Tommy Dorsey
November 10, 1905 – November 26, 1956
Tommy Dorsey was a trombonist and band leader who came to prominence during jazz’s swing era. He was also the younger brother of another jazz great, Jimmy Dorsey with whom he found success as the Dorsey Brothers. Beginning his career in the Scranton Sirens at just 15, Dorsey backed such performers and Rudy Vallee and Paul Whiteman. He formed his first band in 1935 and began touring nationally. But as many big bands did in the aftermath of WW2, Dorsey broke up his band due to economics of the times. Dorsey also released numerous hit records during his career, including 17 that topped the charts. His biggest hit was “I’ll Never Smile Again” which featured Frank Sinatra on vocals. Tommy Dorsey, 51, died while choking in his sleep on November 26, 1956. Reports indicate that after eating a big meal, he took some sleeping pills and retired to bed. The dosage was apparently strong enough to not allow him to wake up while he choked to death.
O.C. Smith was an R&B and jazz vocalist whose recording career began with a cover of Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti” in 1955. In 1961, Smith was hired by Count Basie to sing lead in his band. He did so until 1965. Smith continued to perform and record on his own during and after that time, but didn’t strike gold until 1968 when his “Son Of Hickory Holler’s Tramp” reached #2 in the UK and landed in the U.S. top 40. He followed that up with “Little Green Apples,” which reached #2 on the U.S. pop chart, sold in excess of one million copies, and earned Smith a Grammy for song of the year in 1969. Smith continued to record records over the next two decades, many of which charted in either the U.S. or UK. In later years, he became a pastor and started his own church in Los Angeles. O.C. Smith was 69 when he passed away on November 23, 2001.
John Osnes was a beloved lounge pianist and singer who first came to prominence in New York City where he played standards and Broadway hits. Over the course of his career, he entertained at private functions held by the likes of Al Gore, Rupert Murdoch and Neil Simon. In 2005, Osnes moved to Los Angeles where he quickly turned The Piano Bar in Hollywood into a favorite entertainment destination for the city’s beautiful people. On November 22, 2008 while walking home from an engagement, Osnes allegedly got into an altercation with a driver he felt came to close to him while walking in a crosswalk. Words and anger ensued and Osnes was allegedly killed during a physical confrontation with the driver. Swedish rapper David Jassey was later arrested for the murder of Osnes.
Cabell Calloway
December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994
Cab Calloway was a popular scat singer whose all African American band was one of the most popular big bands of the ’30s and ’40s. He was also arguably the most dynamic performer of the era. Calloway began singing and learning music at a very young age, and although his parents disapproved, he started gravitating toward the sounds of jazz. After high school, he joined a traveling musical review that is sister, a bandleader herself, was involved with. When the tour ended in Chicago, Calloway stayed behind to further pursue his music career. It was there that he met Louis Armstrong who taught him the art of scat singing. By the ’30s, Calloway had one of the most popular bands in the country, thanks in part to his first hit single, 1931’s “Minnie The Moocher.” He was soon starring in several short reels, in which he could be seen doing what would in later generations be called Michael Jackson’s “moonwalk.” Over the course of the latter part of his career, Calloway continued to release popular records and made numerous appearances on television and film. Cab Calloway was 86 when he died on November 18, 1994 of a stroke he had had six months earlier.
Ruth Brown (Born Ruth Weston)
January 12, 1928 – November 17, 2007
Ruth Brown was an R&B singer who, like her idols, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington and Billie Holiday became one of popular music’s most important vocalists of her generation. So vital was she, that her young label at the time, Atlantic Records, would come to be known as “The House That Ruth Built.” After running away from home with trumpeter and future husband, Jimmy Brown, in 1945, Brown began singing in clubs in the Washington DC area. A local disc jockey caught her act and recommended her to Ahmet Ertegun at Atlantic. She soon signed to the fledgling label and began releasing a string of R&B hits that included “Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean,” “So Long,” “Oh What a Dream” and “I’ll Wait For You.” Brown stepped away from the business to raise her family during the ’60s, but came back strong during the mid ’70s when she starred in a Broadway musical, Black and Blue, which won her an Tony and a Grammy for the soundtrack. She also had a role on the sitcom, Hello Larry and in the John Waters film, Hairspray. Brown became and advocate for musicians’ rights during the late ’80s, and in 1993, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On November 17, 2006, Ruth Brown, 78, died of complications from a stroke and heart attack she had suffered the previous month.
