Jess Stacy

This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Jess Stacy was a very early jazz pianist, starting his career in 1918 and playing with many of the early pioneers of jazz as well as the most popular band leaders during the swing era. Jess joined Benny Goodman's orchestra in 1935 and was on stage for the famous Carnegie Hall Jazz concert on January 16, 1938. It was a critical moment for the acceptance of jazz in the elite New York social circles and forever changed the landscape of jazz audiences. He remained an active pianist until the early 1980s.