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 bandleader. His slogan was “Have horn will travel”. For twenty years he was a member of the Lenny Riccardi Orchestra which performed from the ’40s into the 1970s around Tessitore’s native New York State.
His own bands included the Dixie Chaps, and Pleasure. For many years he could be heard at The Bilmar Hotel in Treasure Island Florida. With the same spirit that made him a proud member of the Teamster’s union he was a loyal member of his local Dixieland society.
