Yellin, Pete

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Yellin, Pete

Yellin, Pete, jazz alto saxophonist, educator, flutist; b. N.Y., July 18,1941. His father was a pianist and NBC staffer. Pete studied saxophone with Joe Alldard and flute with Harold Bennett. He earned a degree from Juilliard (even though he had had an athletic scholarship to the Univ. of Denver as freshman and for a time considered a basketball career). He played with Lionel Hampton in the early 1960s, and then with Buddy Rich and Tito Puente. He joined Joe Henderson’s band in 1970 and remained until 1973; formed his own band the next year, and played at the Newport Jazz Festival in N.Y; returned to play with Puente in 1974. He worked in the horn sections of Rich and Bob Mintzer during the 1980s. He’s a solid, sometimes exuberant player with extensive range, as well as a decent flutist. He has been director of the jazz program at Long Island Univ.—Brooklyn campus since 1981.

Discography

It’s the Right Thing (1973); Dance of Allegra (1973).

—Lewis Porter