PORT ST. LUCIE PEOPLE
The JAZZ PIANIST
When Don Bestor Jr. was asked his formal title, he
said, “President.”
Of what? “The world,” he jokingly responded.
That is quintessential Bestor. He is a jokester.
Others with his resume as an accomplished pianist with a
27-year, high-end career might be more pompous, but he is
not at all stuffy. His fun and playfulness probably comes from
a lifetime of interacting with audiences on everything from
cruise ships to nationwide jazz ensemble performances.
His actual presidential role is with the Fort Pierce Jazz &
Blues Society, which he has led for the last six years. It is a
perfect fit for the man who began his lifetime love of music
as a 5-year-old prodigy under the tutelage of Arden Clar in
Greenwich, Conn., where Bestor grew up.
Bestor’s father, Don Sr., was the musical director for the
Jack Benny Program, which ran from 1932 to 1949 on NBC Radio.
He spent his life directing and writing music for a number
of well respected bands including the Benson Orchestra
of Chicago.
Don Sr. was the man referred to when Benny would dryly
say “Play, Don, play” when he wanted the show to move
along. He wrote the commercial jingle J-E-L-L-O and the
Carnation Milk song while he was with the program. He also
directed his band behind Shirley Temple’s performance of
Animal Crackers in My Soup in the film Curly Top.
His mother was Beulah Pinbell, a much younger socialite,
she was 18 and Don Sr., 58, at the time of their marriage.
She had her own celebrity status as a model, appearing on
numerous covers of Redbook and Cosmopolitan magazines.
It was Beulah who saved Don Jr.’s hands from a possible
baseball career.
“I did not learn of it until 20 years later, but a talent scout
was in the stands when I was pitching for my team in high
school,” Bestor said. “Just by coincidence he sat next to my
mother and began telling her that I had such a strong arm at a
young age that he thought I could definitely go straight from
high school to a farm team.”
His mother was having none of that and told him so. She
wanted her son to go to college and did not think baseball
was a worthy career.
By the age of 12, Bestor had a solid reputation as a pianist
and started playing at country clubs with his band named
The Boys. When he got a full scholarship to Berklee College
of Music in Boston, he and The Boys supported themselves
by playing at hotels and lounges. Eventually, he formed a
band called Trademarks and traveled across the country playing
a variety of music, including pop and jazz.
His journey eventually led him to a long-term gig with
46 Port St. Lucie Magazine
FORT PIERCE JAZZ & BLUES SOCIETY
Don Bestor Jr. is the president of the Fort Pierce Jazz & Blues Society and an accomplished pianist.
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BY CHRISTINA TASCON