Marvin “Doc” Holladay died on November 25th, 2024. He was 95 years old. He was a baritone saxophonist and ethnomusicologist. After working as a freelance jazz artist in New York City he obtained a PhD in Ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University. He founded the jazz department at Oakland University in Michigan, the first of its kind in the state. He has album credits with Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Nat King Cole, Jimmy Smith, Oscar Peterson, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and Dizzy Gillespie.
He performed with Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Billy Eckstine, Quincy Jones, Duke Ellington, and JC Heard. His studies, which began with an interest in seeking out the African roots of jazz, gave him an appreciation of ethnic musics from around the world. He wrote a book about working in jazz and jazz academia titled Life on the Fence. He retired to Ecuador.
