Skip Parsons' Riverboat Jazz Band -

Past and Present Musicians

by Cliff Lamere    14 Dec 2005,  revised January 25, 2023

This webpage contains a list of as many musicians as are presently recalled who were paid performers with one of these two bands.  The list below contains 170 names, but the list is still incomplete.  If you can suggest any missing performers, please contact me.  My special thanks to Ernie Belanger for making this webpage possible, to Eddy Kebabjian for adding some names, and to Skip Parsons who doubled the number of names.  Skip spent a huge amount of time providing me with information about each player.  As of 2016, the Riverboat Jazz Band and its forerunner have been performing for 60 years, so deciding exactly when each musician played with the band was a difficult task.  Skip and I worked on this in 2005 and later.  Some of the performers have returned to play with Skip after 2005, but that may not be mentioned below.

Note:  I have seen and heard the Riverboat Jazz Band off and on for over 40 years (as of 2018).  However, I did not learn the names of many of the musicians until I got a digital camera and started this website in 2005.  

The end of this webpage contains over 60 obituaries or death articles for deceased musicians who played at one time or another with Skip Parsons' Riverboat Jazz Band or a forerunner of it.  See Obituary Index below.

To be listed on this webpage, a musician must have been a paid performer with RJB (or a forerunner group) on one or more occasions.  If the musician's name is a link, clicking on it will take you to a webpage of photos I have made for that person.

INDEX TO OBITUARIES AND OBITUARY SUBSTITUTES  (71)  30 of these musicians are known to have served in the US military .  So far, no obituaries have been found for quite a few of the fallen.

Alger, Will Johnson   [obituary substitute]

Austin, Harold J.

Ayotte, John S. "Jack"

Bachinsky, John Thomas "Johnny B"

Bedell, John G.

Bolden, Jody (same as: Robert "Bobby" Henderson)

Brown, Thomas Sylvester "Tom"

Burgevin, Michael "Mike"

Cable, Glenn Aubrey

Campbell, Harold L.

Canonico, Michael

Cheatham, Adolphus Anthony " Doc"

Caladim, Nicholas John "Nick"

Cole, William Randolph "Cozy"

Connolly, Donald Richard "Dick"

Compo, Peter

Crain, Rennie  (Alfred Van Rensselaer Crain, Jr.)

Cutshall, Robert Dewees "Cutty"

Daggs, Richard Ernest "Dick" Sr.   [obituary substitute]

Davern, John Kenneth "Kenny"

Davison, William " Wild Bill"

Day, George D. " Don"

Egan, William C.

Englehardt, Gerald J. "Jerry"

Fairbanks, Bruce V.

Flanagan, Michael

Foote, Philip L.

Forgash, Tom

Frisbie, John

Fuller, William W. Sr.

Geiger, George J.

Graves, Carl T.

Hackett, Bobby

Hemmingford, John

Henk, William J. "Bill" Jr.

Hunsberger, Dick

Jewett, James A. "Jim"

Kebabjian, Denis Edward "Eddy"

Kent, Earl F. Jr.

King, James Preston "Jim"

LaVoie, Donald "Don"

Lawyer, James Samuel "Jim"

Maheu, Jack

Mastren, Al  [Alex Mastandrea]

Mastren, Carmen  [Carmen Mastandrea]

Mastriani, Paul L.

McPartland, Jimmy

Miller, Joseph C. Jr. "Joe"

Monroe, Robert James "Bob" Sr.

Morin, Camille

Muraski, Stanley C.

Parsons, George M. "Skip"

Partch, Ronald H. "Ron"

Pratt, Bobby

Pratt, Helen Lynn (2 obituaries) - see memorial webpage

Pratt, Norman H.

Pring, Robert Edward "Bobby"

Purificato, Ralph J. Jr.

Rancourt, Maurice Andre "Mo"

Saunders, Thomas

Scannell, Thomas J.

Sewell, Irving G.

Skrika, Richard Stephen "Rich"

Slovak, Joseph, MD

Spring, Leroy   [obituary substitute]

Stahl, Jack

Todd, Seymour C.

Ulrich, John J.

Vadala, Frank P.

Waldburger, Richard "Dick"   [obituary substitute]

Walsh, Gerald J. "Jerry"

Willcox, Newell "Spiegle"

Zandri, Richard P.

Alger, Will Johnson   (Obituary substitute)

Austin, Harold J. 
NORTH GREENBUSH 

   Harold J. "Hal" Austin, 72, of Bloomingrove Drive, North Greenbush, died suddenly Monday evening, April 23, 2007 at Albany Memorial Hospital after having been stricken at his residence. 

   Born in Troy, he was the son of the late Sidney and Mary Agnes Warnock Austin. 

   He attended Watervliet Public Schools, graduating from Watervliet High School and from the State University of New York at Albany with a bachelor's degree in biology. He then began work at the NYS Department of Civil Service until his retirement in 1990, as the director of personnel. In his early years, Hal played piano with Skip Parson's Riverboat Jazz Band and had been an active golfer as well as an avid Yankees and N.Y. Giants fan. He was a member of the Loudonville Community Church. 

   He is survived by his wife, Brenda Peacock Austin; a daughter and her husband, Jill and Paul Bardwell of Rexford; a son, Steven "Terry" Austin of Mass. 

   The funeral service will be held on Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. at the Loudonville Community Church, 374 Loudon Road (Rt. 9 and Crumitie Rd.), Loudonville, NY 12211 with the Rev. Michael Conley, assoc. pastor officiating. Friends are invited to call for one hour prior to the funeral service, beginning at 6:00 p.m. The interment will be held in Memory's Garden Cemetery in Colonie at the family's convenience. In lieu of flowers, those desiring may make contributions in memory of Hal to the Missions Board of Loudonville Community Church, at the address above. The arrangements are under the direction of the Morris-Stebbins-Miner & Sanvidge Funeral Home, 312 Hoosick Street, Troy, NY 12180, (518) 272-5802. 
   Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  from 4/25-26/2007.   [Source]

Ayotte, John S. "Jack"

COHOES

   John Jack S. Ayotte, 71, of Pleasant Ct., Cohoes, died Monday, December 13, 2004 at St. Mary's Hospital, Troy, embraced by his loving family. Born in Waterford, N.Y., he was the son of the late John J. and Florine Dufresne Ayotte and beloved husband of Carolyn C. Malo Ayotte of Cohoes. Jack attended LaSalle Institute in Troy and graduated from Keveny Memorial Academy in Cohoes. He furthered his education at Siena College and graduated from Hudson Valley Community College in Troy with an associate's degree in electronics. Jack was employed for 41 years as a purchasing agent with Hudson Valley Paper Company in Albany, retiring in 1994. He then went to work at Albany Medical College in the medical records department until 1998.
   Jack was an accomplished and professional musician for 45 years and a member of the Musician's Local 13. He was jazz bassist and vocalist performing with the Hi Fives, Harry Taylor and the River Boat Jazz bands. He was a senior advisor and planner for the Explorer Post for Handicapped Young Adults, The Young VIP'S, and a member of the Saratoga Muzzle Loaders Club. He was also a member of the NYS Guard. He enjoyed boating, fishing and target shooting.
   Besides his devoted wife, Carolyn, Jack is survived by his loving children, John Ayotte of Cohoes and Jay Ayotte and his wife MaryLynn of Waterford; his cherished granddaughter, Jessica V. Ayotte whom he adored so much. Several nieces and nephews also survive. He was predeceased by his sister, Joan Myers.
   Jack's family would like to offer a sincere thank you to Seton Health, especially to Holly for the extreme care and compassion given to Jack while he was with them.
   Funeral from the Fitzgerald Funeral Home, Ltd., 105 Vliet Blvd., Cohoes, Thursday morning at 9 o'clock. Mass of Christian Burial from Holy Trinity Parish, Cohoes at 9:30. Interment in St. Joseph's Cemetery, Waterford. Relatives and friends are invited and may call at the funeral home on Wednesday from 3-5 and 7-9.
   Those wishing to remember Jack in a special way may make contributions in his memory to the Albany Medical Center Children's Hospital, 43 New Scotland Ave., Albany, NY 1 2188.

   Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  12/15/2004.  Section: Capital Region, Page: B6   [Source]

Bachinsky, John Thomas

LATHAM

   John Thomas Bachinsky, 70, of Latham, died Friday, March 28, 1997, at Albany Memorial Hospital after being stricken at his residence. 

   He was born and educated in Troy, son of the late Andrew and Pauline Kolody Bachinsky. A graduate of Troy High School, he had been a resident of Latham since 1952. He was a veteran of WWII, serving in the US Navy. Mr. Bachinsky was a laborer with the NYS Department of Transportation Soil Testing Unit in Albany, for 35 years retiring in 1989. An active musician, he was professionally known as `Johnny B`, playing piano at several area restaurants. Mr. Bachinsky was a member of the Albany Lodge of Elks #49; the American Legion Post #1450, Halfmoon; and the Troy Musicians' Union. 

   Survivors include his wife, Gisela Elizabeth Dorr Bachinsky; a daughter, Paula L. Walentowicz, Clifton Park; two sons, Andrew P. Bachinsky, Stillwater and John P. Bachinsky, Clifton Park; and three grandchildren. 

   Funeral service 11:00 a.m. Tuesday at the Bowen Funeral Home, 97 Old Loudon Road, Latham. Friends are invited and may call Monday 4-8 p.m. at the funeral home. Interment in Memory's Garden, Colonie. 

   Contributions in his memory may be made to the American Heart Association.

   Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  3/30/1997.  Section: Capital Region, Page: F4   [Source]

   A service for family and close friends will be held at 2:30 pm, January 5th, at Shure Funeral Home in New Haven. It will be followed by a larger, musical, memorial celebration of his life later this winter. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Neighborhood Music School, 100 Audubon Street, New Haven, CT 06510.  [Source]

   Published in the New Haven Register (Connecticut), January 3, 2014

Bedell, John G. 

TROY

   John G. `Buddy` Bedell, 84, formerly of Broadway, died Monday, June 10, 2002 at the Eddy Memorial in Troy after a lengthy illness. 

   Born and raised in Rensselaer, he was a professional musician with the Musician's Local of Albany. He was the son of the late Frank W. and Hazel (Daniels) Bedell. 

   Survivors include a niece, Sandra Bell of St. Petersburgh, FL; a nephew, Edward Chilmonik of Omak, WA; grandnieces, Debra Robichaud-Roy, Amy Robichaud-Meyer, Carrie Robichaud-Bertrand, Stephanie Cameron, and Nadia Chilmonik; grandnephews, Guy Robichaud, Gary Robichaud, Ian Reuss and Edward Chilmonik III. He was predeceased by a sister, Vivian Parks, and a niece Donna Robichaud. 

