Tom Tucker of Cornet Chop Suey has died.

Tom Tucker passed away on July 2nd, he was 86. According to his family obituary “his best life began” when after retirement he became a member of the St Louis Jazz Club and started playing his cornet around St Louis. He founded Cornet Chop Suey with Brian Casserly in 1996. Within a few years it became one of the most prominent bands on the scene, playing 215 jazz festivals, as many as eight in a year, 13 international jazz cruises, and recording 10 CDs.