The Final Chorus

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