Pittsburgh native and Duquesne University alum Sammy Nestico died January 17th, 2021, just weeks shy of his 97th birthday in February. Sammy’s compositions and arrangements are foundational to the sounds of jazz and big bands, today. In words and music, we celebrate a life well lived, with Pittsburgh as a core part of it.

This week on “The Scene,” we highlight some music of Sammy Nestico, including his first full LP with Count Basie in 1968, “Basie Straight Ahead,” the beautiful Send in the Clowns with Sarah Vaughan, the Phill Collins Big Band project, music with Quincy Jones, the SWR Big Band in Germany, plus the recent project with the US Army Jazz Ambassadors, “the Sammy Sessions”

Hear Sammy Nestico tell how Pittsburgh’s Grover Mitchell was instrumental in starting Sammy’s long tenure with the Count Basie Orchestra, tales of the Stanley Theater, how Sammy came to start in music at Oliver High School, and his start at WCAE radio when he was just 17.

We also talk with Grammy-winning engineer and producer Jim Anderson about working with Sammy Nestico (Jim’s from Pittsburgh, too, a graduate of Duquesne University, a former staffer at WDUQ and NPR, and has had a rich and busy career, that includes great jazz and even the Muppets!

Award-winning documentary filmmaker Diane Estelle Vicari is completing a feature-length film Shadow Man. It tells the story of Sammy Nestico through pictures and sounds, Sammy's own words, and the words of others. Diane graciously offered up stories from the film for us to share with Pittsburgh listeners.

You can read more about the film project at the website. There’s also a Kickstarter page for the project with more details.

Also Diane tells a the story behind a very special column he wrote just before this last Christmas, about his father, an Italian immigrant, about falling in love with the United States and with Pittsburgh. They sent it in to the paper, and it was enthusiastically published by the San Diego Union Tribune, December 13.

The Scene - Thursday at 6pm, Sundays at 4pm (special time), Friday and Saturday at noon on WZUM.