Potenza moved to Los
Angeles. From 1981 to 1995, he was an adjunct instructor on the Commercial Music Program faculty at
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In 1974, Potenza took his father to see Joe Pass perform at the Jazz
Workshop in Boston. Potenza was a fan of Pass's albums
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By the early 70s, Potenza returned to jazz after hearing George Benson. This led him to other jazz guitarists, such as
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made the Top 15. From 1984–1985, he toured with jazz saxophonist Ronnie Laws, younger brother of flautist
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Throughout the 1980s, Potenza recorded a jazz albums for TBA Records as a solo artist.
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Quartet, which lasted until Harris's death in 2000. Potenza is a featured soloist on
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Gagliardi taught
Potenza guitar parts from the R&B songs of the day, especially
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University of
Southern California's Flora L. Thornton School of Music
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In 2017 he was inducted into the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame.
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444:"Joe Pass, Versatile Virtuoso of Jazz Guitar, Dies at 65"
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Dean's
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Performing at Brand
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233:In 1996 he became a touring member of the
222:magazine's Contemporary Jazz chart, while
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303:Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame, 2017
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666:. University of Southern California
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744:. Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame
850:"Love Is a Rush - Wilton Felder"
606:Ratliff, Ben (18 January 2000).
742:Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame
421:. Backbeat. pp. 154–155.
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578:"Billboard - Top Jazz Albums"
549:"Billboard - Top Jazz Albums"
664:USC Thornton School of Music
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199:. In 2000, he completed his
687:"Frank Potenza / Biography"
349:Old New Borrowed & Blue
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824:"Alley Cats - Gene Harris"
280:is a tribute to guitarist
879:FrankPotenza.com Archived
798:"Artist - Potenza, Frank"
713:"Frank Potenza - For Joe"
660:"Faculty / Frank Potenza"
167:Association with Joe Pass
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904:American jazz guitarists
62:Providence, Rhode Island
496:"Studio Guitar Faculty"
450:. No. May 24, 1994
193:Long Beach City College
16:American jazz guitarist
738:"Frank Potenza - 2017"
634:"Alley Cats / Credits"
585:American Radio History
556:American Radio History
216:rose to the Top 10 in
41:Background information
374:(Concord Jazz, 1999)
804:. CAPRI Records Ltd
685:Birchmeier, Jason.
521:Birchmeier, Jason.
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295:Awards and honors
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357:(Capri 2012)
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331:In My Dreams
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243:Mose Allison
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119:frankpotenza
105:Azica, Capri
93:Years active
894:1950 births
617:15 December
587:. Billboard
558:. Billboard
384:(MCA, 1987)
368:Gene Harris
343:First Takes
327:(TBA, 1989)
321:(TBA, 1988)
308:Discography
255:John Pisano
235:Gene Harris
228:Hubert Laws
157:Pat Martino
888:Categories
856:. AllMusic
830:. AllMusic
693:. AllMusic
640:. AllMusic
529:. AllMusic
389:References
372:Alley Cats
362:As sideman
337:The Legacy
286:For Django
276:His album
259:Joe Sample
247:Joe Diorio
239:Alley Cats
224:Sand Dance
146:Duane Eddy
139:Early life
84:Instrument
76:Occupation
52:1950-02-10
773:Azica.com
313:As leader
263:Bud Shank
219:Billboard
282:Joe Pass
181:The Trio
177:Virtuoso
79:Musician
860:May 16,
834:May 15,
808:May 14,
779:May 14,
355:For Joe
278:For Joe
114:Website
748:May 8,
722:May 7,
697:May 7,
670:May 7,
644:May 7,
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562:May 4,
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506:May 4,
480:May 4,
454:May 3,
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269:, and
208:Career
179:, and
102:Labels
87:Guitar
68:Genres
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423:ISBN
159:and
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121:.com
71:Jazz
46:Born
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
