Chicago based jazz bassist John Bany died on 5 November 2023, he was 81. He was the fifth in a generational family legacy of bassists and tuba players. He studied under bassists at the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and earned a degree in music from Miami University, in Ohio. After winning an Air Force talent contest he toured with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra in the 60s and would go on to play or record with Bob Perna, Eddie Higgins, Chuck Hedges, Joe Venuti, The Swinget, Tom Saunders, Bud Freeman, Jim Beebe, Bobby Lewis, and Paul Asaro. He also released albums as leader. He performed at many festivals around the Great Lakes and Midwest over decades and was appreciated for his singing as well as playing bass. He wrote about jazz bass for Bass World and served as editor of the International Society of Bassists magazine between 1984 and 1988.
