The Final Chorus

VIVIAN ABRAHAM, 83, on Sept. 20 in Sacramento, California. Trained as a bookkeeper, Vivian spent over 40 years as a volunteer and later staff member

DARLA CASTRO, 80, on Aug. 12 in Three Rivers, California. Wife of Charlie Castro, longtime drummer with the High Sierra Jazz Band. She often traveled

ARMIN “Jack” MEILAHN, 81, on September 15, Naperville, IL following a brief battle with liver cancer. A charter member of Chicago’s Bill Bailey’s Banjos in

ROBERT LYNN, 94, on August 30 in Scottsdale, AZ. Originally from Derry, PA, Bob Lynn had been involved in jazz in multiple roles throughout his

LARRY ELGART, 95, on August 29 in Sarasota, Florida. Playing the alto saxophone, he began traveling with some of the biggest-name bands of the day

JOHN ABERCROMBIE, 72, of heart failure on August 22 in Courtlandt Manor, NY. Called “a guitarist of stylistic flexibility and uncompromising musical vision,” he was

BEA WAIN, 100, of congestive heart failure on August 17 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Started singing on the radio at the age of 6, became

RICHARD FAZIO, 77, on June 12 in Boulder City, NV. A master pianist and vocalist, he performed with several U.S. Navy bands and the Sea

FRANK CAPP, 86, on September 12 in Studio City, Calif. A swinging drummer who found his initial fame playing with Stan Kenton’s Orchestra at the

PAUL OLIVER, 90, on August 15 in Oxfordshire, England. A British academician who wrote some of the first scholarly studies of the blues in the

GLEN CAMPBELL, 81, on August 8 in Nashville, TN after a lengthy and public battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Originally from Delight, Arkansas, he was a

BARBARA COOK, 89, from respiratory failure on August 8 in New York City. A singer and actress who first came to prominence in the 1950s

CHUCK LOEB, 61, on July 31 after suffering from cancer for several years. A versatile guitarist, composer and producer, he was best known for his

JOE THOMAS, 84, on July 26. As a child, he learned to play alto and soprano saxophone, trombone, flute and piano, and taught himself to

WILLIAM MITCHELL, 94, on June 29 in Placenta, California after suffering multiple injuries from a recent fall. A stellar ragtime pianist since 1950, he had

KAREN MELTON, 73, on June 29 in St, Louis, MO following a series of debilitating strokes. A diploma graduate of the Research Hospital School of

BIRCHALL SMITH, 90, on June 28 in Morgan Hill, Californa. While an undergraduate at Purdue University in 1947, was co-founder and the cornetist of the

GERI ALLEN, 60, on June 27 from cancer in Philadelphia. A pianist/composer/educator, she was a Guggenheim Fellow and Director of Jazz Studies at the University

MICHAEL REILLY, 67, from cancer on May 26 in Danville, Calif. Originally from Chicago, he had a long and varied career that took him from

RICHARD HAWK, 82, on March 4 from a heart attack in Overland Park, Kansas. A successful entrepreneur who headed numerous ventures in the fields of

GREGG ALLMAN, 69, due to liver cancer complications on May 27 in Savannah, Georgia. A founding member of the Allman Brothers band, he overcame family

JOHN CIESLAK, 81, from cardiovascular issues on May 19 in Scottsdale, AZ. A multi-instrumentalist, best known as a longtime member of Igor’s Jazz Cowboys. Garbed

DAVE PELL, 92, on May 8 in Canoga Park, California. Played in the big bands of Tony Pastor, Bobby Sherwood, and several others in his

JACK IMEL, 84 on April 30 in Springville, California. Tap-dancing marimba player, singer, and television producer with the Lawrence Welk Show for 25 years (1957-82).