M. Marmarosa, 76; Jazz Pianist With Dorsey, Shaw, Krupa Bands

Michael “Dodo” Marmarosa, 76, a jazz pianist who worked with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and Artie Shaw’s Gramercy Five before becoming a fine bebop player, died Tuesday of an apparent heart attack at a Veterans Affairs medical center near Pittsburgh.

Marmarosa was born in Pittsburgh and studied classical piano as a child. But he became inspired by the playing of pianists Art Tatum and Teddy Wilson, and switched to jazz.

After playing with the Gene Krupa band around Pittsburgh, Marmarosa played with Dorsey and Shaw. The influence of bebop began to show in his work in the mid-1940s.

He moved to Los Angeles in 1946, and became the house pianist for a label called Atomic. He later played on sessions with Charlie Parker, including one in 1947 that resulted in Parker’s “Relaxin at Camarillo.” But aside from a few dates on Atomic and some for Savoy, Marmarosa’s recording output is fairly slim.

Plagued by health problems, Marmarosa returned to Pittsburgh in the mid-1950s, all but disappearing from public view until a brief return in 1961, when he released an album called “Dodo’s Back” on Argo.