   Relatives and friends are invited to attend his funeral Thursday 1:00 from the Rockefeller Funeral Home, 165 Columbia Tpk., Rensselaer. Friends may call Thursday at the funeral home from 11:00-1:00 prior to the service. Interment will be in Greenbush Cemetery, East Greenbush, NY. Those who wish to remember `Buddy` are asked to make contributions to The Eddy Memorial, 2256 Burdett Ave., Troy, NY 12180.

   Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  6/12/2002.  Section: Capital Region, Page: B6.  [Source]

   Published in the Times Record, Troy, NY, Wednesday, 12/10/1969   [Source]

    Published in The Press & Sun-Bulletin, Binghamton, NY, Wednesday, 6/19/2019   [Source]

          Buried Memory Gardens, Colonie, Albany Co., NY

   Published in the St. Petersburg Times (Florida), October 7, 2004.  [Source]

   Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  3/14-16/2016.  [Source] 

Cheatham, Adolphus Anthony "Doc"

Obituary: Doc Cheatham

by Steve Voce

   "If I'd known I was going to live so long, I'd have taken better care of myself." The jazz pianist Eubie Blake was speaking on his 100th birthday. There is a coterie of jazz musicians who have lived for nine decades and are still playing, the altoist Benny Carter (90 in August) and the tenor man Benny Waters (95) amongst them. Watch this space.

   Jazz is such an all-embracing way of life that the greatest musicians don't stop playing until they stop breathing. For men like Duke Ellington or Louis Armstrong retirement would have been unthinkable. We all knew that Doc Cheatham, who has died a fortnight short of his 92nd birthday, would have metaphorically had his trumpet to his lips when the time came. Indeed he came happily off the stand at the Blues Alley club in Georgetown at the end of his last set on Saturday night. He suffered a stroke on Sunday and died in his sleep with his wife by his bed. Like Carter and Waters, it seemed that he had been an old man all his life.

   Cheatham was a late starter if ever there was one. He played his part in trumpet sections through the great days of the big bands, but he was 60 before he flowered as a soloist. Such anti-precocity is otherwise unheard of.  His mother was a teacher and his father, a barber, was descended from Cherokee and Choctaw Indians who had settled in Cheatham County, Tennessee. The story is that his family gave him his nickname before he was seven and from then on it was the only name he ever answered to. But it is more likely that the name came later when he played with an amateur band at the Meharry Medical College.

   His professional career began at 15 when he left the local chapel's kids' band to play with a travelling carnival and the tattooed trumpet on his arm was a reminder of those days. When he was at his most impressionable age he moved to Chicago. King Oliver was the man to copy and before anyone outside of New Orleans had even heard of Louis Armstrong, Cheatham had already become a jazz trumpeter using Oliver's style.

   He played with the two most majestic of blues singers, Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. As if that were not accolade enough he also worked for Jelly Roll Morton and during the Chicago time Armstrong used Cheatham as his substitute when he couldn't make a job.

   He became a member of the legendary Sam Wooding's showband and toured Europe with it in 1929-31. Along with others in the cast, he worked with a mixture of comedy routines and jazz performances which consolidated the group's enormous popularity outside the United States (at home Wooding's bands flopped consistently).

   When he returned home Cheatham had a brief and unsuccessful marriage and joined McKinney's Cotton Pickers for a couple of years until he was invited to move to the more sophisticated confines of Cab Calloway's orchestra in 1933. He married a dancer from the Cotton Club who was from the same family as the avant-garde saxophonist Ornette Coleman. She nagged him continually throughout their seven-year marriage to get a job away from music, "I can't stand that. I'd rather be alone." She finally went home to Texas and married someone else.

   When Dizzy Gillespie took the chair beside him in 1939, Cheatham had been with the Calloway trumpet section long enough to be already a veteran, Gillespie had been brought to the band by another trumpeter, Mario Bauza, a Cuban who interested both Cheatham and Gillespie in his native music, and Bauza's friendship was to affect the music of both the other men in later years.

   Ill-health forced Cheatham to leave Calloway. "They never did figure out what was wrong with me and I didn't regain my full strength until the Sixties. It took that long, and at one point a doctor told me, 'Doc, maybe you better just lay down the rest of your life.' When I got out of the hospital I went to Europe for a few months to rest. Then I joined Teddy Wilson's big band and after that Benny Carter's, but I wasn't up to par. I quit playing and took a job in the post office. In 1943 I tried it again in Eddie Heywood's little group - which wasn't too hard, because Eddie wrote everything out and took long piano solos."

   Heywood was the darling of New York's cafe society. When Cheatham joined the sextet he did take solos and the recordings of the time reveal him as a thoughtful player who was not an innovator. His style had elements of other trumpeters - Armstrong, Joe Smith, Buck Clayton and Joe Thomas amongst them. With Heywood he worked and recorded with Billie Holiday.

   "Taking a solo is like an electric shock. First, I have no idea what I will play, but then something in my brain leads me to build very rapidly, and I start thinking real fast from note to note. I don't worry about chords, because I can hear the harmonic structure in the back of my mind. I've been through all that so many years it's second nature to me."

   During the next 20 years Cheatham, fired by the earlier friendship with Bauza, worked mostly with top Latin bands led by Machito, Tito Puente, Perez Prado and others. He also made jazz tours with a sophisticated revivalist band led by the de Paris Brothers, Wilbur and Sidney. He had first worked with Wilbur in Philadelphia in 1927 and had always admired Sidney's trumpet playing. He toured in Africa and Europe with them and retraced those steps with the pianist Sammy Price (Europe, 1958) and the flautist Herbie Mann (Africa, 1960).

   He led his own band in New York for five years and then in 1966, at the age of 60, joined Benny Goodman's Quintet. Here he was exposed as a soloist as never before. While Goodman was satisfied, Cheatham wasn't and began working on his style with a new intensity. He gave up the Latin playing and played in Dixieland bands in New York. His New York Quartet evolved from this and from the early Seventies onwards he worked as a featured solo player. He began playing Sunday lunchtime sessions at Sweet Basil in New York, and the job lasted for 17 years.

Revered as a part of history, he toured the world and was never short of work again. 

   His gentle playing and his dulcet voice were in demand everywhere and he had recently enjoyed a musical partnership with Nicholas Peyton, a trumpeter who at 23 was almost 70 years his junior. Earlier this year an album they made together for the Verve label entered the Top 20 Jazz Album Chart (I have to confess I didn't know that there was such a thing).

   Peyton is a native of New Orleans and Cheatham had recently taken to spending much of his time in the city, working and recording with local musicians. "I can smell beautiful things in the air in New Orleans," he said.

"I'm almost the last of the line, I've talked to kids who come to hear us who don't even know who Louis Armstrong is. But they listen. 'How do you do that?' they'll ask. 'That's beautiful,' they'll say. When I'm gone, it'll be just about over, my kind of playing. It will be as if it hadn't existed at all, as if all of us hadn't worked so long and hard."

Doc Cheatham's final European visit was last month when he toured with Clark Terry, Snooky Young, Harry Edison and Joe Wilder. The five made up the Trumpet Legacy. His autobiography I Guess I'll Get the Papers and Go Home, written in collaboration with Alyn Shipton, was published in 1995.

   Adolphus Anthony "Doc" Cheatham, trumpeter: born Nashville, Tennessee 13 June 1905; three times married (one son, one daughter); died Washington DC 2 June 1997.

   Published in The Independent (London) 6/4/1997.  [Source]

    Published in Albany Times Union from July 30 to July 31, 2018.  [Source]

Cole, William Randolph "Cozy"

COZY COLE, 71, DIES; JAZZ PERCUSSIONIST

By JOHN S. WILSON

   William R. Cole, the jazz drummer known professionally as Cozy Cole and who played with Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong and Benny Goodman, died of cancer Thursday at Ohio State University Hospital in Columbus. Mr. Cole, who was 71 years old, had lived in Columbus since 1976, when he became artist in residence and student lecturer at Capital Universty. Mr. Cole was an unusually versatile percussionist who worked with jazz musicians as diverse as Jelly Roll Morton and Charlie Parker, with big swing bands and with Stuff Smith's comedy jazz group, and as a member of the CBS radio staff and on Broadway in ''Carmen Jones.'' He was an avid student of music who, in his late 30's and after playing with major jazz groups for 15 years, enrolled in the Juilliard School of Music to study theory, harmony, piano, tympanies and drums.  [incomplete; fee must be paid to see the remainder]

   Published in the New York Times 1/31/1981.  Saturday Late City Final Edition, Section 1, Page 11, Column 4, 537 words.  [Source]

Compo, Peter

Jazz Violinist Peter Compo Remembered

Memorial by: Charles Compo

Peter Compo 1932 - 2003

   Jazz Violinist Peter Compo passed away on April 28th after a long battle with cancer. A memorial service will be held at St. Peters Church, 619 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street in the Citicorp building on Sunday May 4th at 7:30 PM.

   During the course of his fifty-year career he worked with or performed with: Mose Allison, Duke Jordan, Bobby Darin, Gene Krupa, Phil Woods, Cozy Cole, Howard Alden, Gene Quill, Nat Pierce, Mel Lewis, Billy Taylor, Harry Belafonte, Kenny Davern, Gene Roland, Paul Quinichette, Ray Nance, Stuff Smith, Ken Peplowski, Johnny Varro, Bruce Turner, Buster Bailey, Henry Red Allen, George Wettling, Willie The Lion Smith, Herbie Fileds, Joe Temperley, Hot Lips Page, Dill Jones, Humphrey Lyttelton, Jo Jones, Marty Grosz, Dick Wellstood, Bob Wilbur, Buddy Rich, Louis Stewart, Danny Moss, Leonard Gaskin, Joe Burton, Al Haig, Buddy Tate, Roy Williams, Bill Allred, Janusz Carmello, Roy Eldridge, Christian Plattner, Turk Murphy, Stan Greig, Bobby Orr, Conrad Janis, Lionel Hampton, Ronnie Rae Sr, Ed Polcer, Sol Yaged, Ken Kersey, Pee Wee Erwin, Zutty Singelton, Panama Francis, Big Chief Russell Moore, Marty Napoleon, Joe Puma, Bill Evans, Zoot Simms, Mat Mathews, Frank Rehak, Frankie Dunlop, Bill Rubenstein, Glen Zottola, Joe Muranyi, Eddie Barefield, Wayne Wright, Bobby Pratt, Giampaulo Biagi, Eddy Bert, Al Cohn, Freddie Green, Maurice Mark, Ronny Cole, Paul Motian, Sonny Russo, Chuck Wayne, Alan Dawson, Teddy Napoleon, Charlie Shavers, Eddie Shu, Herb Mann, Carmen Mastrin, Ray Mosca, Clarence Hutchenrider, Spanky Davis, Dan Barrett, Joe Roland, Michael Abene, Keith Ingham, Jackie Williams, Carmen Leggio, Al Grey, Pee Wee Russell, Ray Alexander, Elmer Shoebel, Tony Scott, Derik Smith, Ronnie Cuber, Max Kaminsky, Louis Bellson, Claude Williams, Woodie Allen, Kai Winding, Nick Stabulus, Don Lamond, Ed Soph, Warren Chiasson, Jeff Green, John Glasel, Aaron Sachs, Nick Travis, Ronnie Zito, Billy Byers, Harry Devito, Jimmy Crawford, Herb Flemming, Freddie Moore, Danny Barker, Art Trappier, John Mehegan, Sam Most, Bill Potts, Sal Salvador, Attila Zoller, Tony Martin, Keely Smith, Eddie Fisher, Maxine Sullivan, Graig Cohen, Murry Wall, James Chirello, Eddy Davis, Vince Giordano, and many others.

