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.
Dave McKenna was a respected swing jazz pianist who worked with, among others, Gene Krupa, Stan Getz, Rosemary Clooney, Tony Bennett, and Eddie Condon. A lifelong fan of the Boston Red Sox, McKenna was known to listen to Sox games on a transistor radio while performing. He died of cancer at the age of 78.
Teresa Brewer (Born Theresa Breuer)
May 7, 1931 – October 17, 2007
With Liberace
With some 600 recorded songs to her name, Teresa Brewer was one of America’s most prolific singers of the 1950s. Brewer began singing and dancing as early as two years old on various radio amateur shows. She was well at it when at just 12 years old, she decided to “retire” in order to go back to concentrate on her schooling. She released her first of many popular records in 1949. Over the course of her 20+ year career, she recorded with the likes of Liberace, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Dizzy Gillespie. Teresa Brewer died of a rare degenerative brain disease at the age of 76.
Gene Krupa was arguably the most influential jazz drummer of all time. Krupa learned to play drums as a youngster, and by his late teens he was playing his first professional gigs with bands throughout Wisconsin. He graduated to the Chicago scene in the late ’20s when he was selected to back the popular Thelma Terry and her Playboys. He played on six recordings by Terry. Krupa moved to New York City in 1929 to play with Red Nichols and eventually Benny Goodman, with whom he became a household name. In 1938, he formed his own band which featured such greats as Anita O’Day and Roy Eldridge. The next year, the band appeared as themselves in Some Like It Hot, in which they performed the hit song of the same name. Movie fans may also recognize Krupa playing himself in 1954’s The Glenn Miller Story which starred Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson. Krupa was also the subject of a Hollywood film, The Gene Krupa Story, which starred Sal Mineo as the drummer. He retired from performing to open a school in the late ’60s. Future Kiss drummer, Peter Criss was one of his students. Gene Krupa died of leukemia and heart failure at the age of 64.
Art Blakey was a drummer and band leader whose Jazz Messengers, a band he lead for an astonishing thirty years, was the onetime home of such future legends as Horace Silver, Lou Donaldson, Donald Byrd, Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard. His funky hard bop would become a major influence on all idioms of jazz to come. The artists he worked with outside of the messengers reads like a who’s who of jazz history. Art Blakey died of natural causes at the age of 71 but not before recording dozens of albums.
Harry “Bing” Crosby
May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977
Bing Crosby was one of America’s most beloved entertainers, with a career that spanned over fifty years. As a pop singer, Crosby was a direct influence on the likes of Frank Sinatra, Perry Como and Dean Martin. He was so beloved, that in 1948 it was estimated that his songs made up more than half of the 80,000 weekly hours devoted to music on radio. He was also instrumental in the growth of the music industry itself. In the late ’40s, he heavily invested in Ampex, helping it develop the first commercial reel-to-reel recorder in North America. As for his music, he is credited with over 1700 recordings, almost 400 of which being top 30 hits, with over 40 making it to #1. It is rightfully assumed that if sales data was collected more accurately during the early part of his career, those numbers would be much higher. While vacatoining in Spain, Bing Crosby died of a massive heart attack while playing golf. He was 74 years old.
Al Martino (Born Alfred Cini)
October 7, 1927 – October 13, 2009
As Johnny Fontaine in The Godfather
Al Martino was a Philadelphia bricklayer before leaving the family masonry business to follow his passion as a singer and actor. He went on to become one of America’s most beloved Italian American crooners. He is perhaps best remembered for his portrayal of Johnny Fontaine, the connected lounge singer in The Godfather. Some believe that character was based on Frank Sinatra. With the encouragement of childhood friend, Mario Lanza, Martino began singing in local clubs which eventually lead him to compete on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts television program. He won first prize and soon landed a recording contract. Over the course of his career, Martino released several hit records including 1952’s “Here In My Heart” which became the first single by an American performer to land at the top spot of the UK singles charts. His biggest hit however, was 1965’s “Spanish Eyes.” In all, he had eleven Top 40 singles in the U.S. In 1972, he played Johnny Fontaine, one of the most memorable characters in the classic film, The Godfather. He reprised the role in the two sequels and sang the theme song as well. Eerily mirroring the life of Johnny Fontaine, Martino’s recording contract was reportedly bought out by mobsters who later beat him when he tried to terminate it. The situation caused him to move to England for several years. Al Martino died unexpectedly in his Pennsylvania home. He was 82 years old.
