Name Peter Urquidi | ||
Peter Urquidi is an American Keyboardist.
Biography
Peter C. Urquidi was born November 7, 1921 in Santa Barbara, California to musician Peter Mora Urquidi and Angela Corral Urquidi. Urquidi played piano early on as a teen in big bands with his father, later to go onto a career as a single playing keyboards in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Oxnard, California and Vegas. Later he formed "The Peter and Hank Duo" with friend and drummer, Hank Castro. After marrying Jacquelyn Darling Bache, May 5, 1952, they lived in Santa Barbara until August 1959 when they moved to Las Vegas, Nevada along with their daughter Jacie. It was in Vegas under the management of Matt Gregory, Stan Irwin and Art Engler, that the Peter & Hank Duo played the lounges ranging from the Sahara Hotel, The New Frontier, The Flamingo, and opened for headliners in the major hotels. They shared the stage with some of Vegas' greats like Sam Butera and The Witnesses, The Mary Kaye Trio, Louis Prima, Lionel Hampton and many others. Along the way, Urquidi gained the name "Man of Many Sounds" because of his unique state of the art keyboard versatility.
Once the duo split up in the late 60's, Urquidi landed in the "Sky Room" at the "Top of The Mint" for more than a decade until the early 70's. He went on to play a solo, and sometimes preformed in a combo with select musicians from Las Vegas into the 90's. Once his wife died in September 1993, he took a break from performing. After a few years, Urquidi joined up with his friend, drummer Irv Kluger, along with several of his musician friends, and began to play publicly once again in a variety of venues.
Peter retired in 2008, and resides in Las Vegas enjoying the company of friends and family. He still composes music, and plays in the comfort of his home, while reflecting on "the good ol' days", and what's still to come in the future.
Peter Urquidi was awarded with a Certificate of Appreciation in appreciation for Fifty Years of Dedicated Membership to The American Federation of Musicians. This award is presented to Peter Urquidi, presented by the Musicians Union of Las Vegas, Local 369 AFM, AFL-CIO, in the year 2011