   In addition to performing and recording jazz around the world, he also appeared in numerous films including Tootsie, The Flamingo Kid, and Raging Bull as well as on Broadway and television.  Three children and five grandchildren survive him.  

   For more information about his life and music visit www.petercompo.com or contact his son Charles Compo at ccompo@rcn.com 212-769-6884.  [Source] 

   In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Third Reformed Church, 20 Ten Eyck Ave., Albany, NY 12209 or to Guilder Haven Animal Shelter, 6363 French Mills Rd., Altamont, NY 12009.  [Source]

   Published in the Times Union (Albany, NY) March 23-24, 2006.

Cutshall, Robert Dewees "Cutty"

Daggs, Richard Ernest "Dick" Sr.

     (Obituary substitute)  Information from Social Security Application   [Source (fee)]

Davern, John Kenneth "Kenny"

Kenny Davern, 71, Clarinetist Who Loved Traditional Jazz, Dies

  By Dennis Hevesi

Correction Appended

   Kenny Davern, a radically traditional jazz clarinetist and soprano saxophonist whose liquid tones linked him to the classical sound of New Orleans but who could also play free jazz, died on Tuesday at his home in Sandia Park, N.M. He was 71.  The cause was a heart attack, his wife, Elsa, said.

   A professional on several instruments since his teens, Mr. Davern became nationally known in the 1970s when, with the pianist Dick Wellstood and another soprano saxophonist, Bob Wilber, he formed the Soprano Summit. The band toured the world and recorded several well-received albums.  When the band reunited in the 1990s, Mr. Davern had returned almost exclusively to the clarinet, on which he was known for hitting notes far above the instrument’s normal range.

   “You could pick Kenny out on a record after two or three notes —like a hot knife going through butter,” said Warren Vaché, a trumpeter and longtime friend. “His playing was edgy and cutting and virile and, at the same time, passionate and tender..”  His style, Mr. Vaché said, “was derived from Dixieland but weaved in everything else.”

   John Kenneth Davern was born on Jan. 7, 1935, in Huntington, N.Y., the son of John and Josephine Davern.

By the age of 11, Kenny Davern was playing a clarinet that his mother had bought for $35. Living with his grandparents in Woodhaven, Queens, after the breakup of his parents’ marriage, he played in the school band and in a Dixieland band with friends from the neighborhood.

   At 16, Mr. Davern got his first big break when the trumpeter Henry (Red) Allen called him for a clarinet gig at an American Legion Hall in Queens. “I have no idea how he came to phone me,” he recalled in a profile written by Brian Peerless, a British jazz impresario.

   Within two years Mr. Davern was on the road in the saxophone section of Ralph Flanagan’s big band. He then auditioned for Jack Teagarden’s Dixieland band and afterward, Mr. Davern recalled, Mr. Teagarden asked, “Kenny, where’ve you been all my life?”

   In 1954, still a teenager, Mr. Davern made his recording debut with Mr. Teagarden. Four years later he recorded his first album under his own name, “In the Gloryland,”on the Elektra label. He later made many albums for the Concord, Chiaroscuro and Arbors labels.

   In the mid-1950s and ’60s, enthralled by the recordings of Jimmie Noone, Mr. Davern focused on the New Orleans style. He played with Phil Napoleon’s Memphis Five and Pee Wee Erwin’s band, even joining the Dukes of Dixieland for a couple of years. But later in the ’60s, when Mr. Davern was regularly leading his own traditional band at Nick’s in Greenwich Village, he also became close to musicians like the trombonist Roswell Rudd and the soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy, Mr. Vaché said. “Kenny’s curiosity made him see the good side of the avant-garde,” he said.

   In later years he was a sought-after performer at jazz festivals in America and Europe, resolutely playing his own lyrical version of a traditional repertory from the 1920s on an instrument last popular in the 1940s.

   He is survived by his wife of 36 years, the former Elsa Green, for whom he and his friend the saxophonist Flip Phillips wrote the tune “Elsa’s Dream”; two stepchildren, Mark Lass, of San Diego, and Deborah Wuensch, of Poulsbo, Wash.; and four step-grandchildren.

   Asked to name other jazz greats his friend had played with, Mr. Vaché said, “We’d need a year to list them all.”

But Mr. Davern, who was known for his acerbic wit on and off the bandstand, listed as one of his favorite ensembles Dick Wellstood and His All-Star Orchestra, which consisted of exactly two members.

     Correction: December 19, 2006

An obituary on Thursday about the jazz clarinetist and soprano saxophonist Kenny Davern erroneously included a musician among the founders of the 1970s group Soprano Summit. It was formed by Mr. Davern and Bob Wilber; the pianist Dick Wellstood was not a founder, although he frequently played with Mr. Davern in those years.

   Published in the New York Times 12/14/2006.   [Source]

   The family recommends donations in Mr. Davis’ memory to the Laurie Frink Career Fund, Alsop Family Foundation, c/o Horsfall & Fipps PC, 777 High Street, Suite 100, Eugene, OR 97401.   [Source]

Davison, William "Wild Bill"

Wild Bill Davison, Jazz Cornetist, Dies at 83 After 70-Year Career

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Nov. 15

   William (Wild Bill) Davison, who played jazz cornet in the gangster-run clubs of Chicago in the 1920's and regularly toured Europe and Asia in the decades that followed, died Tuesday. He was 83 years old.

   A family spokeswoman said today that Mr. Davison, who was in the intensive care unit of Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, had undergone an operation two weeks ago for circulatory problems.

   Mr. Davison was to have played in Britain and Switzerland in January, and his Wild Bill Davison American Jazz Band will play the concerts there as a tribute to him, the spokeswoman said.

   Mr. Davison, who made about 800 recordings in the years since 1924, grew up in Defiance, Ohio, where he discovered he could produce notes from a piece of garden hose. A friend gave him an old cornet and he developed a driving style of playing that took him around the world.

   He played in Eddie Condon's nightclub in New York in the 1940's and 50's and went on to tour Europe and Asia in the 1970's and 80's. ''I'll go on playing until my teeth drop out,'' he said when he was 76. The trumpeter Louis Armstrong once told him, he said, ''If anything ever happens to me, I know you can keep on doing what I'm doing.'' The remark helped keep him playing despite his age, he said.

   A gum-chewing musician who made wisecracks out of the side of his mouth, Mr. Davison mostly led his own groups in later years. He had toured Japan a few weeks before his operation.

   He is survived by his wife, Anne.

   Published in the New York Times 11/16/1989.   [Source]

Day, George Donald "Don"

QUEENSBURY

   George Donald "Don" Day, 80, passed away on Friday, June 13, 2008 at Westmount Health Facility in Queensbury. He was born on December 11, 1927 in Albany and was the son of the late George D. and Agnes Day.

   Mr. Day retired in the mid 1980s from the New York Telephone Company. During World War II, he served in the United States Navy. Don was a long time communicant of St. Lucy's Church in Altamont where he and his wife were very active in various groups. Don was well known in the Capital District as a member of the Orket's Band and played in many of the local clubs there. He was also a member of the Capital District Radio Control Model Airplanes and Boats group and at one time he worked in the local food pantry and delivered Meals on Wheels. One of Don's passions was spending time with his dog Lady and taking her for long walks on his farm in Altamont. 

   Besides his parents he is predeceased by his wife Katherine Day, who passed away on January 17, 2007. Survivors include his sister-in-law, Marcia A. Graves and her husband, Richard of Wallingford, Vt.; brothers-in-law, Stephen A. Morrissey of Glens Falls, Robert J. Morrissey and his wife Dolly of Queensbury, David B. Morrissey and his wife Mary of Loudonville; and many nieces, nephews and friends. 

   A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at St. Mary's Church, Glens Falls. Burial will follow at Our Lady Help of Christians Cemetery in Glenmont. There are no calling hours scheduled. Those who wish may send a remembrance in his name to St. Joseph's House of Grace, 33 Henry Street, Glens Falls, NY 12801. Arrangements are under the direction of the Regan and Denny Funeral Home, 53 Quaker Road, Queensbury, N.Y.

   Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  6/16/2008.  Section: Capital Region, Page: B5   [Source]

Egan, William C. 

WATERVLIET 

   William C. Egan, 66, of Third Avenue, died suddenly Wednesday, November 8, 2006 at Albany Medical Center after being stricken while driving his car. 

   He was born in Troy on February 8, 1940, the son of the late Edwin Egan and Mary Doris Wall Greenalch. He was employed for over 30 years with the NYS State Department of Motor Vehicles and later with the NYS Department of Health, from which he retired. Bill was a well known local musician who began playing the trombone at Catholic Central High School in Troy in 1954. He later moved to New York City and Atlanta where he played with legendary musical greats, Ray Eberle, Troy's Al Mastren, Ralph Flannigan, Billy Butterfield and Lee Castle and his Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra. He later played as a freelance musician in orchestras at the Colonie Coliseum and the Palace Theatre in Albany and has accompanied Rita Moreno, Andy Williams, Engelbert Humperdinck, the King Family and Liberace. He also played with the Albany Symphony, Saratoga Performing Pops Orchestra and the Ice Capades. Most recently, he played the Big Band Sound with local bands, Joey Thomas Big Band and LaChic Bones. 