Neal Hefti was a jazz musician and composer who is best remembered for writing the theme music for the Batman series and the Odd Couple movie and series. Prior to his career as a composer, he played the trumpet in Woody Herman’s band. He also arranged for Frank Sinatra, Buddy Rich and Count Basie. Neil Hefti passed away in his home at the age of 85.
William Claxton
October 12, 1927 – October 11, 2008
William Claxton was a respected photographer who documented the American jazz scene of the ’50s and ’60s. He captured some of the era’s most iconic images. His list of subjects included Art Pepper, Gerry Mulligan, and most famously, Chet Baker. His images of Baker casually dressed in a t-shirt were instrumental in developing the overall hip image of the musician. Claxton is also responsible for many famous pictures of the likes of Sting, Barbra Streisand, Steve McQueen, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Isaac Hayes, and many more. William Claxton died of congestive heart failure just one day before his 81st birthday.
Sonny Bradshaw was a beloved Jamaican musician whose career spanned a remarkable six decades. He was as multi-faceted as he was renowned. Besides playing the trumpet, piano, trombone, saxophone, and clarinet, Bradshaw was a composer, arranger, producer, journalist and promoter. During the ’50s, he formed the Sonny Bradshaw 7, which turned out to be the first significant musical home of many great Jamaican musicians to come. In the early ’60s, Bradshaw began working in radio, with his Teenage Dance Party, becoming the first place many Jamaicans heard the early songs of future legends. On October 10, 2009, Sonny Bradshaw died after having been ill following a stroke a few months earlier. He was 83 years old.
Edith Piaf (Born Edith Gassion)
December 19, 1915 – October 10, 1963
Edith Piaf was a French singer who rose from poverty to become one of her country’s most popular performers of the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s. Because of her petite frame, she was called “The Little Sparrow” around the world, and has since become a cultural icon thanks to numerous recordings, biographies and at least one major motion picture about her life. After conquering France, Piaf began touring the rest of Europe and the United States in the years following World War Two. While in the U.S., she graced the stage of Carnegie Hall twice and The Ed SullivanShow eight times. Piaf was seriously injured in a car accident in 1951, the pain from which lead to her addiction to morphine and alcohol. She died of liver cancer on October 10, 1963 at the age of 47.
Jacques Brel was a Belgian singer-songwriter who came to prominence in Europe during the 1950s. And although he wrote and sang exclusively in French, many of his songs have been covered in English by such notable performers as Ray Charles, David Bowie and Dusty Springfield. He has sold over 25 million albums worldwide. His career started modestly in the cabarets of Paris, but by the mid ’50s, his talent could not be denied, so he began touring Europe and beyond. He also made a name for himself in film. A longtime smoker, Brel was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1973 and died from it five years later at the age of 49.
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, 
Art Blakey was a drummer and band leader whose Jazz Messengers, a band he lead for an astonishing thirty years, was the onetime home of such future legends as Horace Silver, Lou Donaldson, Donald Byrd, 
Sonny Bradshaw was a beloved Jamaican musician whose career spanned a remarkable six decades. He was as multi-faceted as he was renowned. Besides playing the trumpet, piano, trombone, saxophone, and clarinet, Bradshaw was a composer, arranger, producer, journalist and promoter. During the ’50s, he formed the Sonny Bradshaw 7, which turned out to be the first significant musical home of many great Jamaican musicians to come. In the early ’60s, Bradshaw began working in radio, with his Teenage Dance Party, becoming the first place many Jamaicans heard the early songs of future legends. On October 10, 2009, Sonny Bradshaw died after having been ill following a stroke a few months earlier. He was 83 years old.
Jacques Brel was a Belgian singer-songwriter who came to prominence in Europe during the 1950s. And although he wrote and sang exclusively in French, many of his songs have been covered in English by such notable performers as 