Results for "Obituary"

Bob Florence L.A. Times Obituary

May 20, 2008

SKILLFUL MUSIC MAN: Bob Florence was a pianist, composer and masterful arranger who led the popular Bob Florence Limited Edition big band in L.A. He was respected both as a professional and “as a human being," one musician said. Bob Florence, a pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader who won a Grammy and two Emmy awards in ...

Bob Florence, Jazz Composer, Big Band Leader, Dies at 75

May 18, 2008

Legendary jazz composer, arranger and Big Band leader Bob Florence, who won a Grammy and two Emmy awards during his long career, died Thursday at his home in Thousand Oaks. His death came five days before his 76th birthday. Florence was widely acknowledged as a dominant force in Big Band music, keeping the genre alive with ...

Vibes for Walt: Walt Dickerson, R.I.P.

May 18, 2008

Jazz and Fine Wine/ Robert Mondavi's "Time" Has Come

May 17, 2008

Powerful ambassador for California wine. One of the best-known figures in American viticulture, had little formal training in making wine. His exile from the family business became the stuff of legend. Robert Mondavi, the pioneering Napa Valley vintner whose drive and salesmanship revolutionized the way the world thought about California wine, died peacefully Friday at his ...

John Rutsey Rush Drummer

May 16, 2008

Original Rush Drummer John Rutsey Dies John Rutsey, a founding member of the seminal Canadian rock band Rush, has died, his family announced. He was 55. Rutsey played drums with Rush from 1968 to 1974, as well as on the band's eponymous debut album, but departed soon afterwards, apparently due to a lifelong illness stemming from ...

The Legacy of Bob Florence

May 16, 2008

Arranger, composer Bob Florence died today in Southern California at 1:04 PM, May 15, following a lengthy hospital stay. He had been fighting pneumonia for some time and all his recent engagements had been cancelled. Bob Florence had garnered national and international acclaim as a jazz composer, arranger, bandleader, keyboardist, accompanist, and educator, and was slated ...

Warren Cowan Star Publicist Dies

May 15, 2008

Legendary Hollywood press agent Warren Cowan, who represented such stars as Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman and Frank Sinatra, has died. (Pictured on left with his wife Barbara) Warren Cowan & Associates spokeswoman Jazmine Vicenty confirmed early Thursday that Cowan had died. She declined to give other details, he was 87. The trade paper Daily Variety reported ...

Ilyas Malayev, Uzbek Musician and Poet

May 14, 2008

Ilyas Malayev, a musician and poet renowned in Uzbekistan and transplanted to Queens, where he was a legend among fellow Bukharan Jews, died on Friday May 2, 2008 in Flushing. He was 72 and lived in Forest Hills. The cause was pancreatic cancer, said Lana Levitin, his manager. Before emigrating from his native land in Central ...

Robert Rauschenberg Pioneer of Pop Art

May 13, 2008

Pop artist Robert Rauschenberg dies in Fla. at 82 Robert Rauschenberg, whose use of odd and everyday articles earned him a reputation as a pioneer in pop art but whose talents spanned the worlds of painting, sculpture and dance, has died, his gallery representative said today. He was 82. Rauschenberg died Monday, said Jennifer Joy, his ...

Larry Levine "Wall of Sound" Engineer

May 13, 2008

Larry Levine: Gold Star recording engineer who played a crucial role in the building of Phil Spector's “Wall of Sound" Larry Levine, the recording engineer who helped translate the grandiose sonic vision of record producer Phil Spector into some of the biggest-selling and most influential recordings of the rock era, died Thursday, on his 80th birthday, ...