   He is the husband of Ruth A. Decker Egan; father of Tracy Egan-Lasek and her husband Curtis of Niskayuna, Kelly Egan of Manhattan, Brian Egan of Green Island and Scott Egan and his wife Sara of Watervliet; grandfather of Jacqueline and Catherine Lasek and Halee Egan; brother of Edwin J. Egan of Troy and Anita Rowlands and her husband Robert of Troy. He is also survived by several nieces and nephews. 

   Relatives and friends are invited to attend a memorial Mass tonight, Friday, at 7 p.m. at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 410 23rd Street, Watervliet with Rev. Emery Parillo, OFM, officiating. There will be no calling hours. In lieu of flowers, contributions would be appreciated to either the Hortense Louis Rubin Dialysis Center, 21 Crossing Blvd., Clifton Park, NY 12065 or to Clothe A Child, c/o Troy Record, 501 Broadway, Troy, NY 12180. The family has requested that friends and family share their stories and remembrances of Bill as a keepsake for his grandchildren. Please send your letters to the Egan Family, 1330 Third Avenue, Watervliet, NY 12189 or email to the condolence page at ParkerBrosMemorial.com

   Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  11/10/2006.  Section: Capital Region, Page: B9.  [Source]

    Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  7/12/1993.

Fairbanks, Bruce V.

November 9, 2004 

   Bruce V. Fairbanks, 67, of Fisher Rd., Skaneateles, died Tuesday. A native of Syracuse, he was a graduate of Syracuse Central High School. He was a musician and member of Musicians Union Local of Syracuse, was a featured jazz trumpeter, and played for some Syracuse Symphony performances including the Civic Center opening with Ella Fitzgerald. He played locally with the Soda Ash Six, John Whitney Trio, and the Dixieland Update. He was also a member of the Skaneateles Recreation Center. 

   Surviving are his wife, the former Anne Boyd; two sons, Paul (Lisa) of Syracuse and Scott (Berta) of Florida; a daughter, Krissi Kolbasook of Liverpool; brother, Barry (Carol) of Syracuse; sister, Sally (Victor) Letendre of Georgia; 11 grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. 

   Services are private for the family. Contributions may be made to CNY Fertility Center, 195 Intrepid Ln., Syracuse, or the Regional Oncology Center, E. Adams St., Syracuse. Arrangements by the Robert D. Gray Funeral Home, Skaneateles. 

   Published in the Syracuse Post Standard on 11/12/2004.   [Source]

Flanagan, Michael: Musician, Jazz Expert

   Michael P. Flanagan, a musician and jazz authority, died Thursday in the Veterans Affairs Medical Center Hospital after a short illness. He was 68.  Born in New York City, he moved to Albany in 1936 and was educated in the city`s public schools.  As a youth, he picked up a guitar, and while still in high school learned how to tune pianos as an apprentice at Boardman and Gray, a local piano distributor. During World War II, he put his musical talents to work. Because of his aptitude for pitches, the Navy sent him to sonar school in Key West, where he learned sound navigation to detect submarines. He went on to serve in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters.

   While at sea, he sought out other players. "Occasionally, we'd tie up with a ship with a band," he recalled in a 1990 interview with the Times Union. "I'd go over, try to meet the musicians."  He landed his first paying musical job after the war at the Petit Paris, a French restaurant on Madison Avenue. He was soon performing on a weekly radio show on WROW with Tommy Ippolitto and Dominic Cattaglio.  Mr. Flanagan attended Siena College, Loudonville, and played the glockenspiel for the college band. "It was just something to do so you could get into the games for nothing," he recalled.  Around this time, he also taught himself how to play the string bass.  "Guitar hadn`t come into its own yet," he said. "I found I could translate what I know on guitar to bass. And I`d get more calls." 

   His studies at Siena were interrupted by the Korean War. He served again with the Navy, off the coast of North Korea. After the war, he went back to school and graduated from Syracuse University.  Over the years, his versatility found him playing various instruments in big bands and symphony orchestras, including Albany's, of which he was a member for six years. Most recently, he played at Peggy`s and the Van Dyck in Schenectady.  After college, rather than continue in psychology, which he had studied at Syracuse, Mr. Flanagan went to work as a calculator salesman for the Marchant Co. He got out of that business in 1963, when he bought Petit Paris, working as its chef and wine steward until selling the establishment a decade later. He then continued his musical career as a performer and piano technician. He earned a reputation in the field for innovations with the use of electronics and computer enchancements.  He was vice president of Albany Musicians Association Local 14.  

   Survivors include his wife, Lydia Acoutin Flanagan; two stepsons, Michael Hanlon of Marlboro, Mass., and Kevin Hanlon of Oneonta; six sisters, Marion Waite of Loudonville, Eileen F. Renzi and Ellen F. Catalano, both of Delmar, Barbara Santiago of Churchville, Md., Doris T. Barr of Delanson, and Kathy Loerzel of Albany; two brothers, Daniel J. Flanagan Sr. of Albany and Thomas DePalma of Sloansville, Schoharie County; and two grandchildren.  

   Services will be held at 8:45 a.m. Saturday in the Daniel Keenan Funeral Home, 490 Delaware Ave., and 9:30 a.m. in St. John`s-St. Ann`s Church. Burial will be in St. Agnes Cemetery in Menands at a later date.  Calling hours will be 3-8 p.m. today in the funeral home.  Contributions may be made to the Michael P. Flanagan Music Scholarship Fund, c/o OnBank, Attn: Bank Manager, 150 Main Ave., Wynantskill, NY 12198.

   Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  2/26/1993.  Section: CAPITAL REGION, Page: B12.  [Source]

Foote, Philip L.

ARLINGTON, Va. 

   Philip L. Foote, 88, formerly of Albany, died Wednesday, March 24, 2010 in Arlington. 

   Mr. Foote was born in Cortland, N.Y., but lived most of his life in Albany. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II in the European Theatre. After the war, he earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame, where he was a member of the marching band for four years, and then a master's degree from the College of Saint Rose. For many years, he led his own band, the Phil Foote Band, and was a local favorite at area school proms, country clubs and weddings. He also played for many summers at the Sagamore Hotel in Bolton Landing, N.Y. on Lake George, and over the years played accompaniment for Bob Hope, Jerry Vale, Connie Francis, and Anthony Newley. He also was a music teacher at West Winfield Middle School, Lisha Kill Middle School, Colonie High School, Bishop Maginn High School, and Christian Brothers Academy. He was a communicant of the former Holy Cross Church in Albany, and Blessed Sacrament Church, Bolton Landing. Mr. Foote was predeceased by his wife, Freida B. Foote in 2005. 

   He is survived by his daughter, Mary Jo Foote Arzpaima (Saheb Arzpaima) of Fairfax, Va.; his son, Philip E. Foote (Katherine) of Albany; his sister, Regis Crowley of Lakeland, Fla.; and his grandchildren, Dina and Philip Arzpaima, and P. Michael Foote. He was predeceased by his brother, Bradley Foote. The family would like to thank the staff of the Halquist Memorial Inpatient Center of Alexandria, Va. and Dr. Amy Nobu and her staff for the care they gave Mr. Foote, and thanks to the Old Ebbitt Grill of Washington, DC for many years of memories. 

   Funeral services will be held in the Hans Funeral Home, 1088 Western Ave., Albany, Saturday morning at 8:45, and from there to All Saints Catholic Church (formerly St. Margaret Mary's Church), Homestead St., Albany at 9:30. Relatives and friends are invited, and may call at the funeral home Friday from 4-8 p.m. Interment will be in Our Lady of Angels Cemetery, Colonie. 

   In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the CBA Music Parents & Friends Association, 12 Airline Drive, Albany, NY 12205. To leave a message of condolence for the family, view or print a prayer card, or obtain directions to the funeral home, please visit www.HansFuneralHome.com

   Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  3/26/2010.  Section: Obituaries, Page: D7.   [Source]

Forgash, Tom 

Frisbie, John David

   John David Frisbie, 51, of Rock City Road, Rock City Falls, died Wednesday in Saratoga Hospital in Saratoga Springs after a short illness.  He was born in Saratoga Springs and lived in Ballston Spa most of his life. He served in the Army as a miltary policeman in Alaska. Mr. Frisbie was an engineer for the Delaware and Hudson Railroad for 20 years.  He was a member of the Union Fire Co., the Franklin Lodge 90 of Masons in Ballston Spa, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and a charter member of the Adirondack Live Steamers.  A jazz enthusiast, he played tuba and tenor banjo with various local groups.

   Survivors include his mother, Helen Frisbie of Ballston Spa; and longtime companion, Dee Grover of Rock City Falls.  

   A graveside service will be held at 1 p.m. Friday in the Ballston Spa Cemetery.  Contributions may be made to the Adirondack Live Steamers in care of Marcell Zucchino, 13 Loughberry Road, Saratoga Springs NY 12866; or to the Union Fire Co.  Arrangements are by the Armer Funeral Home, Ballston Spa.

   Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  9/9/1993.  Section: CAPITAL REGION, Page: B14.  [Source]

Fuller, William W., Sr. 
TROY 

   William W. Fuller Sr., 89, of Fifth Avenue, died Tuesday, May 13, 2008 at Samaritan Hospital. 

   Born in Troy, he was the son of the late Walter Fuller and Virginia Dennis Fuller and husband of the late Sadie Jones Fuller who died May 9, 1982. 

   He was a U.S. Navy veteran serving during World War II. Mr. Fuller worked at the Watervliet Arsenal for 35 years. He was a professional musician with the internationally acclaimed "Ink Spots." William was a life member of the Mt. Moriah Masonic Lodge #25 and Trinity Episcopal Church, Lansingburgh. 

   Survivors include three children, Frederick T. Fuller of Colo., Denise V. Fuller of Troy and William W. Fuller Jr. of Colonie; eight grandchildren, Simone Scott Kaigler (Joel) of Manlius, N.Y., Andrea Scott Khisa (Mike) of N.C., Shamie Fuller Royston (Rudy) of N.J., Tia Fuller of N.J., William Fuller III of Colonie, Ashton Fuller of Colo., Denise Fuller of Troy and Jessica Fuller of Colonie; five great-grand-children, Ashley Kaigler, Joel Kaigler Jr., Wekesa Khisa, Koleby and Kinyah Royston. Also survived by many special family members, friends and fans. William was predeceased by his daughter, the late Dr. Gloria Fuller Kimbrough. 

