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Merl Saunders: 2/14/34-10/24/08
Merl Saunders Washington :: 02/14/34 - 10/24/08 Merl Saunders by Bob Minkin Merl Saunders was born Merl Saunders Washington (he dropped the “Washington" for show biz purposes) in San Mateo, California on February 14, 1934; he passed away early this morning (October 24, 2008) at Kaiser Hospital in San Francisco. Saunders grew up in San Francisco ...
Peter Levinson, 1934-2008
Peter Levinson, the publicist with a parallel career as a biographer of music and show business figures, died yesterday in a fall in his house in Malibu, California. He was seventy-four. Levinson had been suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease, which robbed him of his voice but did not leave him incommunicado. Through the use of a ...
Peter J. Levinson Publicist and Biographer of Big-Band Legends Dies
Peter J. Levinson, a veteran music industry publicist who worked with some of the leading names of the big band era and later wrote biographies of three of them, has died. He was 74. Levinson died Tuesday at his Malibu home of injuries sustained in a fall, according to publicist Dale Olson. He was diagnosed with ...
Dave McKenna RIP
That grim parade that Bill Crow mentioned a couple of postings ago shows no sign of running out of marchers. The latest major jazz artist to go is Dave McKenna. The pianist died this morning at the age of 78. His family posted the announcement on his web site, which includes a good biography. YouTube has ...
Dave McKenna: Master Jazz Pianist Dies
Dave McKenna was widely regarded as one of the all-time legends of the jazz piano, but often shunned the spotlight to live and work on the Cape. McKenna, who was 78 when he died yesterday in Pennsylvania from lung cancer, is widely regarded among jazz musicians as one of the best jazz pianists ever to play. ...
Dave McKenna: May 30, 1930 - October 18, 2008
From Dave McKenna's website: It is with great sadness that we let all of Dave's many fans know that he passed away on the morning of October 18. Dave's health had been deteriorating for some time and his death was peaceful, which brings great comfort to all of us who knew and loved him. In time ...
Jazz, in Black and White
The Sept. 20 obituary of Richard M. Sudhalter discussed his book Lost Chords: White Musicians and Their Contribution to Jazz, 1915-1945. The obituary failed to mention that the book was widely praised for correcting the notion that the roots of jazz were only in African American culture and that its development was virtually without significant contribution ...
Neal Hefti is Gone
The last thing I want is for Rifftides to become a death watch. Nonetheless, as James Moody says his grandmother once told him, “Folks is dyin' what ain't never died before." Or, to use Bill Crow's words in the subject line of a message today about the arranger, composer and former trumpet player Neal Nefti, “The ...
William J. Claxton, 80; Made 'Jazz for the Eyes'
As the premier chronicler of West Coast jazz, photographer William Claxton took his subjects out of the shadows and into the light. Instead of posing musicians such as Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins in dark, seedy-looking clubs, wreathed in cigarette smoke, he photographed them on golden beaches, riding on carousels, strolling in the Mojave ...
Neal Hefti Former Big Band Trumpeter, Arranger and Composer Dies
Neal Hefti, a former big band trumpeter, arranger and composer who worked with Woody Herman and Count Basie and later composed the memorable themes for the movie “The Odd Couple" and the campy hit TV series “Batman," has died. He was 85. Hefti died Saturday at his home in Toluca Lake, said his son, Paul. He ...
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