Paul Lingle

In the 1940s Paul Lingle attained legendary standing among San Francisco locals. A stride pianist of considerable skill who also embraced ragtime, he counted Jelly Roll Morton among his chief influences. Piano studies commenced at age six, and his first paid work took place in San Francisco during the 1920s. Late in that decade he became Al Jolson’s accompanist, contributing to the soundtracks of several of the singer’s earliest sound pictures. Radio engagements and membership in Al Zohn’s jazz band occupied him throughout the 1930s in San Francisco. With the Dixieland revival under way in the 1940s, he began as a piano tuner in Santa Cruz yet had returned to club work in San Francisco by 1944, appearing most often unaccompanied. Leadbelly and Bunk Johnson each sought him out during their visits to the city. Relocating to Honolulu in 1952, Lingle maintained an active performance schedule there until his death. A lifelong reluctance to record meant that his sole studio date yielded only eight titles for Good Time Jazz in 1952. Three and a half albums assembled from private tapes made between 1951 and 1952 later appeared on the Euphonic label, offering a broader portrait of his abilities.