   Funeral services will be at 10:00 a.m. Saturday at the Trinity Episcopal Church, 585 - 4th Avenue, Lansingburgh. Relatives and friends are invited to call between 8:30 and 10:00 a.m. at the church, prior to the service. Burial will follow in Memory's Garden Cemetery, Colonie. 

   Members of the Mt. Moriah Lodge #25 F & AM Mason of the Fifth District will be assembling Saturday, May 17, 2008 at the Trinity Episcopal Church, 585 4th Avenue, Lansingburgh at 9:30 a.m. 
   Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  from 5/15/2008 - 5/16/2008.   [Source]

Geiger, George J.

Graves, Carl  -  January 4, 1938 - December 12, 2019

    Carl T. Graves, 81, a resident of Sunderland Hill Road, Passed away December 12, 2019 at Albany Medical Center with his daughters by his side.

    Carl was born in Albany, NY on January 4, 1938 the son of the late Carl and Dorothy Latrelle Graves. He attended Albany, NY schools, graduating from Albany High School. Carl worked as the Code Enforcement Officer for the Town of Colonie for many years. He was a veteran of both the United States Army and Navy serving his country for over 25 years. He was a member of the Free & Accepted Masons Red Mountain Lodge in Arlington, VT, a member of the Brattleboro, VT American Legion Band, the Yankee Doodle Band, Washington County Band and a former member of the West Albany Fire Department.

    He loved playing the trumpet and was known for sounding Taps at military funerals. He was also active and a member of the Second Congregational Church in Bennington.

    Carl is survived by his daughters Cynthia Pedalino and her husband Michael and Darlene Foley and her husband Shawn both of Clifton Park, NY, his partner Marlyn Couture of Sunderland, brother Marvin Graves of Albany, daughter-in-law Sherry Graves, grandchildren Allyson (Ian), Nicholas, Morgan and Steven and his great-granddaughter Natalie. He was preceded in death by his wife Claire Graves and his son Ted Graves.

    Funeral services for Carl will be held Thursday December 19, 2019 at 2pm at the Second Congregational Church in Bennington, VT. Interment will be in Evergreen Cemetery in Arlington and will be announced in the spring. A visiting hour will be held at the church from 1-2pm, one hour prior to the Service.

    If friends desire, memorial gifts in Carl’s memory may be made to the Free & Accepted Masons Red Mountain Lodge in Arlington,the Second Congregational Church in Bennington, VT or the Brattleboro American Legion Band, c/o Hanson-Walbridge & Shea Funeral Home Arlington Chapel P.O. Box 528 Arlington, VT 05250.

    [Source]

Hackett, Robert Leo "Bobby"

Bobby Hackett, the Cornetist, Dies at 61

By John S. Wilson

Photo: http://www.parabrisas.com/photos/hackettb.jpg

   Bobby Hackett, the cornetist whose mellow tone and graceful style made him a favorite of both jazz and pop music audiences, died yesterday after a heart attack at his home in West Chatham, Mass. He was 61 years old.

   Although Mr. Hackett had just returned from a two-week stay in a hospital for the removal of fluid from his lungs, he had maintained a busy schedule of performances and was due to appear in Boston on June 17 with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops.

   Mr. Hackett's playing often reminded some listeners of that of Bix Beiderbecke, one of the great pioneer jazz musicians of the 1920's. But his basic jazz inspiration was Louis Armstrong.  "I heard my first Armstrong record in a Providence department store when I was a kid," he once said, "and it turned me around. The sound never left me."

   Whitney Balliett described Mr. Hackett in the New Yorker as "a unique and extremely successful alloy of Beiderbecke and Armstrong."  "His tone," Mr. Balliett wrote, "which is quiet and shining, resembles Beiderbecke's and so does his three-steps-up, two-steps-down method of improvising. But his sustained notes and way of playing just behind the beat and of occasionally slipping into double time are straight out of Louis Armstrong."

   Beyond these sources, Mr. Hackett had his own philosophy of good music, which was reflected in his playing.

"Music should be pretty," he said. "You should hear and recognize the melody. And real greatness is in simplicity.    Simple things are the hardest to play and the easiest to listen to."

   The musician, a short, trim man who sometimes wore a thin moustache and whose hair was described in earlier years as "patent leather," was born on Jan. 31, 1915, in Providence, R.I. Robert Leo Hackett, the sixth of nine children of a blacksmith, started playing guitar at the age of 8. He picked up the violin two years later and left school at 14 to play in an orchestra in a Chinese restaurant, where he worked three sessions a day, seven days a week, for $12 a week.

   Meanwhile he had acquired a cornet, which his brother had bought for $5 in a pawn shop. He made his first money as a cornetist when Cab Calloway's orchestra, playing at a ballroom near Providence, was lacking a trumpet player and he was urged to fill in. Later, when he was playing as a guitarist and occasional cornetist in a band in a Syracuse hotel, the hotel manager told the bandleader that if Mr. Hackett "played one more solo on the cornet the whole band would be fired."

   After spending the summer with a band on Cape Cod that included Pee Wee Russell, the clarinetist, and working in Boston speakeasies, Mr. Hackett came to New York in the mid-1930's with a reputation as the successor to Bix Beiderbecke, who had died in 1931.

   His first recording in New York was a part of a studio group backing the Andrews Sisters on their first hit, "Bei Mir Bist due Schoen," on which he played a brief cornet solo that enlivened the record. He led his own small groups at Nick's in Greenwich Village and briefly led a big band, which left him so deeply in debt that he joined one of the successful non-jazz orchestras of the late 30's, Horace Heidt and His Musical Knights, playing third trumpet.

   When extensive work on his teeth made it impossible for him to play brass, he was hired by Glenn Miller, then at the height of his popularity as a guitarist. In his two years with the Miller band, Mr. Hackett's most notable contribution was not on guitar, but on a 12-bar cornet solo in the middle of "A String of Pearls." When Mr. Miller broke up his band to enter the Army Air Forces, Mr. Hackett joined Glen Gray's Casa Loma orchestra, a once-famous band that was on its last legs.

   After World War II he spent 15 years as a studio musician with ABC. In 1951 he made the first of a series of six mood-music albums released under Jackie Gleason's name, on which he played romantic melodies anonymously against a setting of strings.

   For the last 15 years Mr. Hackett led various groups of his own or worked as a soloist. In 1971, after living in Queens for many years, he bought a house in West Chatham and frequently played on Cape Cod. In 1972 he formed a record company, Hyannisport Records, on which he released two disks by his own groups.

   He is survived by his wife, Edna; a son, Ernest; a daughter, Barbara Traynor, and three grandchildren.

   Published in the New York Times 6/8/1976.

Hemmingford, John

INDEPENDENCE, Mo.

   John Hemmingford, age 87, of Independence, Mo., passed away at Wilshire Nursing home on August 26, 2010. Marjorie Hemmingford, age 78, of Independence, passed away at home on August 27, 2010. They were married for 53 years and have two surviving daughters, Karen Hemmingford and Heather Naylor; one grandson, Brett Ostlee and one great-grandson, Wyatt Ostlee. A third daughter, Bonnie Hemmingford preceded them in death in 1999.

   John was a veteran of World War II, serving in the 789th Army Battalion. He was also a retired music teacher from Ravena, N.Y. He studied music at Julliard School of Music and received his teaching degree from Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kan. During his career, he played the post horn at Saratoga Race Track in N.Y. and had also formed a marching band which had played in many fireman's parades in the New England area. Locally, he played trumpet in the Spirit of Independence Band, the Shriners band and his church's orchestra. 

   Marjorie was also a veteran, serving as a lieutenant in the U.S.N.R. Nurse Corps. She too, was a retired teacher and registered nurse, holding a bachelor of science and master of science degrees. She worked as a school nurse, taught both fifth and sixth grades, special education and physical education. Civic participation includes: Hudson Valley Girl Scout Council, volunteer for Red Cross Bloodmobile, volunteer for civil defense medical unit and volunteer for the American Cancer Society. 

   Funeral service will be Friday, September 3, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. at the Langsford Funeral Home with a visitation from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. prior to the service. Inurnment at the Lee's Summit Cemetery. 

   Memorial contributions may be made to Shriners Hospital for Children-St. Louis, 2001 S. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MI 63131-3597. Arrangements by Langs-ford Funeral Home, 115 SW 3rd. St., Lee's Summit, MI 64063

   Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  9/1/2010.  Section: Obituaries, Page: B8.  [Source]

Henk, William J. Jr.

   DUANESBURG  --  William J. Henk Jr., 82, of Duanesburg at rest January 11, 2005 at his home. Born and educated in Albany, a graduate of the G.E. apprentice program, Mr. Henk was employed with G.E. for 42 years, retiring in 1984 as a tool maker. During World War II, he was a member of the Navy Seabees, playing trumpet in the Seabee swing band. Throughout his life, he continued to play trumpet, performing locally with various bands. Bill also enjoyed hunting, fishing, gardening, spending winters in Fla. and spending time with his family.
   He is the beloved husband of 32 years to Nancy Henk; father of Kenneth (Susan) Henk of Schenectady, Ted H. (Doris) Henk of Scotia, Jeffrey W. (Peggy) Henk of Wilton; brother of Miriam Dunkerley of Fla., Harriet Scoons of Latham and the late Robert Henk; brother-in-law of Elizabeth Henk of Elsmere. Loving grandfather of four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
   Bill's family wishes to give special thanks to Karen Horton and the staff of Hospice.  Calling hours will be held this evening from 4 to 7 at Guilderland's DeMarco-Stone Funeral Home, 5216 Western Turnpike (Rt. 20, just West of Rt. 146-Carman Rd). A memorial service will be held Thursday 11 a.m. at the funeral home.
   In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Community Hospice of Schenectady, 1411 Union St., Schenectady, NY 12308 or the Esperance Band, c/o NBT Bank, Box 688, Schoharie, NY 12157.

   Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  on 1/12/2005.  Section: Capital Region, Page: B6.   [Source]

   Published in The Daily Gazette, Schenectady, NY  on 8/4/2012.  [Source]

Jewett, James A. "Jim"

SCHENECTADY

   James A. Jewett, 80, of McClellan St., died Tuesday, June 19, 2012, at home. 

   Jim was born in Schenectady, the son of Arthur and Florence Jewett. He was a graduate of Mont Pleasant High School and Bellevue Hospital School of Nursing in New York City. Jim was a US Army veteran, serving during the Korean era. He worked as a nurse, working through his professional career at many health related facilities in the capital area, including LaSalle School in Albany. 

