Saxophonist originally from Syracuse, New York. Jimmy and his band were not from Baltimore although they released records on local labels and were popular in local clubs.
After a stint in the military Jimmy settled in Fayetteville, North Carolina. In the late ‘40s he formed a Quartet that eventually developed quite a following playing R&B music throughout the Carolinas and upstate New York. The Quartet split up in the early ‘50s. Jimmy soon teamed up with a veteran Niagara Falls area band that became known as Jimmy Cavallo & the Houserockers featuring the dual lead saxophone sounds of Cavallo and Joe Marillo. The group traveled to New York City and won an audition for Alan Freed in 1956. They subsequently appeared in Freed’s live shows, starred in the movie “Rock, Rock, Rock,” and released records produced by Freed on the Coral label.
Locally Jimmy & his Houserockers appeared at Carr’s Beach on several occasions in the 1950s and also at the Surf Club. Jimmy took part in Sunday Jams at the Surf Club with local saxophonist Al Baitch.
Cavallo’s Quartette played at the Latin Casino in the late ‘60s. In the mid-’70s The Jimmy Cavallo Show appeared at Perry’s Ordinary on Perring Parkway.
The band released singles on BSD (‘51-52), Coral (mid-late ‘50s), Darcy (‘61), Little Star (‘63), Romar (‘60s), and the local Sunnyside label # 3105 “Don’t Move Me No More” b/w “Blue Turning Gray Over You” (‘59). Another local single as by the Cavallo-Chickeni Quartet “Chicken Talk” b/w “School Days” (Hand 101) A-side published by Gussie Music.
Cavallo later moved to Florida where he continued performing into the ‘00s.
