Obituary News

Rob McConnell (1935-2010)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
May 4, 2010

Rob McConnell, a revered Canadian bandleader, valve trombonist, arranger and composer whose swinging versions of standards raised him to near cult status among his many global fans, died May 1st in Toronto. He was 75.

In an age when many big bands are viewed today as uneven relics, McConnell's crisp arrangements and straight-shooter stage presence helped him build a significant following. Part of McConnell's success was his ability to stand still and deliver what fans wanted. By clinging to a ...

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Lynn Redgrave Dies at 67 After Breast Cancer Battle

Source: Michael Ricci
May 3, 2010

Actress Lynn Redgrave died Sunday night at her Connecticut home with her three children and other friends present, her rep tells the Associated Press. The younger sister of Vanessa Redgrave had battled breast cancer for years after finding a lump in 2002. “She lived, loved and worked harder than ever before," her children said in a statement. “The endless memories she created as a mother, grandmother, writer, actor and friend will sustain us for the rest of our lives." The ...

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Rob McConnell: 1935-2010

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
May 3, 2010

Another significant Canadian contributor to jazz is gone. Barely more than a week after Gene Lees died comes news that Rob McConnell lost his long struggle with cancer yesterday in a Toronto hospital. A valve trombonist, arranger, composer and leader, McConnell made his Boss Brass one of the significant big bands of the latter part of the twentieth century and into the first decade of this one.

Here he is with the Boss Brass on a visit to the US ...

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Remembering Herb Ellis Memorial April 30th

Source: Michael Ricci
May 2, 2010

Herb Ellis, a jazz guitarist perhaps best known for his work with the influential Oscar Peterson Trio, has died. He was 88. Ellis, who had Alzheimer's disease, died Sunday morning March 28th at his home in Los Angeles, said his son, Mitch. During his long and varied career, Ellis played with Jimmy Dorsey and Ella Fitzgerald. He also worked as a studio musician and played in the bands of several television shows, including Steve Allen's and Merv Griffin's. There have ...

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Folk Music Singer and Actress Susan Reed Dubbed 'America's Concert Favorite'

Source: All About Jazz
May 2, 2010

Folk music thrush and actress Susan Reed died April 25 of natural causes in Greenport, N.Y. She was 84.

Reed was introduced to folk music by members of Ireland's Abbey Players, who would spend time with her family during visits to the United States. She went on to star at Cafe Society in Gotham for two years and was a regular at Carnegie Hall, Town Hall and Los Angeles' Wilshire Ebell Theater. Life magazine saluted Reed in a 1955 cover ...

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Dorothy Provine Singer, Actress Star of "The Roaring Twenties" Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
May 2, 2010

Dorothy Provine, who played the singing, high-kicking flapper in the early-1960s TV series “The Roaring Twenties" and appeared in the all-star movie comedy “It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," has died. She was 75. Provine, a longtime resident of Bainbridge Island, Wash., died of emphysema Sunday at Hospice of Kitsap County in Bremerton, said her husband, Robert Day. A former University of Washington drama major, Provine landed the title role in the low-budget 1958 gangster film “The Bonnie Parker ...

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Italian Screenwriter Furio Scarpelli, Co-Wrote 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' and 'The Postman,'

Source: Michael Ricci
April 28, 2010

Oscar-nominated screenwriter Furio Scarpelli, who co-wrote some of the best Italian comedies of the postwar period and who ventured into the spaghetti- western genre with the “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," had died, his family said Wednesday. He was 90. Scarpelli died at his home in Rome shortly after midnight, his son, Matteo Scarpelli, told the Associated Press. He had long suffered from heart problems. During a decades-long, prolific partnership with Agenore Incrocci, who went by the name ...

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Gene Lees, Jazz Critic and Historian, Dies at 82

Source: Michael Ricci
April 27, 2010

Gene Lees, a prolific jazz critic and historian who approached his subject with a journalist's rigor and an insider's understanding, died on Thursday at his home in Ojai, Calif. He was 82. The apparent cause was a stroke, said Leslie A. Westbrook, a family spokeswoman. The author of numerous books, Mr. Lees was not just an observer of the music scene, he was also a participant. He was an accomplished lyricist whose credits included “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars," the ...

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