Obituary News

Herb Ellis Guitarist with Oscar Peterson Trio Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
March 31, 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 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 been changes ...

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Herb Ellis Dies at 88; Jazz Guitarist

Source: Michael Ricci
March 30, 2010

He was perhaps best known for his work with the Oscar Peterson Trio but also played with Jimmy Dorsey and Ella Fitzgerald during his long and varied career. 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 at his home in Los Angeles, said his son, Mitch. During his long and varied career, Ellis played with Jimmy Dorsey and ...

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Herb Ellis, 1921-2010

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
March 30, 2010

Herb Ellis died last night at home in Los Angeles. He was 88 years old and had Alzheimer's disease. Ellis was most celebrated for his guitar playing with the Oscar Peterson Trio that also included bassist Ray Brown. For more than half a century, he was one of a handful of guitarists recognized as masters of the instrument. Musicians of several generations cherished him as a colleague. A few of them were fellow guitarists Barney Kessel, Joe Pass, Charlie Byrd ...

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Composer Paul Dunlop Dies

Source: All About Jazz
March 30, 2010

Paul Dunlap, a composer whose scores included such sci-fi and horror classics as “The Angry Red Planet" and “I Was a Teenage Werewolf," died of natural causes March 11 in Palm Springs, Calif. He was 90. Dunlap launched his film-scoring career with a 1950 Sam Fuller film, “The Baron of Arizona," and did four more for the director: “The Steel Helmet," “Park Row," “Shock Corridor" and “The Naked Kiss." But he was best known for his music for low-budget horror ...

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German Jazz Player Peter Herbolzheimer Dies at 74

Source: All About Jazz
March 29, 2010

Peter Herbolzheimer, a musician and big band leader who helped promote jazz in Germany, has died at 74. The head of the German Music Council, Peter Ortmann, told the ddp news agency that Herbolzheimer died Saturday in Cologne following a long illness. Herbolzheimer was born in 1935 in Bucharest, Romania, and moved to Germany in 1951. A trombonist who played with a number of international musicians, he went on to become the musical director of Germany's national youth jazz orchestra ...

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Peter Gowland Innovative Glamour Photographer

Source: Michael Ricci
March 29, 2010

Peter Gowland, whose exuberant, sun-drenched swimsuit photos and self-designed large-format cameras helped define glamour photography for six decades, has died. He was 93. Gowland died March 17 at his Pacific Palisades home of complications from surgery for a broken hip, said his wife of 68 years, Alice. The son of actors Gibson Gowland and Sylvia Andrew, Gowland was born in Hollywood on April 3, 1916, and grew up on motion picture sets. After attending Hollywood High School, he worked as ...

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Drummer-Actor Bernard 'Bunchy' Johnson Dies

Source: All About Jazz
March 29, 2010

Drummer and actor Bernard “Bunchy" Johnson, died of a heart attack March 21. He was 58.

Johnson, a native of New Orleans, had just finished filming scenes for David Simon's new HBO series, “Treme," which was shot in his childhood neighborhood. Nicknamed “Bunchy" because of his size, Johnson's feature acting credits included “Monster's Ball," “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans," and “Love Song for Bobby Long." On TV, he appeared in Fox's “K-Ville." He also appeared in Off Broadway's ...

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John Ciambotti Bass Player for Rock Band Clover Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
March 28, 2010

John Ciambotti, bass player for the 1970s Bay Area rock band Clover, which backed Elvis Costello on his debut album, and a session musician for acclaimed folk-rockers including Lucinda Williams, John Prine and Carlene Carter, died Wednesday in Glendale. He was 67. Ciambotti, who became a chiropractor specializing in musicians' injuries, apparently died from an abdominal aneurysm after surgery for an unspecified condition, a spokeswoman at his Glendale office said Friday. As a member of Clover, Ciambotti plugged away for ...

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