The Final Chorus

Annabelle Allan Short, known professionally as Annie Ross, died on July 21 in New York City, four days ahead of her 90th Birthday. She was

Lisa Canjura-Clayton passed away on May 31st, she was 57. She was a prominent member of the San Francisco area LGBT community. At every stage

Johnny Mandel died on June 29th at 94. As an 11 year old a visit from an older cousin who was a member of Harry

Chris Barham, who died on June 19th at 87, is most famous in his home country for taking an iconic photograph of Queen Elizabeth on

Bassist Jerry Bruno (January 10, 1920 – June 22, 2020) graduated at the age of 100. He was born in Rochester, New York into a

Pianist Freddy Cole died on June 27th in Atlanta, he was 88. Born in 1931 in Chicago, he had called Atlanta home for the last

Dame Vera Lynn, “Forces’ Sweetheart” of WWII Britain died at home on June 18th, she was 103. Forces’ Sweetheart is an honorific given to women

Gene R. Maurice passed away on April 8, 2020 in Alameda California, he was 93. After service in the Pacific during World War II on

Bob Pilsbury passed away on May 12th in Bedford Massachusetts, he was 93. Bob was the pianist for the New Black Eagle Jazz Band from

Robert Tuttle Morris Frost died on March 25th of pneumonia complications in California, he was 89. Born in 1930 in Washington DC he was raised

Michael Cogswell, founding Executive Director of the Louis Armstrong House Museum died on April 20th at 66 years old. The cause was complications from bladder

Ian Whitcomb, a consummate entertainer and storyteller who shared his gift in song, on the screen, on the page, and on the radio died on

The passing of trombone player and bandleader Bob Mielke at age 93 on April 17th was the result of age and fragility, not the pandemic.

Influential saxophonist Lee Konitz died on April 15th in Greenwich Village. His son confirmed the cause was pneumonia after a recent diagnosis of Covid-19, he

Cornetist Peter Ecklund died on April 8th after a long battle with Parkinson’s. In the mid 1960s while still at Yale he began jamming with

New York jazz cornetist John Bucher died on Sunday April 5th from heart complications, he was 89 years old. After graduating from Amherst in 1952

Beloved traditional jazz banjoist and “Manhattan Minstrel” Eddy Davis died of Covid-19 on April 7th. He contracted the virus while visiting an ER after a

Ellis Marsalis, Jr., New Orleans, pianist, educator, NEA Jazz Master and the patriarch of a musical family, succumbed to the Covid-19 coronavirus on April 1st.

A true legend of jazz guitar, John “Bucky” Pizzarelli died of Coronavirus on April 1st, he was 94. He came from a musical family in

One of the earliest second-generation ragtime performers, Gale “Gaslight” Foehner died on February 9th this year. He was 91. His career as a ragtime pianist

“The Man on the Street”, Mal Sharpe, died on March 10th, he was 83. As he told it he moved to San Francisco after seeing

Sterling Nelson, founder of what one national columnist hailed as “the best jazz festival anywhere!”, died February 22, just two days short of his ninety-first

Guitarist Charlie Baty died on March 6th at 66. In 1976 he founded Little Charlie and The Nightcats with harmonica player and vocalist Rick Estrin.

William Pillucere, Jr., known as “Billy”, was a professional bassist who specialized in classic jazz and could be heard at many festivals, particularly around Florida.

British Trad banjoist Louis Lince died  February 3rd after a brief battle with cancer, he was 77. His career in music began in Skiffle groups

Bob Adams, a banjo player and the founder of Ohio’s Buffalo Ridge Jazz Band passed away on January 17th, he was 82. His last public

Lucien Barbarin, a hardworking trombonist and native son of New Orleans succumbed to prostate cancer on Thursday, he was 63. He was diagnosed last March

From Larry Melton: When I read that Buck Henry died on January 8th, I remembered fondly the night we first met in Sedalia at a

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

Thomas Lee Duncan, the eponymous Dr. Dubious, died on November 29th, he was 81. A clarinet player, he was born in Cleveland, OH but relocated

Dr. John V. Phelan, Jr. passed away on November  28th in Massachusetts, he was 95. He served in the Navy during WWII and reenlisted into

Trombonist Roy Martin Brewer, Jr. passed away on September 28, 2019, he was 89. His father was a major figure in the Hollywood union movement

Cornetist Allan Kennedy Colter, of  Guelph, Ontario passed away on July 20th, he was 91. He played with the Cameo Dixieland Jazz Band and other

Trombonist, vibraphonist, composer, and bandleader George Masso died Tuesday, October 22, 2019, he was 92. The son of a trumpet-playing bandleader, George Masso’s musical education