   He is survived by three children, Cindy (Peter) Capone and Nathan Jewett, both of Schenectady, and Matthew Jewett (fiance, Kristy Scott) of Mount Holly Springs, PA; two stepchildren, Eileen Kuntz and Danny Barr; a cousin, Jane Mahoney and several friends. 

   Following Jim's request there are no calling hours and funeral. Arrangements by the Daly Funeral Home, Inc., 242 McClellan St., Schenectady. 

   Online condolences may be expressed at www.dalyfuneral home.com

   Published in the Daily Gazette, Schenectady, NY (sometime between June 20-22, 2012).

Kebabjian, Denis Edward "Eddy K."

    Loudonville  --  Denis “Eddy K” Edward Kebabjian ended his earthly journey on August 10th, 2021, at the age of 84. Denis was born in Jackson Heights NY in 1936. The family moved to Tannersville NY when he was 8 years old, where his father owned and operated a successful grocery store. Denis graduated high school from Hunter Tannersville Central School, and Hartwick College, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree, majoring in Chemistry. After serving 2 years in the United States Army, Denis and the love of his life Nancy moved to Albany, where he began a career with the NYS Dept. of Health, eventually moving on to work for the New York State Police as a forensic chemist.

    Denis retired from the NYSP to take a job he loved the most. Grandfather. Denis enjoyed a lifetime of being an accomplished musician, working with the likes of Skip Parsons, Doc Spring, and many, many others. His fondest musical accomplishment was working with his long-time musical partner, and best friend Steve Caddick. They put out 2 recordings together and worked on countless other projects. Denis was also a master at arranging music, well over 500 pieces.

    Denis is predeceased by his loving wife of 49 years Nancy. He is survived by his daughter Denise Kebabjian, His son, Michael Kebabjian Sr, his beloved grandchildren, Cody Chamberlin, Kyle Chamberlin, Zack Chamberlin, and Michael Kebabjian Jr. He is also survived by his long-time girlfriend, Susan Barger. Denis was always all about his family, of which he loved and adored. He is also survived by his longtime friend and musical partner of 30+ years Steve Caddick and his wife Sandy, both of which he shared an amazing friendship with.     [Source]

Kent, Earl F. Jr.

King, James Preston

LOUDONVILLE

   Honorable James Preston King, 80 of Loudonville, died Friday, June 11, 2010 at the Community Hospice Inn at St. Peter's Hospital in Albany. He was preceded in death by his wife, Jane Campbell King. 

   He is survived by his wife, Anne Brewster King; his sons, James Preston King Jr., David Knox King, Glenn Campbell King; his nine grandchildren; his two sisters, Carolyn Charlton and Ruth Malaney, his several nieces, nephews and his two step-daughters, Julianne Chesky and Martha Kearns. 

   Judge King was born in Ticonderoga on July 14, 1929 the son of the late Preston and Ethel (Shear) King. He graduated from Westminster College and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, serving with the 3rd Marine Division in the Far East and becoming company executive officer. After release from active duty, he entered Albany Law School and graduated in 1959. The next year he returned to the Marine Corps as captain serving in Okinawa and Vietnam. In 1967, he was assigned senior marine instructor at the Naval Justice School in Newport, R.I. After he returned to Vietnam before being assigned Judge Advocate to the Fleet Marine Force, after which he was selected to attend George Washington University, where he received an LLM in criminal law and psychiatry. In 1978, he was promoted to brigadier general and became the corps' highest ranking JAG officer as the director of the Judge Advocate Division and as staff judge advocate for two Commandants of the Corps. His decorations include the Bronze Star Medal with Combat V, and the Combat Action Ribbon as well as various citations and service medals. 

   Upon his retirement in 1980, he became law clerk to State Supreme Court Trial Judge Dominic Viscardi before teaching law at Stetson University Law School in Florida. He later returned to New York where he subsequently headed the Tort Unit-Claims Bureau in the Office of the Attorney General. In 1984, he became an adjunct professor at Albany Law School, teaching Trial Tactics and Advocacy until 2009. In 1990, Judge King left the Attorney General's office to run for the State Assembly (109th A.D.) Following his election and re-election, he served as ranking minority member of the Assembly Codes Committee until he resigned in 1995 to accept an appointment to the Court of Claims, where he served until mandatory retirement in 2001. Shortly afterwards, he was named General Counsel in the NYS Department of State. Judge King subsequently served as a judicial hearing officer and was appointed as hearing officer for the NYS Retirement System. He also was the first Government Lawyer in Residence at the Government Law Center of Albany Law School as the Distinguished Jurist in Residence at Siena College, where he mentored pre-law students and served as co-coach of Mock Trial Team. Judge King served on the NYS Commission on Public Authority Reform, the Temporary Commission on Lobbying (member and chair), and the State Commission on Public Integrity. Last year, the Northern District of New York Federal Court Bar Association awarded Judge King its prestigious Hon. James R. Duane Award, given to individuals who have demonstrated "a deep personal commitment to the preservation and understanding of our legal heritage." This year he received the Lifetime Achievement in Public Service Award from the Government Law Center at Albany Law School. Jim was also a board member of the PARC Committee in Plattsburgh. He was also an accomplished jazz trombonist and received much joy when playing. Relatives and friends are invited to attend a memorial service on Friday, June 18, at the Westminster Presbyterian Church at 362 State Street in Albany at 9:30 a.m. In addition, there will be a memorial service held at the United Presbyterian Church in Putnam, N.Y. on Saturday, June 26 at 10:00 a.m In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to the Community Hospice of Albany, 445 New Karner Rd., Albany, NY 12205 or the United Presbyterian Church, 365 County Route 2, Putnam Station, NY 12861-3510. For directions, information or to light a memory candle for the family please visit www.dufresneandcavanaugh.com

   Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  6/14/2010.  Section: Obituaries,  Page: B4   [Source]

LaVoie, Donald "Don"

LATHAM  --  Donald "Don" E. LaVoie, 75, of Latham, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at Schuyler Ridge Rehabilitation Center in Clifton Park. He was the devoted husband of Kate M. LaVoie. 

   Born in Troy, Don was the son of the late Wilfred Charles and Mildred Faille LaVoie. 

   Don was a US Army veteran and was employed as a draftsman with the NYS Thruway Authority and a renowned musician. Don was employed as a draftsman with the NYS Thruway Authority for 30 years, before retiring in 1994. Don was a self taught musician who started playing the coronet [cornet] in his early teens. While still in high school, he formed his first band, 'Don LaVoie and his Starlighters'. While in the US Army, he played the coronet [cornet] in the Army band. Don formed 'The Riverboat Jazz Band' with Skip Parsons in the mid-1950s. It was during this time that Don was introduced to the banjo. He quickly learned to play it and perfected his craft of playing New Orleans' style jazz, which he had loved since he was a kid. Although he became a very accomplished banjo player, it was the coronet [cornet] that remained his passion. He was well known in this area and played with such bands as "The Riverboat Jazz Band," "The Don LaVoie Trio," "Don LaVoie's 1927 Music Machine," "The Jazz Cellar Six," "Reggies' Red Hot Feetwarmers," and many others. For several years, Don performed at Saratoga's Flat and Harness Tracks, on the Lake George Cruise Boats, Waterford's Canal Festival, The Garlic Festival, political events and at numerous parties during the Saratoga racing season, including Mary Lou Whitney's gala. In 1980, he played at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid where he received national television exposure. 

   Don was raised in Watervliet and graduated from St. Patrick's School and Watervliet High School, class of 1953. He married his wife, Kate on August 31, 1963 and they moved to Latham in 1971. Don was an avid NY Yankees fan and lifelong Frank Sinatra fan. In addition to his beloved wife, Kate; Don is survived by his children, Renee (Donald) Howe of Waterford and Donald (Jodi) LaVoie of Ballston Spa; his grandchildren, Kate Howe, Erin Howe and Maximus LaVoie, step-grandson, Steven Howe of Calif.; brother, Wilfred LaVoie, Jr. of Calif. and several nieces, nephews and cousins. Don is also survived by his cherished cat, Elmo. 

   Funeral service will be held Monday, June 21, 2010 at 12:00 (noon) at St. Patrick's Church, Watervliet, where a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated. Family and friends are invited and may call at the Parker Bros. Memorial Funeral Home, Watervliet on Sunday from 3 to 6 p.m. Interment will be in St. Jean Baptiste Cemetery in Troy. Condolence page at www.parkerbrosmemorial.com
   Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  on 6/18/2010 - 6/19/2010.   [Source]

Lawyer, James Samuel "Jim", Sr.

FRANKFURT, GERMANY -- James Samuel Lawyer Sr., 62, formerly of Long Island, NY, died March 13, 2000 in Frankfurt, Germany. He was a jazz musician in the United States and Germany. He was known as `Deacon Jim Lawyer`. He has now found a permanent `Gig`, where he came in the `front door`. Survivors include four daughters, Cheryl, Joy and Robin Lawyer and Jamie Hicks; one son, James S. Lawyer Jr.; and seven grandchildren. Arrangements have been handled in Germany.

   Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  on Wednesday, March 15, 2000
 

Maheu, Jack

Salt City Five co-founder Jack Maheu dead at 83

   by Chris Baker, August 29, 2013   [Source]

   Jack Maheu, whose career as a top jazz clarinetist spanned more than 50 years and included many appearances in Upstate New York, died on Aug. 27, 2013, in Ithaca, N.Y. He was 83 years old. Maheu suffered a severe stroke in 2006 and had been living at an Ithaca nursing home for the past several years.
   Knowledgeable critics considered Maheu one of the finest clarinetists in all of jazz. In 1951, he became a co-founder of the popular Dixieland group, the Salt City Five, later known as the Salt City Six. The combo was co-led by trombonist Will Alger and included musicians such as Maheu who were members of the Syracuse University marching band.
   Born in Troy, N.Y., Maheu spent his formative years in Plattsburgh. After graduation from high school, he studied commercial art for two years at the Pratt Art Institute in Brooklyn then transferred to Syracuse University where he studied music, majoring in clarinet.
   The original Salt City Five - Maheu, trombonist Will Alger, trumpeter Don Hunt, pianist Charlie French and drummer Bob Cousins - made a prize-winning appearance on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts in 1952 and appeared on Godfrey and His Friends as well as Godfrey's radio programs. As a result, the band was booked for a long-term Sunday-afternoon engagement at Child's Paramount in Times Square where it often shared the with some of the legends in jazz.
   During the early-1950s, The Salt City groups recorded two albums for Jubilee Records. In 1957, Maheu left the band and joined the Dukes of Dixieland with whom he recorded eight albums and helped arrange much of the recorded material. He left the Dukes in 1959 and formed his own group at the Preview Lounge in Chicago where he played opposite a band led by New Orleans trombonist George Brunis. In 1961, he re-formed the Salt City Six as co-leader with Will Alger. Fiery jazz cornetist Wild Bill Davison joined the combo in 1962 for a one-year tour. By 1968, the group had become the house band at the Gallery, in Burlington, Vt., a club which Maheu owned.
   The early-1970s brought a move to Rochester and in 1979, Maheu joined the house band at Eddie Condon's jazz club in Manhattan, and recorded Condon's Hot Lunch album with Pee Wee Erwin in 1980. In 1988, Maheu moved to Marco Island, Fla. to help form the Paradise Jazz Band.
   In 1990, Maheu moved to New Orleans and, using his architectural knowledge from Pratt, designed his own house. He toured for six months with trumpeter Al Hirt and played engagements at the Fairmont Hotel as well as at various Bourbon Street clubs and Mississippi riverboats. He formed the Fire in the Pet Shop Callithumpian Jazz Band, which won first place three years in a row at the French Quarter Jazz Festival Battle of the Bands.
   In New Orleans, Maheu became one of the most sought-after musicians in town. At Fritzel's European Jazz Pub on Bourbon Street, he was called "The General" by many of the city's best musicians who sat in on the sessions. Jack remained active in jazz in New Orleans until 2006 when a stroke forced his retirement. During his career, Maheu was featured on nearly two dozen record albums. His last disc was My Inspiration with the Jack Maheu Quartet (2004) on the Jazzology label.
   During the 1990s, Maheu headlined Jazz in the Square in Syracuse's Clinton Square and was twice featured at the Jazz'N Caz festival staged at Cazenovia College. At his last appearance in Cazenovia in September 2005, he dedicated a version of "Blue Prelude" to his adopted Crescent City which had been devastated the month before by Hurricane Katrina.
   Maheu's favorite song was Irving Berlin's 1922 composition, "Some Sunny Day."
   "I like the words," he once said. "'Some sunny day, with a smile on my face, I'll go back to that place far away...'"
   Maheu is survived by four children; Joy Maheu, Lisa Hawthorne, Michael Maheu and John Maheu; two sisters: Patti Mooney and Merilee Trudel; three brothers: Robert, Bill and Jim Hargraves and three grandchildren: Jenessa and Devon Maheu and Olivia Hawthorne. A private ceremony is planned.
   For more information about Maheu's career, visit saltcity56.com.

Mastandrea, Alex "Al Mastren"

   Alex Mastandrea, a big-band trombonist who played with jazz giants Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman, died Sunday in St. Mary's Hospital in Troy after a long illness. He was 74.

   Also known as Al Mastren, he was born and educated in Cohoes. In 1936, he went to New York City, where he begin his professional career as a big-band trombonist. That year and in 1937, he played with Wingy Monone and Red Norvo and also recorded with some of the other great jazz stars of the 1930s, including Mildred Bailey. From 1938 until 1940, when he became ill, he played with Glenn Miller's Orchestra and on all of Miller's 94 commercial recordings, including "Moonlight Serenade," "Sunrise Serenade," "Little Brown Jug" and "In the Mood." On Oct. 6, 1939, he appeared with the Miller band at Carnegie Hall.

   Mr. Mastandrea returned later to record with the Bob Chester Band. From 1943 to 1945, he played with Benny Goodman, and later played with Harry James, Woody Herman, Tommy Dorsey, Raymond Scott and Vincent Lopez.

He returned to the Capital District in the late 1940s, leading a trio and quartet, and did studio work in New York with his brother, the late Carmen Mastren, a jazz guitarist who played with Tommy Dorsey and Glen Miller's Army Air Forces Band.

   In 1962, Mr. Mastandrea began a teaching career. He taught instrumental music in East Greenbush, South Colonie and Troy Schools, retiring in the late 1970s.  Locally, he played with the Albany Symphony Orchestra, the Northeast Symphonic Band, the SUNY University Community Symphonic Band, the Al Cavalieri Orchestra, the Senior Citizens Orchestra, the Melody Makers and many other groups. Sept. 21, 1985, was proclaimed "Al Mastren Day" in Troy by the former Mayor William Carley. He was also honored at the South Colonie Friends of Music Dance Band, with which he played until 1990.

   Mr. Mastandrea was a member of the American Federation of Musicians, the Glenn Miller Birthplace Society in Clarinda, Iowa, the International Trombone Association and a life member of the South Colonie Friends of Music.  He was a communicant of St. Rita's Church, Cohoes.

   He was the widower of Isabelle Stone Mastandrea.  Survivors include two stepsons, Donald Gleason and Arthur Gleason, both of Cohoes; a stepdaughter, Joan O'Connell Sr. of Old Lime, Conn.; two brothers, John Mastandrea of Bensalem, Pa., and Francis Mastandrea of Troy; two sisters, Ann Keith of Troy and Patricia McAlonie of Clifton Park; eight grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

   Services will be held at 9 a.m. Wednesday in the Marra Funeral Home, corner of Remsen and Columbia streets, Cohoes, and at 9:30 a.m. in St. Rita's Church, Cohoes.  Burial will be in St. Mary's Cemetery, Troy.  Calling hours are 3-5 and 7-9 p.m. today in the funeral home.

   Contributions may be made to St. Peter's Hospital Foundation for Hospice of Rensselaer County or Cohoes High School, Al Mastren Music Scholarship Fund.

   Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  on 2/4/1992.   Section: LOCAL, Page: B7.  [Source]

Mastandrea, Carmen "Carmen Mastren"

Carmen Mastren, Jazz Guitarist With the Dorsey and Miller Bands
   Carmen Mastren, a jazz guitarist who played with Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller, died of a heart attack Tuesday at his home in Valley Stream, L.I. He was 68 years old.
   Mr. Mastren was known mainly for his guitar, although he also played banjo and violin.
   He joined Wingy Manone at the Hickory House in 1934, and three years later he went to Tommy Dorsey's new band, remaining until 1942. He played with the Glenn Miller Air Force Band during World War II.
   After the war, Mr. Mastren was musical director and conductor for the singer Morton Downey and later worked for the NBC staff orchestra.
   Mr. Mastren, who changed his name from Mastandrea, is survived by his wife, the former Frances Holmes; three brothers, Alex (Mastren) Mastandrea, John and Francis, and two sisters, Anna Keith and Patricia McAlonie.
   A tribute to Mr. Mastren with recordings and commentary will be broadcast tomorrow on WVHC-FM, 88.7, the Hofstra University station, from 6 to 9 P.M.

   Published in The New York Times, April 4, 1981.  [Source] 

Mastriani, Paul L.

SCHENECTADY  --  Paul L. Mastriani, 81 of Consaul Road, died Saturday, February 4, 2017, at home. Devoted husband, father, grandfather, musician, composer and stenographer. Paul was born in Schenectady, the son of Louis and Mary Mastriani.

   He was a graduate of Nott Terrace High School and Spencer Business School. He was a United States Navy veteran, a graduate of the Navy Sonar School, while stationed at Cape Hatteras. He enjoyed Cape Hatteras so much he continued to vacation there with his family and enjoyed his passion for fishing. He also enjoyed wintering for over 20 years in Treasure Island, Fla. He had been a court stenographer for the N.Y. Supreme Court, mostly working in Schenectady, retiring several years ago.

   His musical interest started as a child, the first band he was in was the Gene James Trio. Through the years, he helped compose music for plays including Who Said What to Who in 1973 and Don't Just Sit There in 1976. In 1985, he composed for Anthony Zano's Gotta Take Time performance at Carnegie Hall. He played with several groups in the Capital District at locations including Jazz on Jay, The Van Dyke, Stoney's Irish Grill and the Stockade Inn; earning a Lifetime Achievement Award from Swingtime Magazine.

   He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Joan Mastriani; three children, Diana Preiss (Steven J. Preiss), Paula Burnor (Jim) and Paul Mastriani (Colleene Abair); two grandchildren, Lindsay Marie Preiss (Joseph R. DeStefano), and Nathan Preiss; and cousins, Anthony Mone and Robert Mone.

   Calling hours will be Wednesday, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Daly Funeral Home, Inc. 242 McClellan St,. Schenectady.

   Paul was quoted in a January 3, 1986, Daily Gazette article about music: "It's beyond liking, I loved it; it's something I have to do." He will be remembered for his wit, deliverance of humor, and held his humor to the end.

   His family would like to extend special thanks of their care to Paul, to Dr. Goodman and staff; to the Interventional Radiology staff, especially Burton and Shirley; to Marsha of Palliative Care Services; Gary at Walgreen's; and last but not least Dr. William Feeney. Online condolences may be expressed at dalyfuneralhome.com.

   Published in The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY) on Feb. 6, 2017

McPartland, Jimmy

   Jimmy McPartland, 83, Cornetist Who Played Chicago Jazz, Dies

      By JOHN S. WILSON

The cornetist Jimmy McPartland, one of the originators of the brash 1920's variant of Dixieland that became known as Chicago-style jazz, died yesterday at his home in Port Washington, L.I. He would have been 84 years old tomorrow.

   He died of lung cancer, his wife, the jazz pianist Marian McPartland, said.

   Mr. McPartland's playing carried some echoes of the legendary cornetist Bix Beiderbecke throughout his career, although it was colored by his own buoyant personality. When, at age 17, he replaced Beiderbecke in a Chicago jazz band called the Wolverines, Beiderbecke told him: "Kid, I like the way you play. You sound like me, but you don't copy me."

   Mr. McPartland, who was born in Chicago in 1907, was one of several youngsters at Austin High School who hung out in a candy store to listen to the jazz records of the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, King Oliver and Louis Armstrong, all of whom were playing in Chicago at the time. This Austin High Gang included such future jazz stars as the saxophonist Bud Freeman, the clarinetist Frank Teschemacher and the drummer Dave Tough.  The gang soon expanded to include some non-Austin High musicians: Eddie Condon, Gene Krupa and Benny Goodman. Their records in the late 1920's were identified as Chicago jazz.

Doubled in Broadway Bands

   In 1927, Mr. McPartland joined Ben Pollack's band, which included Goodman, Freeman and the trombonists Glenn Miller and Jack Teagarden. For two years they played at the Park Central Hotel (now the Omni-Park) in Manhattan, often doubling into the pit bands of Broadway shows. In the 1930's, Mr. McPartland returned to Chicago where he organized a group called the Embassy Four with his brother, Dick, a guitarist. For several years, he led a group at the Three Deuces, a nightclub, where he was a band leader, singer and master of ceremonies. He was a member of Jack Teagarden's big band when he joined the Army in World War II.

