DOC ANELLO

9/8/1927 – 5/14/2017

The father of jazz guitarist and Cexton Records founder, John Anello, Jr and the son of Jazz drummer Benny Anello. Doc Anello was a veteran singer, arranger and saxman who has been leading big bands and small groups since the 1940s.

Doc Anello (who was nickname, “Doc” because he has a doctorate in jazz education) grew up in Newark, New Jersey, where he fell in love with jazz as a pre-teen and formed his first band, the Paradise Serenaders, when he was only 16. That band took its name from a band that his father, a Sicilian immigrant, had led in Newark in the 1920s. Anello formed a big band at 19 and went on to play numerous East Coast gigs in clubs and hotels in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Over the years, he backed his share of big names in jazz and pop, including Johnny Mathis, Gregory Hines, Frankie Avalon, Rip Taylor, Totie Fields, Johnny Ray, Leslie Gore, Eartha Kitt, and many others. Anello moved to California in 1968, and in 1975, he became manager of booking for Disneyland. Though Anello has recorded some singles in the 1950s, he didn’t actually record any albums until the 1990s when he recorded, “It Just Plain Swings,” his first CD and soon thereafter, “Jumpin’ Jive,” with his Swing Machine Big Band for the Cexton label. Doc also has a new Christmas CD released called, ” A Swingin’ Christmas Wish”. He released a CD of his Big Band in front of a studio audience, recorded live, called “Swingin’ Jazz Live,” and has just released another new live Big Band CD for 2009 called, “Doin’ It Our Way”. We will be releasing several of Doc Anello’s unreleased CDs on the website so check back often.