Nick Tosches, a music journalist who wrote several important biographies as well seven novels died on Sunday, October 20th, he was 69. He began selling

Nathaniel Holmes Morison, III, of Welbourne, Middleburg, Virginia, died October 10th, he was 83. After completing his schooling he returned to Welbourne to run the

Joe Lentino joined the heavenly band on September 20, 2019, two weeks and a day shy of his 81st birthday. He was a trombone player

We belatedly note the passing of the excellent trombonist Jimmy Haislip, of St. Louis, who died on December 31, 2017 at 81. He started his

Bill Evans, passed away on September 10th after a battle with cancer, he was 83. In the 1950s he was a founding member of the

Tom Pletcher, the leading interpretter of Bix Beiderbecke of his generation died in August at 83. Tom Pletcher’s ties to jazz went back two generations.

There have been few more important, or more successful advocates of Dixieland jazz in the last half-century than cornetist Jim Cullum, Jr. who died on

For several decades, now, Ted Shafer has been something of an institution in traditional jazz in the San Francisco Bay Area. The message on his

Jazz revival clarinet and saxophonist Bob Wilber, who explored the sound of Sidney Bechet, and at times stood beside him died August 4th, he was

Art Neville, a star of New Orleans music through several dramatic evolutions died July 22, he was 81. Known as Poppa Funk he grew up

João Gilberto, Brazilian guitarist, vocalist, and bossa nova pioneer died July 6th, he was 88. Born in Bahia, Brazil he began guitar early and was

Gerald L. “Jerry” Fuller, 89, passed away peacefully on June 24, 2019. He was an important traditional jazz clarinetist who made numerous television appearances as

Dave Bartholomew was born in Edgard Louisiana but soon moved with his parents to New Orleans where he took music lessons from Peter Davis who

Paul Howard Nelson, Navy flight navigator, salesman, business leader, photographer, author, and lecturer on Ragtime and Early Jazz, passed away on May 24th at the

Sol Yaged, who died May 16th at 96, was inspired to pick up the clarinet at age 12 by a Benny Goodman performance he heard

Doris Day, one of the most popular stars of song and screen during the 1950s and ’60s died on May 13th. She was 97. After

Norma Miller, who died Sunday, May 5th at age 99, grew up in an apartment overlooking the Savoy Ballroom. She could watch the dancers from

Chris Albertson, biographer of Bessie Smith, was found dead in his Manhattan home on April 24. He was 87. Born in Reykjavik, Iceland, he discovered

Chuck Cecil, whose radio show “The Swingin’ Years” ran for decades, died on April 30th, he was 97. He attended high school with actresses Jane

Bert Barr, who founded The Uptown Lowdown Jazz Band in 1971, passed away of cancer on April 17th, he was 74. Inspired by Turk Murphy,

Earl Mckee, a founding member, tubist, and singer for the High Sierra Jazz Band died on April 11th at age 87, on the eve of

Sam Pilafian, who was a tubist with a wide ranging performing career and a professor at several respected universities died of colon cancer April 5th

Jim Beatty, 1934 – 2019, a world-famous clarinetist and soprano saxophonist, passed away March 12, 2019. He was 84.  He was given a clarinet for

Ethel Ennis, Baltimore’s “First Lady of Jazz”, died February 17th at age 86. Over a 70 year career as a singer, she appeared with Louis

André Previn, a musical polymath, died February 28th in Manhattan, he was 89. He was a composer of film music, conductor, pianist and the music

James Dapogny, who has led the Chicago Jazz Band since 1976 died in the early morning hours of March 6th, 2019 after a long battle

Paul Reid, who died suddenly this week, was a beloved piano player and an all-around entertainer. Over a long career, he played solo piano in bars,

William (Bill) P. Taggart, 77, of Andover Township NJ passed away on January 4th after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease. He was the tuba

Dolores “Dee” Parker Morgan, 99, on December 17th. She won an amateur contest in 1939 and joined the Rhythm Debs, a female trio that toured

Urban Clifford “Urbie” Green, 92, on December 31 in the Poconos.  Known for his smooth, warm, mellow tone, and lyrical phrasing, he was called a

Grenoldo Frazier, 65, passed away in his Wilmington, NC home on December 30. A native of Wilmington, he moved to New York in 1972 and

Mike Hart organized the first Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival in 1978 as a free traditional jazz event inspired by the Sacramento Dixieland Jazz Jubilee. Though

Ed. Note: If you have a picture of Karen, even in a crowd, please email it to [email protected] for use on this post and in