Obituary News

Jug band great Fritz Richmond dies at 66

Source: All About Jazz
November 24, 2005

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Fritz Richmond, a folk musician considered one of the world's finest players of the jug and washtub bass, died of lung cancer Sunday. He was 66.

Richmond became a key figure in the Boston folk music scene, where he worked as the house bassist at Club 47.

Drawing on his expertise as a U.S. Army helicopter mechanic, he strung the washtub bass with a steel cable, turning it into a usable instrument. To play it, he developed ...

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Guitar King Link Wray Dies at 76

Source: All About Jazz
November 21, 2005

COPENHAGEN, Denmark - Guitar master Link Wray, the father of the power chord in rock 'n' roll who inspired such legends as Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie and Pete Townshend, has died. He was 76.

Wray died Nov. 5 at his home in Copenhagen, his wife and son said on his Web site. No cause of death was given, but his family said his heart was “getting tired." He was buried Friday after a service at Copenhagen's Christian Church.

“While playing ...

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Bandleader Skitch Henderson dead at 87

Source: All About Jazz
November 3, 2005

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Skitch Henderson, the Grammy-winning conductor who lent his musical expertise to Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby before founding the New York Pops and becoming the first “Tonight Show" bandleader, died Tuesday. He was 87.

Henderson died of natural causes at his New Milford home, said Barbara Burnside, director of marketing and public relations for New Milford Hospital.

Henderson worked with stars such as Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby in the 1930s and ...

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Ron Simmonds ( www.jazzprofessional.com) just died this morning.

Source: All About Jazz
October 24, 2005

Ron Simmonds just died this morning. “http://www.jazzprofessional.com/" is silent. Ron Simmonds, a career trumpet player who played in very many of the great British, German and American jazz orchestras. For ten years he was Chief Editor (North America and the Far East) for the Deutsche Welle, Cologne and Studio Berlin. Ron had darm cancer and metastases in the liver and some more places. He got operated 2 days ago, the operation went OK, but still they gave him only 3 ...

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Jazz musician Shirley Horn, 71, dies

Source: All About Jazz
October 22, 2005

Shirley Horn, the Grammy-winning singer and pianist whose richly expressive vocal style made her one of the most popular performers in jazz, died Thursday night in her hometown of Washington. She was 71. Horn died after a lengthy illness, the Verve Music Group, her record label, announced Friday. Horn had been ill for some time. She lost her right foot to diabetes in 2001 and later much of her right leg. She had also battled breast cancer and arthritis over ...

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Jazz star Shirley Horn dies

Source: All About Jazz
October 22, 2005

Shirley Horn, the US jazz pianist and vocalist who found fame working with Miles Davis, has died aged 71. Horn died in her native Washington, DC after a long illness, according to a statement released by her recording label Verve Records. Horn, considered one of the last great jazz vocalists of her era, was compared to Ella Fitzgerald and Carmen McRae. She was nominated for seven consecutive Grammys and won in 1998 for the best jazz vocal performance. Her winning ...

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Jazz singer and pianist Shirley Horn dies

Source: All About Jazz
October 22, 2005

NEW YORK — Shirley Horn, the jazz pianist and vocalist who got her start opening for Miles Davis and became revered as a master interpreter of American standards, has died at the age of 71, her record label said yesterday. Horn died Thursday night in her native Washington, D.C., after a long illness, according to a statement released by Verve Records. Horn was often compared to Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and Carmen McRae, and considered one of the last great ...

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Father of Russian Jazz Oleg Lundstrem Dies

Source: All About Jazz
October 14, 2005

MOSCOW, October 14 (RIA Novosti) - Oleg Lundstrem, the father of Russian jazz, died Friday at the age of 89. “Oleg Lundstrem passed away during the night," said Alexander Bryskin, the director of the Jazz Music Orchestra. “Lundstrem was an epoch in music," said Igor Butman, a famous Russian jazz musician. “He was a unique person, an outstanding organizer, who managed to maintain an orchestra of top musicians and music arrangers for several decades. He was an extremely modest person ...

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