Louis Pierini was born on September 12th 1918. Considered the Grandpa Moses of Memphis Jazz, Louie had two years of classical piano as a youngster. He "picked up" the trombone in the Christian Brothers band. There was very little personal instruction in those days and Louis was mostly self taught, for better and worse. He graduated in 1936 and received a college music scholarship that he had to refuse. He went to work in the family grocery with his father, Louis, Sr. his brother Phillip and his sister Peggy. He played with the big bands of Buddy Morrow, Ted Weems, Johnny Long, Joe Sanders, Richard Himber and others. He had offers to travel with these band and with Russ Morgan and Frankie Masters. He played with the Memphis Symphony for two years and with The Memphis Concert Orchestra for twelve years. He has had his own orchestra for over thirty years and played the Peabody Skyway and performances that were broadcast over CBS. He has released several CD's and Tapes including "The Trombone Sound of Louie Pierini, Vol. 1: Bones, Bones & More Bones." Louis had to give up playing the trombone in the late 1990's and donated his two trombones, music, and amplification equipment to the Christian Brothers Band. He passed away in September, 2007.
