Biography
A very talented bop-based pianist, Gildo Mahones labored in obscurity in the Los Angeles area for many years. Mahones played early on with Joe Morris (in 1948) and Milt Jackson. After a period in the Army, he was Lester Young’s regular pianist from 1953 to 1956. Mahones gigged with the Jazz Modes (featuring Charlie Rouse and Julius Watkins), Sonny Stitt, and Bennie Green, and from 1959 to 1964 he was part of the trio that backed Lambert, Hendricks & Ross (later Lambert, Hendricks & Bavan). After the vocal group broke up, Mahones moved to Los Angeles and began freelancing both in jazz and in the studios. In addition to his own trio, Mahones worked with O.C. Smith, Lou Rawls, James Moody, the Harold Land-Blue Mitchell Quintet, Leon Thomas, Jim Hall, Big Joe Turner, Lorez Alexandria (recording five albums with her), and Benny Carter. Mahones, who was also a sideman on albums by Pony Poindexter, Booker Ervin, and Jimmy Witherspoon, led two record dates of his own for Prestige in 1963 and 1964 and one for Interplay in 1990. ~ Scott Yanow