Walter Joseph "Pete" Candoli (June 28, 1923 – January 11, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played with the big bands of Woody Herman and Stan Kenton and worked in the studios of the recording and television industries.
A native of Mishawaka, Indiana, Candoli was the older brother of Conte Candoli.
During the 1940s he performed with a number of big bands, including those led by Sonny Dunham, Will Bradley, Ray McKinley, Tommy Dorsey, Teddy Powell, Woody Herman, Boyd Raeburn, Tex Beneke, and Jerry Gray. Known for his ability to play in the upper register of the trumpet, he was nicknamed "Superman". While performing with Woody Herman's First Herd, he occasionally wore a Superman costume during solos. In the 1950s he joined the bands of Stan Kenton and Les Brown and later moved to Los Angeles, where he worked extensively as a studio musician. His studio work included contributions to film and television soundtracks such as Bell, Book and Candle, The Man with the Golden Arm, and Peter Gunn. He also made occasional on-screen appearances in television series and films during this period.
Candoli frequently collaborated with his brother Conte Candoli; the two led a joint band in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and reunited for performances intermittently from the 1970s to the 1990s. In the early 1970s he also performed in nightclubs with his second wife, singer Edie Adams. Health issues temporarily interrupted his career in the late 1970s, but he later returned to performing at festivals and appeared with Lionel Hampton. He also rejoined the Woody Herman orchestra for its anniversary concerts.
Candoli was featured as a performer on the soundtrack of the animated series The Ant and the Aardvark, which incorporated jazz elements.
Candoli died on January 11, 2008, at the age of 84, from complications of prostate cancer.
International Jazz Hall of Fame, 1997
Look magazine named him one of the seven all-time outstanding jazz trumpet players.
Blues, When Your Lover Has Gone (Somerset/Stereo-Fidelity, 1961)
Moscow Mule and Many More Kicks (Decca, 1966)
Live at the Royal Palms Inn Vol. 9 with Bill Perkins, Carl Fontana (Woofy, 1994)
The Brothers Candoli (Dot, 1957)
Bell, Book, and Candoli (Dot, 1959)
2 for the Money (Mercury, 1959)
There Is Nothing Like a Dame (Warner Bros., 1962)
Candoli Brothers (Dobre, 1978)
Sounds of the Great Bands! (Capitol 1958)
Sounds of the Great Bands Volume 2 (Capitol, 1959)