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John Levy, 1912-2012
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
Word came this morning from Devra Hall Levy that her husband John, a major advocate for and representative of jazz musicians, is gone. Levy died in his sleep on Friday at home in Altadena, California. He was 99. Ahmad Jamal recently described Levy as “one of the foremost supportive bassists" of the postwar period. In that role, beginning as a teenager, Levy worked with Ray Nance, Earl Hines, Stuff Smith, Ben Webster and Lennie Tristano, among dozens of other prominent ...
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Johnny Otis (1921-2012)
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Johnny Otis, an R&B renaissance man and visionary whose passion for the blues, the back beat and racial equality helped ignite a West Coast music style in the late-1940s that made rock and roll possible in the 1950s and beyond, died January 17. He was 90. Otis' contribution to American music and his ability to unite teens of all races around the radio dial, jukebox and portable phonograph in the late 1940s and early 1950s cannot be overstated. As a musician, ...
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More Tributes to Chuck Metcalf
Source:
Seattle Jazz Scene
LARRY CORYELL: Chuck, along with Jerome Gray and Overton, was a primary mentor for me back in 1964-65. Because of his encouragement, I was able to have a career that has surpassed all expectations. After I'd been in New York for about, oh, 7-8 months, Chuck sent me an unsigned letter—it was long, and interesting. But I didn't realize it was he who wrote it until much later (I was stretching my mind out quite a bit then—a little delayed ...
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Chuck Metcalf
Source:
Seattle Jazz Scene
Former Seattle bassist, and inaugural Seattle Jazz Hall of Fame inductee, Chuck Metcalf, has passed away after a long battle with cancer. Word came via email yesterday and the tributes have started pouring in. Jay Thomas: He was a very important guy on the scene going back to the late 40s and 50's... and during the 60's he was Mr. Jazz in Seattle along with Bob Winn, Floyd Standifer, Jerry Gray and Dave Coleman. And of course Dave Tuttle and ...
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In Memoriam: 2011
Source:
Groove Notes
As 2011 comes to a close, I'd like to take some time to remember some of the great contributors to jazz that passed away in 2011. Here is a short list of some of the wonderful musicians we lost over the last year. Charles Fambrough, 60 Bassist Charles Fambrough died on January 1, 2011. He had been ill for last few years, battling end stage renal disease, congestive heart failure and pulmonary hypertension. He had been receiving dialysis treatments as ...
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New Orleans drumming innovator Reed Vaughan, 75, dies
Source:
Charles Suhor
Drummer Reed Vaughan, 75, died in New Orleans on December 29, 2011. Vaughan attended Holy Cross High School and played during his early teens in a Dixieland group with trumpeter Murphy Campo and clarinetist Pee Wee Spitilera. At age 16 he studied with drummer Lou Dillon, the versatile leader of the pit band at the Sho-Bar on Bourbon Street, and gained skills in reading and coordinated hand/foot independence. He rapidly became a premier modern jazz artist, jamming frequently with young ...
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Bob Brookmeyer R.I.P.
Source:
SloaneView
A Highly Personal Recollection With the sad news of the death of Bob Brookmeyer, vivid memories of our occasionally turbulent relationship flooded my thoughts. We met in 1961 when he and several other prominent jazz musicians were members of the band playing Bill Finegan arrangements for my first album on the Columbia Records label. Although Bob did eventually achieve sobriety, he was then drinking heavily, and he could be short-tempered and petulant when just moments before he'd been wise and ...
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Jazz Face: Christine Rosholt, RIP
Source:
JazzINK by Andrea Canter
I first heard Christine Rosholt sing at the Dakota, maybe in 2004. She had a sincere perkiness that was contagious and carried over into her renditions of great tunes from the 30s and 40s. She was just at the beginning of her singing career, and her voice was still finding its mark. But she already knew how to draw in an audience to hear her stories, well prepared from her education at the Children's Theater and as a performance art/photography ...
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