death_date death_place years_active birth_place label name background birth_date instrument genre article_title birth_name occupation
17 september 2002 pittsburgh , pennsylvania early 1940s -- early 1970s ? pittsburgh , pennsylvania , u.s. atomic , dial , savoy , argo , uptown dodo marmarosa non_vocal_instrumentalist 12 december 1925 piano jazz , bebop dodo marmarosa
 michael marmarosa musician , composer , arranger
dodo marmarosa

michael `` dodo '' marmarosa -lrb- december 12 , 1925 -- september 17 , 2002 -rrb- was an american jazz pianist , composer , and arranger .
originating in pittsburgh , pennsylvania , marmarosa became a professional musician in his mid-teens , and toured with several major big bands , including those led by tommy dorsey , gene krupa , and artie shaw into the mid-1940s .
he moved to los angeles in 1945 , where he became increasingly interested and involved in the new bebop .
during his time on the west coast , he recorded in small groups with leading bebop and swing musicians , including howard mcghee , charlie parker , and lester young , as well as leading his own bands .
marmarosa returned to pittsburgh on health grounds in 1948 , performed much less frequently , and had a presence only locally for around a decade .
friends and fellow musicians had commented from an early stage that marmarosa was an unusual character .
his mental stability was probably affected by being beaten into a coma when in his teens , by a short-lived marriage followed by permanent separation from his children , and by a traumatic period in the army .
he made comeback recordings in the early 1960s , but soon retreated to pittsburgh , where he played occasionally into the early 1970s .
from then until his death three decades later , he lived with family and in veterans ' hospitals .
