BILL MOODY, 76, on Jan. 12, at home in Vallejo California. The author of nonfiction books on jazz topics as well as a series of jazz pianist detective novels built around lead character Evan Horne. His works included Death of a Tenor Man, about Wardell Gray, and Looking for Chet Baker. He lived at times in Europe, Las Vegas, and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to teaching creative writing he was a jazz drummer and toured with Maynard Ferguson, Earl Hines, Lou Rawls, Junior Mance, and others. Recently he had performed in the bay area with Dick Conte, Dick Fregulia, and Terry Henry.
WILLIAM H. (Bill) HUGHES, 87, on Jan. 14, on Staten Island. Born in Dallas, Texas, he later moved with his family to Washington, D.C. and was studying to be a pharmacist when, in 1953, he was recruited into the Count Basie Orchestra. He came from a musical family and followed his father by playing trombone. He credited his wife of 65 years for encouraging him to make a go of it in music rather than pursue a safer avenue. “It hasn’t made me a millionaire,” he said “but it’s certainly had it’s rewards.”
Those awards included seeing the world as he traveled for 57 years with the Count Basie Orchestra before retiring in 2010. Over that time he performed and recorded with a Who’s Who of legendary vocalists including Billie Holiday, Sammy Davis Jr., Sarah Vaughan, Nat King Cole, Frank
