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Graciela, the First Lady of Afro-Cuban Jazz, Passes at 94
Source:
Kim Smith Public Relations
Graciela, the legendary First Lady of Afro-Cuban Jazz, has passed at the age of 94 at New York Cornell-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City at 7:58 am, Wednesday, April 07, 2010. A pioneer in music, as a black Cuban woman, in a so-called mans world she opened doors for all those who followed her. She performed around the world, recording and sharing the stage with her foster brother Machito (Frank Grillo) and brother-in-law, Mario Bauza (originator of the genre Afro-Cuban ...
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Eddie Johnson Chicago South-Side Jazz Saxman Dies
Source:
JAZZzology by Richard Watters
Eddie Johnson (Edwin “Eddie" Johnson) a Chicago South-side jazz legend passed away this morning April 7th, 2010...born December 11, 1920 in Napoleonville, Louisiana, was a jazz and blues tenor saxophonist. Images of Eddie: on left the 1950s and on right the 1970s. In 1946, Johnson joined trumpeter Cootie Williams and His Orchestra, appearing on several Capitol and Majestic recordings until leaving to join Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five. He also played with Ella Fitzgerald. In 1981 and 1999 he ...
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Mike Zwerin, Jazz Critic and Author, is Dead at 79
Source:
Michael Ricci
Mike Zwerin, a jazz trombonist who became a prominent jazz critic and author, died Friday in Paris after a long illness. He was 79. When he was 18, nervously sitting in with Art Blakeys group at Mintons Playhouse, in Harlem, Mr. Zwerin was noticed by the trumpeter Miles Davis, who complimented the young player and used him briefly in his nonet at the Royal Roost, a New York club. Mr. Zwerin later played with the big bands of Maynard Ferguson ...
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Eugene Allen White House Butler from Truman Through Reagan
Source:
Michael Ricci
Eugene Allen, a White House butler who served presidents from Harry S. Truman through Ronald Reagan, has died. He was 90. Allen died of renal failure Wednesday at a hospital in Takoma Park, Md., the Washington Post reported. Allen, who was black, started at the White House in 1952, when racial segregation prohibited him from using public restrooms in his native state of Virginia. When he left the White House in 1986 after 34 years, he had witnessed defining moments ...
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John Bunch, 1921-2010
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
Jazz this week lost John Bunch, a pianist whose imagination and adaptability kept him in demand for more than 60 years. Establishing his career in New York following his World War Two military service, Bunch slid smoothly from swing into bop and remained a reliable sideman and soloist who incorporated aspects of both eras in a personal approach of great flexibility. He was as comfortable and effective with Benny Goodman as he was with Wes Montgomery. To read Nate Chinen's ...
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John Forsythe Actor Known for TV Series 'Bachelor Father,' 'Charlie's Angels' And 'Dynasty'
Source:
Michael Ricci
John Forsythe, the suave actor with the silvery hair and mellifluous voice who was familiar to millions for his roles on the popular television series “Bachelor Father," “Charlie's Angels" and “Dynasty," died Thursday. He was 92. Forsythe, who had heart bypass surgery in 1979 and was hospitalized for colon cancer in 2006, died at his home in the Santa Barbara County town of Santa Ynez from complications of pneumonia, publicist Harlan Boll said. Skilled at both comedy and drama, the ...
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Mike Zwerin, Gone at 79
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
Last summer, I had the privilege of presenting the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award of the Jazz Journalists Association to Mike Zwerin, my successor in the chain of winners of that honor. Mike was unable to make the trip from his home in France and accepted in absentia. That missed opportunity meant that I will never have the pleasure of a personal meeting with a cherished colleague. Mike died early this morning in a Paris hospital at the age of 79, ...
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Jazz Critic Mike Zwerin, Miles Davis Protege, Dies at Age 79
Source:
Michael Ricci
Mike Zwerin, a jazzman who got his first break jamming with Miles Davis a half-century ago, has died aged 79. Zwerin was a trombonist who became the Paris-based jazz critic for the International Herald Tribune and later for Bloomberg News. He died at 3 a.m. local time in a Paris hospital after a long illness, his family said. He was the author of the memoirs Close Enough for Jazz and The Parisian Jazz Chronicles among others. In the books, his ...
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