In 2022, Patricia Wied Caringella established The Eddie Wied & Patricia Wied Caringella Scholarship in honor of her late husband and talented jazz pianist, Eddie Wied, who passed away in 2007.
“I’m honored and thrilled to know that I’m extending Eddie Wied’s generous spirit to those that want to make music a central part of their life,” said Patricia Wied Caringella.
Eddie Wied was born in 1925 and lived a life deeply rooted in music. Known by many in the jazz community as “The Professor,” he performed and taught in Portland for many years, and his deep roots in 1940s bebop served as a crucial link between Portland’s jazz past and the twenty-first century.
Wied began cultivating his love of jazz during the heyday of the 1940s and 1950s, while living and playing jazz in the Albina neighborhood along North Williams Avenue. He often referred to the neighborhood, known for its rich jazz culture and vibrant African American community, as “the University of Williams Ave.,” claiming his education came from his performance experience there as well as on the Las Vegas Strip. Formally, Wied received his bachelor’s degree from Lewis & Clark College, attended Julliard School of Music, and received his master’s degree from the University of Nevada.
A talented accompanist, Eddie Wied performed with countless jazz greats, from Sammy Davis Jr. and Anita O’Day to Shorty Rogers and Nancy King. Wied was known for his diplomatic approach to accompaniment, claiming that his job was to make the artist sound even better than they already did.
“I usually don’t play with a piano player,” jazz guitarist Herb Ellis once said. “Even if they’re good, they can make you sound like a couple of rats sinking a ship. But Eddie Wied . . . well, he’s a giant.”
Eddie Wied also led a jazz group called The Sky Trio for several years at the famed Jazz Quarry at SW 12th and Jefferson (now the site of the Sky3 apartment building, which was named for the jazz trio). When it closed in 1987, Wied moved on to perform at The Hobbit with drummer Mel Brown and bassist Leroy Vinnegar. In the 1990s he became a member of The Original Cats, an all-star group assembled by PSU Professor Darrell Grant, whose members were part of Portland's historic Williams Avenue jazz scene.
Wied taught many students as a jazz piano instructor in Portland, some of whom came from afar to learn from him. One of his students, Latin Grammy nominated Giovanni Ceccarelli, studied with Wied during his time as an exchange student from Italy. Ceccarelli credits his lessons with Wied as being the foundation of his musicianship.
“Eddie was the perfect example of a positive, encouraging and a pure musician,” said Ceccarelli. “His teaching was a fundamental part of him being an artist, that’s why they called him ‘The Professor.’ He was generous, sweet, very funny in a clever and subtle way. By listening to him, I learned how to harmonize a tune, how to support a soloist, how to settle a groove on the piano.”
“Eddie was rooted in the jazz tradition, at the same time always curious and open to discover new ways of making music, new styles on the piano,” he said.
After their lessons ended, Ceccarelli and Wied maintained a close relationship, with Wied making several trips to visit Ceccarelli in Italy. They also recorded Wied’s second album together, titled The Street Dancer.
“Eddie Wied was a true jazz master. As a pianist he was a staple of Portland's historic Williams Avenue scene and beyond,” said pianist Darrell Grant, Professor of Jazz Studies in the School of Music & Theater.
“As a teacher and mentor to several generations, his impact went far beyond that. One of the top jazz pianists in Portland for many years, his impact was felt as a performer, teacher and mentor. I was fortunate to be one of the many who benefited from his knowledge and generosity of spirit,” said Grant.
The Eddie Wied & Patricia Wied Caringella Scholarship is awarded to undergraduate or graduate music majors, with a preference for jazz performance majors.
To make a donation to The Eddie Wied & Patricia Wied Caringella Scholarship, visit https://giving.psuf.org/s/1904/lg21/form.aspx?sid=1904&gid=2&pgid=811&bledit=1&dids=2217