Quick Facts
Biography
Steve White (born Stephen Gaylord Goorabian, sometimes spelled Gailord; 20 November 1925 in Fresno, California – 21 December 2005 in Burbank, California) was an American jazz saxophonist based in Los Angeles who recorded in the 1950s with Nocturne Records, Pacific Jazz Records, and Atlantic Records. He primarily played tenor sax, but also played baritone and doubled on clarinet. Steve White was friends with jazz musicians Harry Babasin and Bob Enevoldsen from the 1950s onwards.
Selected discography
- As sideman
- With Tom Talbert
- Los Angeles, August 1949
- Wes Hensel, John Anderson, Johnny McComb (trumpets); John Halliburton, Harry Betts (trombones); El Koeling, Art Pepper (alto sax); Steve White, Johnny Barbera (tenor sax); Don Davidson (baritone sax); Claude Williamson (piano); Don Prell (bass); Jimmy Pratt (drums); Tom Talbert (leader)
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- As leader
- The Steve White Quartet/Quintet
- United Western Recorders, Hollywood, California, 1954
- Herbie Harper (trombone–1), Steve White (tenor sax, vocal), Jimmy Rowles (piano), Harry Babasin (bass), Roy Harte (drums)
- Jazz in Hollywood by Original Jazz Classics CD1891-2, October 21, 1997
- "The perfect mate," by Steve White
- "The funk dispenser," by Steve White
- "Freeway," by Steve White
- "Ain't misbehavin'," by Fats Waller
- "How deep is the ocean?," by Irving Berlin
- "She was all wet," by Steve White
- "Red and white blew" (take 1, incomplete), by James George Hunter
- "Red and white blew" (take 2), by James George Hunter
- "Easy does it" (take 1) (1), by Count Basie & Bob Russell
- "Easy does it" (take 2) (1)
- "Nocturnal salesman" (1), by Steve White
- Los Angeles, September 10, 1954, Jazz In Hollywood
- Released on Nocturne LP9
- Herbie Harper (trombone), Steve White (tenor sax, vocal), Jimmy Rowles (piano), Harry Babasin (bass), Roy Harte (drums)
- "Tea for two," by Vincent Youmans
- "How deep is the ocean?," by Irving Berlin
- "Body and soul," music by John W. Green
- "Flying home," by Benny Goodman, Eddie DeLange, and Lionel Hampton
- "Steve White's scandal"
- "The funk dispenser," by Steve White
- "Red & White blues"
- Los Angeles, September 30, 1954, Pacific Jazz Records 629
- Herbie Harper (trombone) Steve White (tenor sax, vocal), Jimmy Rowles (piano), Harry Babasin (bass), Larry Bunker (drums)
- "My new jet plane," by Steve White
- "Swing easy"
- Hollywood, California, December 3, 1954, Jazz in Hollywood, Original Jazz Classics CD18890-2; OCLC 874363816
- Herbie Harper (trombone) Steve White (tenor sax, vocal), Jimmy Rowles (piano), Harry Babasin (bass), Roy Harte (drums)
- "Topsy," by Eddie Durham & Edgar Battle
- "Crazy rhythm," by Roger Wolfe Kahn
- "'Tis Autumn," by Henry Nemo
- "Body and soul," music by John W. Green
- "Tea for two," by Vincent Youmans
- "My new jet plane," by Steve White
- Los Angeles, 1955
- Jazz Mad: The Unpredictable Steve White, Liberty Records LJH6006, OCLC 43645597
- Steve White (tenor sax, vocal), Bob Harrington (piano); Harry Babasin (bass), Boone Stines (drums)
- "Liberty in white"
- "Mister thing"
- "Musin'"
- "I only have eyes for you"
- "Rushin' the blues"
- "Beside a sea"
- "Stopped — you see"
- "Lazy lady blues," White (vocal)
- "What makes me blue today?"
- "It's only a paper moon," White (vocal)
- "Don't worry 'bout me," White (vocal)
- "April showers," White (vocal)
Family
- Parents and grandparents
White's paternal grandparents — Stephen M. Goorabian (1870–1919) and Aznive Jarmagian (1887–1963) — were born in Armenia. White's father — Stephen Matthew "White" Goorabian (1905–1982) — was a saxophonist and former member of the Jimmy Dorsey Band. His father was the first to use the pseudonym "White."
- Spouse and offspring
On November 15, 1944, Steve, Jr., married Marcella Veronica Hayes (1920–1990) at the St. Monica Catholic Church in Santa Monica, California. Together they had two sons: Jeffrey Stephen White (born 1947) and David Hayes White (born 1950).