Charles Ottaviano
January 3, 1942 – November 17, 2008
Charles Ottaviano was a the owner of Charlie O’s, a popular yet intimate jazz club located in the Van Nuys section of the San Fernando Valley, just north of Los Angeles. A musician himself, Ottaviano moved to Los Angeles from Buffalo in 1960. He opened the Van Nuys location as a restaurant in 1987, and then converted it to a jazz club in 2000. Charlie O’s became a favorite hangout for local jazz enthusiasts thanks in part, to early regular performers, Earl Palmer and John Heard. Charles Ottaviano was 66 when he died of a heart attack on November 17, 2008.
Jeff Clyne was a respected British jazz bassist whose career spanned some four decades. Over the course of his career, he played with Blossom Dearie, Ronnie Scott, Dudley Moore, Zoot Sims and many more. Clyne played in several combos during the ’70s. That list includes Nucleus, Turning Point and Isotope. He also worked as a jazz educator and bass instructor. Jeff Clyne was 72 when he died of a heart attack on November 16, 2009.
Bill Doggett
February 16, 1916 – November 13, 1996
Bill Doggett was a respected Jazz and R&B keyboardist who came to prominence in the late ’30s. During the early part of his career, he played for the Ink Spots and Louis Jordan. During the ’50s, Doggett formed his own band with whom he recorded a few hits, including “Honky Tonk” which sold over four million copies. He also worked as an arranger for some of music’s biggest names, including Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie and Louis Armstrong. Bill Doggett died of a heart attack at the age of 80.
Jerome Kern was a prolific American composer who has some 700 songs to his credit. Throughout his career he wrote such future standards as “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” “Ol’ Man River,” and “The Way You Look Tonight.” Kern’s long career found him mostly writing for the theater, penning songs for such classic shows as Roberta, Show Boat and Zigfield Follies. In many cases, he also scored the films that were based on his Broadway musicals. He won two Academy Awards for songs that appeared in films. On November 5, 1945, Kern, 60, suffered a cerebral hemmorhage while walking to a drugstore in New York City. He died as a result six days later.
Dick Katz was a jazz pianist and arranger who, throughout his career, played with the likes of Benny Carter, Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins. He landed a record deal with the legendary Atlantic Records in 1958. And in 1966, he co-founded Milestone Records, a respected label that released albums by the likes of McCoy Tyner, Paul Bley and Rollins. The label was absorbed by Fantasy Records in 1972. Katz was also a respected music educator and writer, penning numerous jazz-related essays and liner notes throughout his 60-year career. Dick Katz was 85 when he died of lung cancer on November 10, 2009.
Mariam Makeba was a Grammy winning South African singer who came to prominence during the 1960s. It was Harry Belafonte who was instrumental in her coming to America to land a record deal and continue her career. Makeba received a Grammy for Best Folk Recording in 1966. Exiled from South Africa for many years due to her outspoken political beliefs, Makeba spent many years living in various places, praised for her goodwill gestures, at one point even being a Guinian delegate to the United Nations. In 1990, Nelson Mandela convinced her to come back to South Africa. On November 9, 2008, Miriam Makeba, 76, suffered a heart attack while performing her biggest hit, “Pata Pata” at a human rights concert in Italy. She died as a result the next day.
Stacy Rowles
September 11, 1955 – November 5, 2009
Stacy Rowles was a respected trumpet and flugelhorn player and a singer, who made a name for herself throughout the Los Angeles jazz scene. The daughter or noted composer and pianist, Jimmy Rowles, she started playing the piano at age six, but eventually moved over to the trumpet. Throughout her career, Rowles played with Maiden Voyage, Jazz Tap Ensemble and the Jazz Birds. She made a handful of her own albums for Concord and Delos Records, including 1984’s Tell it Like it Is, which some consider to be her best. Stacy Rowles, 54, died on November 5, 2009 of injuries sustained in an earlier car accident.
