Bandleader celebrates 85th birthday

Playing with Frank Sinatra at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel for three weeks in 1946 is one of the highlights of famed pianist and band leader Page Cavanaugh’s career, and there are many more.

His band also played for the likes of Doris Day, Mel Torme and Tony Bennett long before Cavanaugh became a staple at the Balboa Bay Club and Resort’s entertainment lounge Duke’s Place, where he has performed live jazz every Thursday evening for 10 years.

Tonight, the public is invited to celebrate Cavanaugh’s career and his 85th birthday with cake and champagne, and of course, live entertainment from the Page Cavanaugh Trio.

Balboa Bay Club President Henry Schielein met Cavanaugh in 1957, when they were both working at a hotel in Los Angeles, the former as head waiter and the latter as an entertainer. Decades later, Schielein brought Cavanaugh to the Newport Beach resort, remembering his charming demeanor and the tremendous applause he always received.

“He is a wonderful entertainer and a great pianist,” Schielein said. “Page has an amazing following Thursday nights, and you always see some familiar faces.”

Cavanaugh’s regulars include Rich and Jeannie Barnett, a couple who drive from Laguna Woods Village each week to see the piano player and his band, and have since the beginning. Every Thursday evening when they walk into the lounge, Cavanaugh plays their special song — “Would You Like to be the Love of My Life” by Johnny Mercer, also Cavanaugh’s friend.

“He has such a very sweet and engaging personality,” said Jeannie Barnett, 77, who brings Cavanaugh a carrot cake each year on his birthday. “He plays as well now — if not better — than he did in his heyday.”

Pianist and friend Gene Meigs of Costa Mesa said there is no one else around that plays like Cavanaugh, regardless of age. Though the two didn’t meet until a few years ago, Meigs once filled in for Cavanaugh at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe 40 years ago, when Cavanaugh got in an auto accident on his way to the casino.

“When he sits down at the piano, he plays like he’s 45,” Meigs said. “His facility on the keyboard is remarkable for any age, and at 85, it’s astounding.”

The son of a ragtime pianist, Cavanaugh began taking piano lessons in his family’s Kansas farm at 9 years old. By 21, he was playing the glockenspiel in the military marching band while stationed with the U.S. Army in Sacramento and soon after joined an army trio. Upon discharge, Cavanaugh wanted to start an official band, and the group soon became the Page Cavanaugh Trio.

“By gosh, within a month we had it started,” said Cavanaugh, who will be 85 years old Friday. “We went on the air with the American Broadcasting Co. playing sustaining broadcasts, and soon we were recording all over the darn place.”

Over the years, the musician has become a “walking archive” of jazz knowledge and can play almost any jazz song from the 1920s to the 1950s. In addition to his music, he often entertains guests at Duke’s Place with historical tidbits about each song he plays.

Cavanaugh is looking forward to the celebration this evening, and offers partygoers only one minor caveat: Don’t ask him to play “New York, New York” unless you’ve got $20,000 to spare. Though Cavanaugh takes requests and loves former colleague Sinatra dearly, there are just some songs he gets tired of and will only play for a substantial fee.

“There are just some tunes I don’t like to play,” he said. “And I don’t care much for rock and roll.”