Selfless drummer had quiet influence on Pittsburgh jazz scene
Spider Rondinelli famously joked that although his father wanted him to be a professional tap dancer, he always preferred to make the music that made his feet move.
A native of Clairton, Mr. Rondinelli dedicated his life to jazz rather than follow a family tradition and become a barber, his wife, Georgina, said. He made his career playing the drums, singing and booking gigs for his fellow jazz musicians all across Pittsburgh.
“Spider had as much if not more of an influence on the jazz of Pittsburgh as anyone else,” said local guitarist and longtime friend Ken Karsh. “Spider has really done so much that he often doesn’t get credit for.”
Arnold “Spider” Rondinelli died Monday after a battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 82.
“He was unique,” Mr. Karsh said. “I’ve never met anybody like him — I don’t think anybody has. He basically would have our backs on gigs. He could create any job in any place you would never think there would be jazz and he would actually make it work.”
Mr. Rondinelli had a knack for persuading restaurants, bars and clubs to let him play, and when he did, he got them to invite other jazz musicians to play as well. He would always make sure the other musicians were paid, even if he wasn’t, Mr. Karsh said.
The two met when Mr. Karsh was a teenager, hanging around and performing at Sonny Daye’s Stage Door in Oakland in the 1970s.
“Spider took an interest in me musically and took me, like many others, under his wing,” said Mr. Karsh, who described a group of Mr. Rondinelli’s mentees as the drummer’s “musical sons.”
Mr. Rondinelli graduated from Clairton High School in 1953 and got his first job as a musician at the Point Vue Hotel in Brentwood. He was drafted into the Army in 1960 and played with the 113th Army Band in Fort Knox, Ky. He returned to Pittsburgh after his discharge two years later before moving to Chicago.
He briefly returned to Pittsburgh — and met his wife of 41 years at a club where he was performing — before moving to St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands for four years. The couple later returned to Pittsburgh and had been living in Clairton ever since.
“I’m going to miss him,” his wife said. “A lot of people will.”
He fell in love with jazz at a young age, Mrs. Rondinelli said. His high school principal gave him the nickname “Spider” after watching one of his dance performances. He preferred the name “Spider” to Arnold, after an aunt’s favorite opera singer.
“I’ve always liked jazz, but I was more into the vocals instead of the instrumentals,” she said. “Spider could hear two notes and know who was playing it.”
Mrs. Rondinelli, a cook, said her husband loved to do some cooking of his own, especially Italian.
But his real passion was always jazz, and helping other musicians.
“He lived for jazz,” Mr. Karsh said. “He loved for jazz. It’s just what he wanted.”
In addition to his wife, Mr. Rondinelli is survived by a son, Michael of Louisville, Ky; two grandsons; and a brother, Naz, of San Diego.
Visitation is from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the S.M. Finney Funeral Home in Clairton. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at the funeral home.