Jack Sheldon West Coast Jazz Trumpeter and voice of School House Rock has Died.

Jack Sheldon, a top West Coast Jazz trumpet player who went on to a television career died on December 27th, he was 88. Several generations will remember him as the voice on "I'm Just a Bill" and "Conjunction Junction" from the cartoon series School House Rock. He was the musical director on the Merv Griffin Show, also serving as Griffin's sidekick. His musical legacy has been favorably compared to that of Chet Baker. In 1999 he told jazz archivist Monk Rowe that he was inspired to pursue a musical career by the excitement he felt first hearing Clyde McCoy's "Sugar Blues".  He began to play professionally at 13, aided by the absence of many musicians for service during WWII. He continued to play during his own service in the Air Force during the late 40s. After discharge he quickly found his way into the music industry. He had a desire to stay close to home where he was also a youth swim instructor and found many compatriots on the West Coast with a similar mindset. Beginning in the mid 50s he released many albums and was a vital part of the West Coast Jazz movement playing a "cool" form of bebop focused more on arrangements than wild improvisation. He performed regularly with all the stars of the movement including Stan Kenton, Art Pepper, Gerry Mulligan, and with other jazz legends including Count Basie. In addition to his own albums, the last released in 2007, he played o