Trained as a musician and a music educator, Pitts studied at the
Philadelphia Musical Academy (now the University of the Arts),
Temple University, and
Juilliard, as well as other institutions. Early work experience included a position as an assistant to the pianist in the
Tony Award-winning musical
Raisin. At the end of the musical's tour, she was encouraged by her husband (who had worked with
Shirley Scott as a drummer) to continue developing her repertoire. In 1967, the
Boston Globe printed a piece calling her a rising star and complimented her
drawbar variation, vibrato shadings, and
bass pedal work. Trudy, and her husband, William Theodore Carney II, aka Mr. C. produced and performed at many festivals and venues together; such as The Mellon Jazz Festival Organ Jams (produced by Mr. C. and Trudy), the
Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival, San Jose Organ Festival, Cliveden Jazz Festival, West Oak Lane Jazz Festival. Together they produced the “Jazz in the Sanctuary” concerts which featured musicians such as
Grover Washington, Jr.,
Etta James,
Houston Person,
Benny Golson, and
Lionel Hampton. Trudy Pitts eventually went on to play with
Ben Webster,
Gene Ammons, and
Sonny Stitt. In 1999, a
compilation album of several records was released as
Legends of Acid Jazz: Trudy Pitts With Pat Martino. Later festival appearances included the 11th Annual
Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival at the Kennedy Center in
Washington, D.C., in May 2006. On September 15, 2006, Pitts was the first jazz artist to play a concert on Philadelphia's Kimmel Center's 7,000 pipe organ, "taking the medium to a whole new level". In 2008, she again performed on an exceptional organ, this time the
Kennedy Center's Filene Organ. Trudy Pitts died on December 19, 2010, aged 78, from
pancreatic cancer. ==Discography==