Ed also wrote music for Eddie Marshall’s band. A young Ed Nuccilli began writing arrangements during his junior year of high school. Two of his arrangements were featured in the senior concert at Cass Technical High School in 1943. That same year, just as Ed was finishing High School at Cass, WWII was well under way, and he was drafted into the army and inducted on July 19, 1943. He would spend the next three years in the army, most of that time in the deserts of Africa.

While stationed in Africa, one day at the base’s PX & Recreation Building, Ed was looking around in a back room and noticed a piano. Upon further searching, he came across an old trumpet and some other instruments. So he found some other musicians at the base and they put together a 10 or 12 piece band, and Ed wrote all the music for the band. They got so good that they were sent to the American University in Beirut to play for the officers. In 1946, his arrangements were being featured at the Don Byas (a well known jazz alto saxophone player of that time) and Eddie Marshall concert at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Ed’s brother picked him up from his army base in Chicago, Illinois, where he was awaiting to be discharged; and drove him to Detroit for the concert. It was an important night for him and he was introduced to the crowd. After the concert was over, his brother drove him all the way back to the Chicago army base, and Ed made it right before the lights went on in his barracks!

Post War Years

After the war was over, Nuccilli spent a few years touring the Midwest and East Coast with the bands of Shorty Sherock and Bobby Sherwood. His first composition (Original #1) was the new theme song for Bobby Sherwood. Life was financially tough on the road, and soon became tedious, but the ‘road’ taught Ed a lot. It was 1946 and Ed Nuccilli’s early exposure to Be-Bop made quite an impression on him; he had never heard anything like it! He naturally gravitated to this type of music. His inspiration came from Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis. He wrote his first original big-band Be-Bop chart for 16 pieces in 1948. This would later be named “48 half Steps”. In that same year, Ed composed and arranged for big-band, five additional original tunes.

In 1949, Ed returned to his home in Detroit. He started college on the GI bill at the Detroit Institute of Musical Art, (called DIMA) and worked part time at the Detroit Public Library. That same year, he met his future wife, Jean, at a wedding at the Belle Isle Casino. Ed and a friend basically ‘crashed’ the wedding; they went to hear their buddies who were in the band, and it was love at first sight!

Marriage/family years

Ed continued his schooling and music for the next three years. He married Jean in 1950, and by the end of 1952, they had two children. In 1953 he gave up music entirely to support his family, so he went to work full-time at Ford Motor Company. He worked there until 1956, then left Ford Motor Company and started work as an agent for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. His hours were more flexible and he was able to pick up his horn and practice again. After the time without playing, his ‘chops’ needed lots of work, so he would go over his father’s house, which was close to his office, and they would practice duets together. In no time his ‘chops’ were back and he got his first job in almost four years on New Year’s Eve 1957 playing in a Latin band.

Later, in 1960 he started his own Latin band and wrote all the music for that group. It was a 10 piece consisting of 4 trumpets 2 tenor saxes, a baritone sax and the 3 rhythm. By this time he had a family of four, and continued to work at Metropolitan Life and played gigs with his Latin band.