One of the finest trad jazz pianists from the 1970s to the present and an interpreter who really brings new life to classic jazz and ragtime, Terry Waldo has often labored in near-anonymity yet has recorded quite a few highly enjoyable records. He took three years of classical piano lessons starting at age six before discovering ragtime and Dixieland. He also learned to play trumpet, tuba, banjo, cello, and bass to various degrees, and led a group (the Fungus Five) on the Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour in 1962. In Ohio, Waldo played with Gene Mayl's Dixieland Rhythm Kings, he spent time freelancing on various instruments in New Orleans and San Francisco, graduated from Ohio State, and played tuba during his military service.