Gaetano “Guy” Lombardo
June 19, 1902 – November 5, 1979
Guy Lombardo was an internationally famous band leader whose yearly New Year’s Eve shows were broadcast across the United States for many years. Lombardo’s music career began in 1924, and by the ’30s, he and his group were the most popular dance band in the country. He and his orchestra performed at New York’s famed Waldorf Astoria Hotel for three decades, and the radio and television broadcasts of their New Year’s Eve shows laid the foundation for New Year’s Eve broadcasts to come. In fact, it’s Lombardo’s version of “Auld Lang Syne” that is played in New York’s Times Square (and countless other locations) every year. Several sources have indicated that over the course of his career, Lombardo likely sold as many as 300 million records. Guy Lombardo continued to perform right up until the time of his death in 1979. He passed away at the age of 76.
Bobby Scott was a notable jazz pianist who, remarkably, turned professional when he was just 11. By the time he was 15, he was touring with the likes of Louis Prima. During the ’50s, Scott played with Gene Krupa and scored a pop hit with “Chain Gang.” In later years, Scott spent more time behind the scenes. He served as music director for Dick Haymes and produced records by the likes of Aretha Franklin, Bobby Darin and Sarah Vaughan. Bobby Scott passed away on November 5, 1990.
Rosetta Reitz
September 28, 1924 – November 1, 2008
Photo By Jill Lynne
Rosetta Reitz was a much-respected feminist and music authority who formed her own label, Rosetta Records in 1979. The label specialized in lost recordings of female blues artist from the 1920s to the 1960s. Over the years, she released sides by the likes of Ida Cox, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey and Mae West. Her packages were noted quality remasters, extensive liner notes and rare historical photos. Reitz curated the Newport Jazz Festival’s “Women of Jazz” tributes in 1980 and 1981. The programs included performances by Big Mama Thornton, Nell Carter and Koko Taylor. Rosetta Reitz was 84 when she passed away on November 1, 2008.
Ray Ellis was an accomplished musician, producer and arranger during the ’50s and ’60s. He is best remembered for his work with Sarah Vaughan, Johnny Mathis, Emmylou Harris and most notably, on Billie Holiday’sLady in Satin. He also composed the Today Show’s theme song twice, one that was used throughout most of the ’70s and anoter that was used that was primarily used between 1987 and 1985. And he composed soundtrack music for numerous cartoons and game shows over the years as well. Ray Ellis, 85, died of malenoma on October 27, 2008.
Xavier Cugat was a musician, singer, songwriter, band leader, cartoonist, and actor whose various careers ran some 65 years. Born in Spain, he moved with his family to Cuba where he was trained on the violin. In 1915, his family moved again, this time settling in New York City. His first band of note, the Gigolos, was a popular Tango band in New York. During the ’30s, Cugat became the leader of the house band at New York’s fames Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. It was around this time he got into acting, so he spent much of the next three decades flying back and forth between New York and Los Angeles to work at th hotel and make movies. He also did some time as the cartoonist for the Los Angeles Times. Cugat made several hit records during the ’40s, most of them popular Latin dance tunes of the day. Xavier Cugat died of heart failure at the age of 90.
Merl Saunders
February 14, 1934 – October 24, 2008
With Jerry Garcia
Merle Saunders was an exceptionally talented keyboard player who was a familiar face along the jamband scene beginning in the early ’70s. He first teamed up with the Grateful Dead’sJerry Garcia in 1971, and together they made several albums throughout the years. Saunders also sat in with the Dead on many occasions. He also fronted his own band with whom he recorded as well. Over the years, Saunders has collaborated with Bonnie Raitt, Miles Davis, Widespread Panic, and Phish. In 2002, Saunders suffered a serious stroke which eventually lead to his death in 2008. He was 74.
Don Cherry was a highly regarded avant garde jazz trumpeter who is came to prominence during in the late ’50s while playing with Ornette Coleman. His resume, both in the studio and on record, includes a who’s who of the greatest jazz musicians of the ’60s and ’70s. It included John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock, Gato Barbieri, Sun Ra, and Ed Blackwell. Cherry released several albums leading his own band on such labels as Blue Note and ECM. He also appeared on a handful of rock albums, most notably those by Lou Reed and Ian Dury. Don Cherry died of liver failure due to hepatitis at the age of 58. His children include popular musicians, Neneh Cherry and Eagle-Eye Cherry.
