Obituary News

Harvey Pekar, Jazz Critic

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
July 14, 2010

Harvey Pekar died this week at the age of 70. He will, inevitably, be more widely remembered for his seriously adult American Splendor comics and the movie they inspired than for his jazz criticism. As a writer about music he was—no surprise—eccentric and uneven but at his best wrote with precision and frankness about what he heard in his careful listening. Here is the conclusion of his Austin Chronicle review of the reissue of the Miles Davis Cellar Door Sessions. ...

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Harvey Pekar, 'American Splendor' Creator, Dies at 70

Source: Michael Lorenz
July 13, 2010

Harvey Pekar, whose autobiographical comic book American Splendor attracted a cult following for its unvarnished stories of a depressed, aggrieved Everyman negotiating daily life in Cleveland and became the basis for a critically acclaimed 2003 film, died on Monday at his home in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. He was 70. A spokesman for the Cuyahoga County coroner's office said that no cause of death had yet been determined. Capt. Michael Cannon of the Cleveland Heights Police Department, which was summoned to ...

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Comic book writer Harvey Pekar dies at 70 in Ohio

Source: Michael Ricci
July 12, 2010

CLEVELAND--Harvey Pekar, whose autobiographical comic book series “American Splendor" portrayed his unglamorous life with bone-dry honesty and wit, was found dead at home early Monday, authorities said. He was 70. The cause of death was unclear, and an autopsy was planned, officials said. Pekar had prostate cancer, asthma, high blood pressure and depression, said Michael Cannon, a police captain in suburban Cleveland Heights. Officers were called to Pekar's home by his wife about 1 a.m., Cannon said. His body was ...

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Harvey Pekar, Cleveland comic-book legend, dies at age 70

Source: Michael Ricci
July 12, 2010

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio--Harvey Pekar's life was not an open book. It was an open comic book. Pekar chronicled his life and times in the acclaimed autobiographical comic book series, “American Splendor," portraying himself as a rumpled, depressed, obsessive-compulsive “flunky file clerk" engaged in a constant battle with loneliness and anxiety. Pekar, 70, was found dead shortly before 1 a.m. Monday by his wife, Joyce Brabner, in their Cleveland Heights home, said Powell Caesar, spokesman for Cuyahoga County Coroner Frank Miller. ...

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Benny Powell, Count Basie Trombonist, Dies at 80

Source: AAJ Staff
July 4, 2010

Benny Powell, a trombonist who performed or recorded with everyone from Frank Sinatra to Screamin' Jay Hawkins but who was best known for his long tenure with Count Basie's big band, died on June 26 in New York. He was 80. He died in a Manhattan hospital, apparently of a heart attack, shortly after undergoing spinal surgery, said Devra Hall Levy, a family spokeswoman. Mr. Powell spent most of his career as a sideman, but he made the most of ...

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Ilene Woods, Voice of Disney's Cinderella, Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
July 2, 2010

Ilene Woods, a singer who provided the voice of Cinderella for Walt Disney's 1950 animated film, died Thursday at age 81.

A native of Portsmouth, N.H., Woods was a radio star as a teenager. As a favor to songwriters Mack David and Jerry Livingston, she made demo recordings of “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo," “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" and “So This is Love" in 1948. The songwriters made their pitch to Walt Disney, who had already auditioned more than 300 ...

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Joe Vito Funeral / Wake / Memorial Services Info: Chicago Jazz/Caberet Pianist Dies at 79

Source: JAZZzology by Richard Watters
July 2, 2010

Longtime Chicago Jazz pianist Joe “Vito" Vitaterna passes away at age 79...he was a fifty (50) year member of the American Federation of Musicians, Local 10-208. A Chicago native, Joseph Vito began studying the piano and accordion at the age of seven; he later also studied the clarinet. After graduating from Mt. Carmel High School in 1947, he served in the Navy during the Korean conflict. While in the Navy, Vito became interested in jazz which he studied while completing ...

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Benny Powell Memorial Service Info

Source: Inverted Garden by Eric Benson
July 1, 2010

On Monday, July 12, New York's jazz community will gather at Saint Peter's Church on Lexington Avenue to celebrate the life of the late trombonist Benny Powell. Saint Peter's is known as the “Jazz Church," having a dedicated jazz ministry and a long tradition of hosting memorial services for the city's departed musical greats.

Info from DevraDoWrite (Devra Hall Levy), via Rifftides: The funeral will be held July 12, 7 PM Saint Peter's Church

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