Tony Pastor

Tony Pastor (Anthony Pestritto, Middletown, Connecticut, October 26, 1907 - Old Lyme, Connecticut, October 31, 1969) was an Italian American novelty singer and tenor saxophonist.

Tony Pastor began playing professionally while still a teenager. He worked with the Wesleyan Serenaders in the mid-1920s, John Cavallaro in 1927, Irving Aaronson from 1928 to 1930, and Austin Wylie around 1930. He formed his own orchestra based out of Hartford, Connecticut, in 1931. The group struggled, and in 1934 he disbanded it. He toured with Smith Ballew in 1935 and played briefly with Joe Venuti and Vincent Lopez before joining Artie Shaw in 1936, where he remained when Shaw regrouped the following year.

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