Julie London (Born Gayle Peck)
September 26, 1926 – October 18, 2000
Although Julie London was a successful torch singer during the ’50s, she is perhaps best remembered for her role as nurse Dixie McCall alongside her husband, Bobby Troup on the popular ’70s television drama, Emergency!. London’s name, or perhaps body, first became familiar to American G.I.s thanks to her pin-up photos during WWII. At the time, she was married to her first husband, actor Jack Webb of Dragnet fame. She began singing professionally in the mid ’50s, recording over thirty albums over the course of her career. No less than Billboard magazine named her the most popular female vocalist in 1955, 1956 and 1957. Her most popular record “Cry Me a River” which was produced by Troup sold over a million copies. London reached a whole new generation of music fans in her later years thanks to “Cry Me a River’s” appearance in the 2000 film, Passion of Mind, and again in the 2006 blockbuster, V is For Vendetta. Her recordings were also prominently featured in Six Feet Under and a 2008 British Airways ad campaign. Julie London was beloved for her sexy smoky voice that happened to be a by-product of years of heavy smoking that ultimately lead to her poor health in later years and death at the age of 74.
John Osnes was a beloved lounge pianist and singer who first came to prominence in New York City where he played standards and Broadway hits. Over the course of his career, he entertained at private functions held by the likes of Al Gore, Rupert Murdoch and Neil Simon. In 2005, Osnes moved to Los Angeles where he quickly turned The Piano Bar in Hollywood into a favorite entertainment destination for the city’s beautiful people. On November 22, 2008 while walking home from an engagement, Osnes allegedly got into an altercation with a driver he felt came to close to him while walking in a crosswalk. Words and anger ensued and Osnes was allegedly killed during a physical confrontation with the driver. Swedish rapper David Jassey was later arrested for the murder of Osnes.
Cab Calloway was a popular scat singer whose all African American band was one of the most popular big bands of the ’30s and ’40s. He was also arguably the most dynamic performer of the era. Calloway began singing and learning music at a very young age, and although his parents disapproved, he started gravitating toward the sounds of jazz. After high school, he joined a traveling musical review that is sister, a bandleader herself, was involved with. When the tour ended in Chicago, Calloway stayed behind to further pursue his music career. It was there that he met 
Jerome Kern was a prolific American composer who has some 700 songs to his credit. Throughout his career he wrote such future standards as “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” “Ol’ Man River,” and “The Way You Look Tonight.” Kern’s long career found him mostly writing for the theater, penning songs for such classic shows as Roberta, Show Boat and Zigfield Follies. In many cases, he also scored the films that were based on his Broadway musicals. He won two Academy Awards for songs that appeared in films. On November 5, 1945, Kern, 60, suffered a cerebral hemmorhage while walking to a drugstore in New York City. He died as a result six days later.
Dick Katz was a jazz pianist and arranger who, throughout his career, played with the likes of 
Stacy Rowles was a respected trumpet and flugelhorn player and a singer, who made a name for herself throughout the Los Angeles jazz scene. The daughter or noted composer and pianist, Jimmy Rowles, she started playing the piano at age six, but eventually moved over to the trumpet. Throughout her career, Rowles played with Maiden Voyage, Jazz Tap Ensemble and the Jazz Birds. She made a handful of her own albums for Concord and Delos Records, including 1984’s Tell it Like it Is, which some consider to be her best. Stacy Rowles, 54, died on November 5, 2009 of injuries sustained in an earlier car accident.
Bobby Scott was a notable jazz pianist who, remarkably, turned professional when he was just 11. By the time he was 15, he was touring with the likes of 
Xavier Cugat was a musician, singer, songwriter, band leader, cartoonist, and actor whose various careers ran some 65 years. Born in Spain, he moved with his family to Cuba where he was trained on the violin. In 1915, his family moved again, this time settling in New York City. His first band of note, the Gigolos, was a popular Tango band in New York. During the ’30s, Cugat became the leader of the house band at New York’s fames Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. It was around this time he got into acting, so he spent much of the next three decades flying back and forth between New York and Los Angeles to work at th hotel and make movies. He also did some time as the cartoonist for the Los Angeles Times. Cugat made several hit records during the ’40s, most of them popular Latin dance tunes of the day. Xavier Cugat died of heart failure at the age of 90.
Don Cherry was a highly regarded avant garde jazz trumpeter who is came to prominence during in the late ’50s while playing with Ornette Coleman. His resume, both in the studio and on record, includes a who’s who of the greatest jazz musicians of the ’60s and ’70s. It included 
Although Julie London was a successful torch singer during the ’50s, she is perhaps best remembered for her role as nurse Dixie McCall alongside her husband, 