Obituary News

Singer Bobby Short dead at 80

Source: All About Jazz
March 21, 2005

NEW YORK - Bobby Short, the suave, tuxedoed cabaret singer who epitomized Manhattan glamour and sophistication with renderings of the great American songbook, died of leukemia Monday at 80.

Calling Short “an American treasure," Cafe Carlyle, the nightclub at the Carlyle Hotel where Short was an institution since 1968, said it would close Monday in homage to the musician who helped make it famous.

Over the years, Short withstood constant changes in popular music tastes, from Sinatra to Springsteen to ...

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Cabaret Singer Bobby Short Dies

Source: All About Jazz
March 21, 2005

By Larry McShane, Associated Press Writer NEW YORK -- Cabaret singer Bobby Short, the tuxedoed embodiment of New York style and sophistication who was a fixture at his piano in the Carlyle Hotel for more than 35 years, died Monday. He was 80. Short died of leukemia at New York Presbyterian Hospital, said Virginia Wicks, a Los Angeles-based publicist. The hospital did not immediately return a call seeking further detail. As times changed and popular music shifted from Sinatra to ...

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Jazz Cornetist Don Gumpert Dies

Source: All About Jazz
March 19, 2005

Beloved Jazz Cornetist Don Gumpert died Thursday March 17 at his home in Ft. Walton Beach, FL. He was under Hospice care and died peacefully with his family at his bedside. Funeral arrangements are as follows: Visitation is from 6 to 8 pm Tuesday, the 22nd, at Little Chapel Funeral Home at the intersection of Beal and Racetrack in Fort Walton Beach. Funeral 11 am Wednesday, the 23rd, at Trinity United Methodist Church on Racetrack Rd. Gathering at Staff's restaurant ...

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Bill Potts: Pianist, Arranger, Educator and Producer

Source: All About Jazz
March 4, 2005

Born: April 3, 1928 in Arlington, VA Died: February 15, 2005 in Plantation, FL

By Todd S. Jenkins

Pianist, composer and arranger Bill Potts died of cardiac arrest in Plantation, Florida, on February 15, 2005. He was 75 years old.

He was born William Orie Potts on April 3, 1928, in Arlington, Virginia. Potts was largely self-taught as a musician, beginning on Hawaiian guitar as a child. At fifteen he won a talent contest for his accordion skills. ...

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The Stars Come Out For Enos Payne Church Services

Source: All About Jazz
February 14, 2005

It was a nice sunny day in Jamaica Queens, New York when at 9:30 A.M. on Saturday, February 12th, 2005 at the Springfield Gardens United Methodist Church many musicians and friends came out to say “goodbye" to a teacher and friend-ENOS PAYNE, jazz pianist. The Church was jammed with many friends, family, musicians that included; Barry Harris, James Stowe, Alvin Flithe (winky), David Jackson, Stan Hope, Myrna Lake, Eric Lemon, Patience Higgins, Walter Kelly, Hank Johnson (Stuart H. Tresser), Rodney ...

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R&B singer Tyrone Davis dead at 66

Source: All About Jazz
February 11, 2005

CHICAGO -- Veteran rhythm and blues singer Tyrone Davis died Wednesday, four months after he had a stroke that left him in a coma, his business partner said.

He was 66. Davis was taken to hospital in September and was undergoing rehabilitation at a suburban Chicago nursing home at the time of his death, Leo Graham said.

Davis began his career in the 1960s and his baritone voice and warm and romantic singing style made him popular in the 1970s. ...

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Jazz Pianist ENOS PAYNE Funeral Arrangements (Latest Information)

Source: All About Jazz
February 11, 2005

Jazz Pianist Enos Payne passed (died) on Saturday, February 5th, 2005 from a brain anurism. Enos Payne was an instructor at Jazzmobile, and has helped many vocalists get their craft together. Please note: Body Viewing will be from 4:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M. on Friday, February 11th, 2005 at the J. Foster Phillips Funeral Home located at 179-24 Linden Boulevard in Jamaica, Queens. Many musicians and friends are expected to come out. The Church service will be held on Saturday, ...

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Organist Jimmy Smith Dies at 76

Source: All About Jazz
February 10, 2005

Blue Note Records is saddened to announce the passing of Jimmy Smith, the man who single-handedly reinvented the Hammond B3 organ for jazz and created the model sound of the organ trio (organ-guitar-drums) in the mid-1950s. Smith died yesterday of natural causes at his home in Scottsdale, AZ. He was 76 years old. Born in Norristown, PA, in 1928, Smith at first took up the piano, learning from his parents at an early age. He turned his attention to the ...

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