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Larry Vuckovich was born in Kotor, Yugoslavia on December 8, 1936. He came to San Francisco in 1951 at the height of a flourishing jazz scene. Classically trained but an ardent jazz fan (thanks to Armed Forces radio), he began hanging out at clubs like the Blackhawk and the Jazz Workshop. Here he heard such greats as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bill Evans. In San Francisco he met pianist Vince Guaraldi, who took on Larry Vuckovich as his only student. During this period he also completed his music studies at San Francisco State University.
Larry Vuckovich began his professional career in 1960, often performing with Guaraldi and subbing for him with singers Mel Torme, David Allyn, and Irene Kral. He also performed with such instrumentalists as Brew Moore and John Handy.
Five years later, he began a 25-year association with vocalist and lyricist Jon Hendricks, appearing at major festivals and clubs around the country and the world. Larry toured with Hendricks, appearing at major festivals and clubs in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, as well as performing in Hendricks' long-running musical stage production, "Evolution of the Blues." He also appeared on two Hendricks recordings.
Besides touring with Hendricks, in the late '60s Larry Vuckovich led the house band at what was then Germany's top jazz club, The Domicile, in Munich. In that role, he backed visiting jazz greats including Lucky Thompson, Slide Hampton, Pony Poindexter, and Clifford Jordan. It was also in Munich where he met master drummer Philly Joe Jones, with whom he went on to tour Europe (see the Gallery shots here). He also performed with Dexter Gordon in Austria and in Copenhagen at the famous Montmatre jazz club.
Later in the '70s Larry Vuckovich met Jones again in San Francisco when Larry was the house pianist at the Keystone Korner. At this club he performed with jazz masters Arnett Cobb, Buddy Tate, Charles McPherson, Leon Thomas, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, and Scott Hamilton until the club closed in 1983.
Two years later, Larry Vuckovich moved to New York where he appeared at the major jazz clubs including the Village Vanguard, the Blue Note, Bradley's Zinno, and others. Some of his musical associations there included Billy Higgins, Cecil Payne, Al Cohn, Curtis Fuller, Milt Hinton, Mel Lewis, Michael Moore, Tom Harrell, and Charles McPherson (the latter two have appeared on Larry's CDs).
In 1990, Larry Vuckovich returned to San Francisco where he is one of the mainstays of the jazz scene.Fans remember his years as house pianist at Club 36 as well as appearances at his new home of the trio, Spiedo San Jose. He was the music director for the West Coast Jazz Festival, Napa Valley Jazz Festival, and often appears at the Monterey Jazz Festival in a variety of contexts.
Currently Larry Vuckovich lives in San Francisco with his wife, Sanna Craig (who is a vocalist, producer, and co-partner in Larry Vuckovich's label, Tetrachord Music), and his son Alexi.
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