Carl Janelli

1927 - 2018

Carl Janelli July 14, 1927 - December 3, 2018 Oceanside Carl Joseph Janelli was born in Brooklyn, NY to immigrant parents from Sicily on July 14, 1927, and passed away peacefully at home in Oceanside on Monday, December 3, 2018. He was a professional musician his entire life and enjoyed a versatile career in NYC. He started playing clarinet at the age of 13 after seeing a clarinet in the French exhibit at the World's Fair in 1939. He appeared in such NYC venues as the Paramount Theatre, Basin Street East, Carnegie Hall, the Copacabana, the Empire Room of the Pennsylvania Hotel with Tommy Dorsey and Birdland. He also performed with the Neal Hefti, Mel Lewis-Thad Jones, Johnny Richards, and Jackie Gleason TV Show Orchestras, as well as singers Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Barbra Streisand, Peggy Lee, Stevie Wonder, Sammy Davis Jr., and Natalie Cole, among others.Additional credits include the Broadway musicals "How To Succeed in Business", "Purlie", "Grease", "Hello Dolly", and "Here's Love". Carl played with jazz artists Al Cohn, Phil Woods, Clark Terry, and Al Haig. He took a hiatus from playing from 1981 until 1990 to be the executive secretary for Musician's Local 802 in NYC.During World War II, Carl served in the Army in 1945 and 1946, playing in the 389th Army Service Forces Band. He performed for parades and other events, greeting troops returning home from Germany and Japan, and in the Officer's Club dance band.Carl retired to Oceanside in 1990 and continued to play. He was a member of the American Federation of Musicians, the Cradit Union, the Coastal Communities Concert Band and conducted the San Diego Concert Jazz Band. In addition to his musical activities, Carl delivered Meal On Wheels in the Oceanside area for over 20 years.Carl is survived by his wife, Mickey; two children, Steven {Sue) of Wolcott, CT. and Donna (Mike) Zibrin of West Palm Beach, FL; four grandchildren, Jennifer, Chris, Karen and Grace; six great-grandchildren; a sister, Norma Rinaldi of Canada and several nieces, nephews, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law. He was preceded in death by his father Carl Albert Janelli, mother Mary Janelli, his first wife, Marilyn, and twin brother, William Janelli. He will be cremated and a celebration of his life will be held in the new year.