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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZZITO, Phil(b Philip Anthony Zito, 8 August 1913, New Orleans, Orleans Parish LA; d 2 August 1998 Metairie, Jefferson Parish LA) Dixieland jazz drummer and bandleader. He co-founded the Original Dixieland Jazz Band & Foundation with Nick LaRocca (of ODJB fame) in 1935. He served in the US Navy during WWII. After the war 'Phil Zito's New Orleans International City Dixielanders' featured youngsters clarinetist Pete Fountain and trumpeter George Girard. The band made an album of eight tracks that was released on all three speeds on Columbia in 1950. Zito's drumming cannot be described as trend-setting, but the teen-aged Fountain's playing is already remarkable. Fountain and Girard went on together that year to form the Basin Street Six.
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