Obituary News

Chris Connor, Jazz Singer Whose Voice Embodied a Wistful Cool, Dies at 81

Source: Michael Ricci
September 3, 2009

Chris Connor, the great jazz singer whose lush, foggy voice and compressed emotional intensity distilled a 1950s jazz reverie of faraway longing in a sad cafe, died on Saturday in Toms River, N.J. She was 81 and lived in Toms River. The cause was cancer, her publicist, Alan Eichler, said. A singer who used little vibrato and was admired for her inventive rhythmic alterations of ballads, Ms. Connor belonged to the cool school of jazz singers that included Anita O’Day, ...

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Eddie Higgins, 1932-2009

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
September 3, 2009

Eddie Higgins died on August 31st of lung cancer. Those who knew him called him by his given name, Haydn. He was a pianist of uncommon sensitivity, taste, subtlety and adaptability. He was equally accomplished and enthusiastic working with singers (his wife is Meredith d'Ambrosio), traditional bands (he unabashedly enjoyed the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee) and fiery young bebop lions (he wrote “Expoobident" for Lee Morgan and played on Morgan's album of that name).

His admirer and sometime colleague Ben Riley, ...

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Chris Connor (1927-2009)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
September 3, 2009

Chris Connor, a breathy jazz singer whose powerful caressing voice could ignite a big band as easily as steam up a trio or quartet, died on Saturday of cancer in Toms River, N.J. She was 81.

Unfairly compared over the years to June Christy and Anita O'Day--both of whom preceded her in Stan Kenton's big band--Chris actually was in a league of her own. Though all three singers shared a smoky saxophone-like timbre, a careful ear could detect in Chris ...

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Jesse Fortune Chicago Blues Singer Passes

Source: Michael Ricci
September 2, 2009

Jesse Fortune, 79, a veteran Chicago blues singer, died Monday after collapsing on stage while performing at a West Side club. He was pronounced dead at Mt. Sinai Hospital, and an autopsy showed he died of coronary atherosclerosis.

Fortune, better known as the “Fortune Tellin' Man," was born and raised in Mississippi. In 1952 he migrated to Chicago, where he worked as a barber during the day and sang at blues clubs at night.

Perhaps best known for his 1963 ...

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Chris Connor Dies at 81; Big-Band and Solo Jazz Singer

Source: Michael Ricci
September 1, 2009

She was known for 'All About Ronnie,' which she did as part of the Stan Kenton Orchestra. She became a soloist in the 1950s and had hits with 'Trust in Me' and 'About the Blues.'

After recording hits with the Stan Kenton Orchestra, Chris Connor became a soloist who often worked with small groups. Some of her best-known songs include “Trust in Me" and “About the Blues."

Chris Connor, a smoky-voiced jazz vocalist who gained renown for her recording of ...

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Richard Moore Dies at 83; Cinematographer and CO-Founder of Panavision

Source: Michael Ricci
September 1, 2009

In 1953 he teamed with Robert Gottschalk to start Panavision, which revolutionized film in the 1970s with a hand-held studio camera that could record sight and sound simultaneously.

Moore's Aug. 16 death at his home in Palm Springs was age-related, said his son, Stephen V. Moore.

His cinematography credits include “Winning" in 1969, “Myra Breckinridge" and “Sometimes a Great Notion" in 1970, “The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean" in 1972 and “Annie" in 1982.

Moore shared a 1959 ...

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Rip Gospel Legend Marie Knight dies

Source: Just Roots PR
August 31, 2009

This sad news just in from M.C. Records (via Bob Corritore); this is their announcement verbatim:

With heavy hearts, M.C. Records announces the death of gospel legend Marie Knight. She died in New York City on August 30, 2009 due to complications from pneumonia.

Marie first came to prominence in 1946 when she met and started working with Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Together they would be one of the most popular gospel artists of the 1940’s, and make music history through ...

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Last of the Vo-Cool School: Chris Connor, 1927-2009

Source: All About Jazz
August 31, 2009

There's a report today on the Yahoo Songbirds listserv that singer Chris Connor, , passed away Saturday at the age of 81.

Connor was one of the last living singers from the big-band era, and the last of the original, so-called “vo-cool school” of vocalists that included Anita O’Day, Mel Torme, and June Christy–singers noted for their generally vibrato-less tones, understated phrasing, and now-it’s-languid, now-it’s-loud use of dynamics.

However you classify her, though, Connor was a joy to listen to, ...

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