| Birth: | Oct. 31, 1915
Vincennes
Knox County
Indiana, USA | | Death: | Jan. 25, 2010
Englewood
Bergen County
New Jersey, USA | 
Jazz Musician. A prolific pianist, arranger, and composer, she shall probably be better remembered as the long-time organist at Shea Stadium. Raised in Indiana, she played the piano from age four, and by 11 was a regular radio performer in Gary. Orphaned at 13, she finished high school on her own, while working from her mid-teens as a radio accompanist for such singers as Sophie Tucker and Ethel Waters. After study at Chicago and Bush conservatories, as well as at several colleges, she made a name for herself in midwest jazz clubs; by 1953, she had her own Milwaukee television show, "Jivin' With Jarvis", when baseball's Braves relocated from Boston. Offered the job of organist at County Stadium at a good salary, she accepted, though she knew essentially nothing of sports at the time. Jarvis moved to New York, and a job with Muzak, in 1963. Starting as a secretary, she rose to vice president; her hiring of Clark Terry, Lionel Hampton, and other jazz greats led to "elevator music" becoming livelier and more distinctive. She joined the Mets as stadium organist in 1964, and became a celebrity in her own right with her renditions of "Meet the Mets", conventional baseball music, and jazz standards. Jarvis retired from Muzak in 1978, and was forced-out of the Mets' organization in 1979 when new owners got rid of the organ, though she was to continue performing, mostly in New York clubs, and recording, essentially to the end of her life. She became the leader and only female member of the over-65 ensemble Statesmen of Jazz; she is credited with roughly 300 compositions, and her 15 albums include "Jane Jarvis Jams" (1985), and the 2000 "Atlantic/Pacific". Married and divorced three times, Jarvis lived her final years in Florida, then in New York, and, from 2008, at a New Jersey retirement home. (bio by: Bob Hufford)
Search Amazon for Jane Jarvis | | | Burial:
Unknown |
Maintained by: Find A Grave
Originally Created by: Bob Hufford
Record added: Jan 30, 2010
Find A Grave Memorial# 47308082 |
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Added by:
Bob Hufford
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