The Final Chorus

Jazz critic W. Royal Stokes passed away on May 1, 2021, he was 90 years old.  He was a boogie woogie fan as a teenager

Bob Koester, founder of Chicago’s Delmark Records and operator of one of the most beloved record stores in the world died on May 12th, he

Andrew “Jazzman” Smith of White Bluff, TN passed on March 28, he was 83. He served his country honorably for 20 years in the US

Marek Boym passed March 31, a few days after his 80th birthday. I’ve been a lifelong Jazz enthusiast and, at age 76, considered myself fairly

Jack Bradley died on March 21, he was 87. He discovered Louis Armstrong recordings as a child in the 30s and 40s and would go

George Segal died March 23. 2021 near his Santa Rosa, California home. He was perhaps best known for the broad scope of his television and

Richard Karner, drummer for the Salty Dogs Jazz Band in the mid 1950’s, passed away at home, March 12. He was 85.   A native of Lafayette,

Chris Barber, one of the most important figures in the history of British jazz, and a pioneer of both the Trad Jazz and Skiffle crazes, 

A little over 30 years ago, Ted Huff and I met as a result of our mutual interest in jazz, both playing it as a

Well known sheet music collector and music aficionados Janice Cleary died February 8, 2021 in Omaha, Nebraska, she was 96. She had recently donated her

Trumpet player Robert “Bobby Tess” Tessitore, died peacefully at home on January 16, 2021, he was 85. Alongside his several other professions, Tessitore was a

Jazz guitarist Ron Anthony passed away on January 19th, he was 87. After picking up the guitar at 16 he quickly developed to a professional

Arnold Koch, the former manager of the Salt City Five (later the Salt City Six) died Jan. 13 at his home in Melrose, Mass. He

Warren W. Hicks died on Thursday January 7 2021, he was 89.  Hicks turned his love of classic jazz into a respected record auction business

British bandleader, pianist, and vintage jazz authority Keith Nichols passed away on January 21st in a London hospital, he was 75. He fell ill with

Samuel Louis Nestico died on January 17th, he was 96. He began writing arrangements while still in high school learning trombone in the school band.

Carol Leigh Whitman passed away on December 22, 2020 at age 86 in her home in Ansonia, CT. For the past nine years she suffered

Phyllis McGuire died on December 29th, she was 89. The youngest of the McGuire Sisters she was the star of the group, always seen in

Burt Wilson, trombonist and leader of the Silver Dollar Jazz Band died of Covid-19 on January 6th, he was 87. While in college he arranged

David “Red” Lehr died on January 5th, he was 83. He was from a musical family with his mother playing piano for their church and

Carol Leigh (Whitman), highly-regarded classic jazz vocalist, died December 22nd.  Carol was a consummate performer of both familiar and obscure 20’s jazz and blues tunes,

Alto Saxophonist and flautist Jeff Clayton died from Kidney cancer of December 17th. He was 66 years old. He trained on oboe and English horn

Sadly, Steve Radeck informs us that “Professor” Don Burns has died at the age of 81. Don was a familiar ragtime entertainer in western New

Jack Kuncl, 86, passed away December 7 from complications of Coved-19. He was best known as the banjoist with the Salty Dogs Jazz Band since

Joseph Brem, a past president of the Arizona Classic Jazz Society, passed away on November 22 in Scottsdale, AZ, he was 90 years old. A

Michael Brooks passed away at home in Newark, NJ on November 20, 2020. Born in 1935 his early career was spent as an editor and

We are saddened by the news of the passing of legendary drummer Viola Smith, who died October 21 at her home in Costa Mesa, California.

Ira Sullivan died of metastatic pancreatic cancer at home in Miami on September 21. He had performed for a couple of Pensacola JazzFests and had

Ragtime pianist Richard Eugene Kroeckel died October 11th, he was 75. Though he was born in Indianapolis most of his career was centered in Colorado.

Dr. Cleve Baker died on  August 12, 2020, he was 85 years old. He loved the history of ragtime and jazz and how it intersected

One of the most recognizable jazz writers of recent decades, Stanley Crouch, died on September 16th, he was 74. In 1979 he renounced the black

Dan Reid filled the lives of so many with his wisdom, his wit, his generosity and his love Daniel J. Reid, Jazz aficionado, true friend,

Trombonist, vocalist, and band leader Steve Yocum died of leukemia on September 4th, he was 69. Born in St. James, New York he started playing

A journalist and jazz promoter, David Booth Cooper died on August 15th, he was 87. Following in his grandfather’s footsteps he was a life long

Known for its musical heritage, Mason City has produced a number of successful performers and educators and is the site of the annual North Iowa

A lifelong “Friend of Jazz”, Al White passed away on July 20, 2020, at his home in Hot Springs, Ark., he was 92. With his

William (Bill) Howland Kenney III, died on July 26th, he was 80 years old. He was a professor at Kent State from 1966 on, teaching

Helen Elizabeth Jones Woods died in Florida of Coronavirus on July 25th, she was 96. As a little girl she was fascinated by the trombone

Dr. James McCauley Vandivier died on July 14th, he was 86. Over 48 years as a physician he took on leadership rolls within his field

Rudy Emilio Torrini, a jazz and aviation enthusiast well loved in the St. Louis area, succumbed to his illness on June 7, 2020, he was

Nora Louise Hulse, of Lawrence, Kansas passed away July 24, she was 88. Her mother had trained at Chicago’s American Conservatory of Music, so when

Bent Fabricius-Bjerre, who was known by his stage name Bent Fabric, died on July 28th, he was 95. He is remembered for the catchy hit

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