   After combat duty in the Normandy invasion, he joined a U.S.O. touring show, during which he met and married an English pianist, Marian Page. When he returned to the United States in 1946, he formed a jazz group with his wife as pianist. After five years, she formed her own trio at Mr. McPartland's urging so she would not be restricted to his kind of music. Acted on the Side

   In the 1950's, Mr. McPartland added acting to his talents, starting with a television fantasy about a jazz musician, "The Magic Horn," which led to a role in "Showboat" at the Summer Theater at Jones Beach and a recorded version of "The Music Man."

   Mr. McPartland's first marriage ended in divorce. He and Marian McPartland were divorced in 1967, but remained good friends and neighbors. They were remarried two weeks ago.

   In addition to his wife, he is survived by two grandchildren, Donna Kassel of Paris and Douglas Kassel of San Francisco. Private funeral services are to be held in Chicago. Memorial services are to be held later at St. Peter's Church in Manhattan and at the University of Chicago, to which Mr. McPartland donated his memorabilia.

   Published in the New York Times on March 14, 1991.  [Source]

Miller, Joseph C. Jr. 

MCKOWNVILLE

   Joseph C. Miller Jr., 69, of Providence Street died Saturday, January 15, 2005 at his home with his wife by his side. 

   Born in Albany, Mr. Miller was a lifelong area resident. He was a veteran of the United States Air Force, serving from 1954 to 1958. He was employed as an investigator at the Division of Human Rights in Albany, retiring in 1997. A longtime musician, he was the leader and pianist of the Twilight Trio for 30 years. He was a communicant and eucharistic minister at the Church of St. Margaret Mary in Albany. Also, he was a member of the Guilderland Elks Lodge # 2480.

   Survivors include his wife, Virginia (Ginger) Dominic Miller; his children, Joseph C. Miller III (Sharon) of Averill Park, Glenn L. Miller of McKownville and Roy A. Miller (Stephanie) of Colonie; a brother, John T. (Jack) Miller (Barbara) of Fair Haven, Vt.; two grandchildren, Heather Ann Snyder and Alex Monahan. He is also survived by several nieces and nephews.

   Funeral 9:30 Wednesday morning from the Reilly & Son Funeral Home, Colonie and 10:30 at the Church of St. Margaret Mary, Albany. Entombment will be in Memory's Garden in Colonie. Calling hours will be Tuesday from 4-8 p.m. in the funeral home.

   Joseph's family requests that memorial donations be made to the Alzheimer's Treatment and Research Division of Neurological Associates of Albany, 760 Madison Ave., Albany, NY 12208.

   Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  on 1/17/2005.  Section: Capital Region, Page: B5   [Source]

Monroe, Robert James "Bob" Sr.

LATHAM  --  Robert "Bob" James Monroe, Sr., 81, passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 11, 2020, at his home in Latham in the loving care of his family. Bob was born in Rome, N.Y. and was the son of the late Frank J. and Elizabeth (Doty) Monroe. Robert was the beloved husband to Joan (Thibodeau) Monroe for close to 59 years.

    Bob was a musician, a CPA, a businessman, but above all he was a husband, father, brother, grandfather and great-grandfather. Bob moved from Oneida, N.Y. when he was 11, lived in So. Colonie before settling in Latham. He was a graduate of Vincention Institute and Siena College. Bob worked as a CPA with the firm of Shaye, Lutz, Schwartz & King, later became controller at St. Peter's Hospital, eventually becoming CFO for General Steel Fabricators in Latham & Empire Steel in Malta.

    Bob took up the trombone in grade school, played in the VI Red Jackets, was a trombonist and occasional vocalist for the Riverboat Jazz Band and the Old Wazoo Good Time Band, performing throughout the Capital District. Bob often said the trombone paid for the groceries in his early married years. He loved the Saratoga Races in August and considered himself a rail-bird. Bob took up golf when he retired and liked to play with friends and family. He and Joan enjoyed vacationing, especially with lifelong friends, Rich and Marian Milham.

    Bob considered his sons to be his greatest accomplishment, Robert, Jr., of Waltham, Mass., Kenneth of Ballston Lake and Scott of Arlington, Va. Bob leaves behind his sister Joan (Monroe) Reich; his grandchildren, Sarah (Monroe) Demchuk, Eric Monroe, Helen Monroe and Nathaniel Monroe; his great-granddaugher, Victoria Grace; his niece, Christine Reich; and nephews, Stephen, Michael and David Robertson. Bob was predeceased by his sister, Katherine (Monroe) Schultz; and brother, Brian Monroe.

    A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Donations may be made in Bob's memory to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, P.O. Box 1000, Dept. 142, Memphis, TN 38148-0142 To leave a special message of condolence for the family, please visit www.NewComerAlbany.com

   Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  on 4/15/2020.

Morin, Camille

   Schenectady  --  Camille Morin died on February 12, 2013 at Kingsway Nursing Home. He was born in Gardner, MA on July 27th, 1928; the son of Camille and Bertha Melanson Morin and was educated in the public schools of Bridgeport, CT and the Manhattan School of Music where she studied percussion.

   Camille served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and was a member of Army bands. While living in New York City, he played with jazz groups and on cruise ships. Camille played for 12 years in the dance band at the Lake Placid Club. In 1971 he moved to Glenville where he continued to play, while establishing Morin Piano Service with the help of his wife. In the 70s and 80s he played with Don Nikolski's band. Also, he had played with Jean Stoddard's Starlighters and at Nine Maple, a jazz club in Saratoga. He was a longtime member of the Music Company Orchestra and Doctor Spring's Dixieland Band.  Camille was a life member of the American Federation of Musicians (Local 85-133) and was a member of the Piano Technicians Guild. His hobbies were photography, chess and crossword puzzles.

   He was predeceased by his parents; brother-in-law, Paul Golubowicz; and nephew, Paul. He is survived by his wife, Louise; stepdaughter, Mary (Peter) Smith of Guilderland; grandsons, David (Lisa) of Rochester, NY, and Stephen (Sean) of Williamsburg, MA; great-grandsons, Benjamin, Thomas, and Zachary Smith, all of Rochester; his sister, Marlene Golubowicz of Deltona, FL; and two nieces, Deborah Schoonover and Tara Butler. We want to thank Kingsway Nursing Home, D wing for all their kindness.

   According to Camille's wishes, there will be no calling hours; after cremation the memorial service will be private at the convenience of the family. Memorial contributions may be made to the Music Company Orchestra Scholarship and can be sent to Kathleen McNearney, 62 McLean Street, Ballston Spa, NY 12020.

   Published in The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY) on Feb. 14, 2013 [Source]

Muranyi, Joe

   Joe Muranyi, 84, Clarinetist for Louis Armstrong

   Joe Muranyi, a clarinetist whose mastery of pre-World War II jazz led to a four-year stint with Louis Armstrong’s last band — and to an improbable moment of pop stardom — died on April 20 in Manhattan. He was 84.

   The cause was congestive heart failure, said his daughter, Adrienne Fuss.Mr. Muranyi (pronounced muh-RAY-nee) was among a handful of jazz musicians who began their careers in the 1950s but looked to an earlier era for inspiration. Although he once studied with the forward-thinking pianist and composer Lennie Tristano, he spent most of his career with Dixieland bands, and he was widely regarded as one of the premier clarinetists in that genre.
   He also had, to his surprise, a hit record in 1963 when the feel-good instrumental “Washington Square,” an unusual blend of Dixieland and folk music recorded by the Village Stompers, an eight-piece ensemble of which he was a member, reached No. 2 on the Billboard singles chart. The group went on to release several albums but never had another hit single, and by 1966 they had broken up.
   The next year Mr. Muranyi, who had also performed with the guitarist Eddie Condon and other exponents of traditional jazz, realized a long-held dream when he became a member of Louis Armstrong’s sextet, the All Stars. He remained with the group until Armstrong stopped touring, shortly before his death in 1971.
   Joseph Paul Muranyi was born on Jan. 14, 1928, in Martins Ferry, Ohio. His parents, Joseph Muranyi and the former Anna Hajdu, were Hungarian immigrants. He played in an Air Force band but planned on becoming a teacher after his discharge in 1949. He studied at Columbia University and received a master’s degree in education there. His love of music won out, however, and by the late 1950s he was a full-time clarinetist. After Armstrong died, Mr. Muranyi led his own small groups and worked with Roy Eldridge, Lionel Hampton and other bandleaders.
  Besides his daughter, Mr. Muranyi, who lived in Manhattan, is survived by his wife, Jorun Hansen; his son, Paul; and two grandchildren.
   A version of this article was printed in the New York Times on 4/28/2012.  Title:  Joe Muranyi, 84, Clarinetist for Louis Armstrong.  [Source includes photo with Louis Armstrong]

Muraski, Stanley C.

         WATERFORD  --  Stanley C. Muraski, 86, of First Street died Wednesday, February 14, 2018, at the Hospice Inn at St. Peter's Hospital. Born in Waterford he was the son of the late Stanley P. and Helen Filarecki Muraski.

    He was a 1950 graduate of Waterford High School. Stanley had been employed for 33 years at the former Niagara Mohawk Power Corp and retired in 1990.

    He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy. Stan was an accomplished organist and pianist, popular for his individual stylings. Having graduated from the Navy School of Music in Washington, D.C. and the Troy Conservatory of Music, Stan also studied under Marian Gibbons of Washington, D.C., Helen Henshaw of Albany and Blais Montandon of Delmar College, Corpus Christi, Texas. He served as organist in churches from Corpus Christi, including Corpus Christi Cathedral, to Anacostia, Md. to St. Mary of the Assumption Church, Waterford where he had been the organist and choir director since 1954. As a talented accompanist, Stan had worked with the Washington Opera Guild, and locally for the Troy Vocal Society for 20 years, Troy Musical Arts, Mendelssohn Club of Albany, Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, N.Y.S. Bar Association, Cohoes Silver Tops and Clifton Park Senior Citizens. His memberships included the American Federation of Musicians, Local 13 and the American Guild of Organists.

    He is the brother of Helen Murphy (Kevin) of Clifton Park and the late John Muraski. He is uncle of Thomas Murphy (Jill) of Clifton Park, Colleen Guiton (Paul) of Ballston Lake, the late Matthew Joseph and Kevin Patrick Murphy. He is the granduncle of Colleen and Evelyn Murphy and Stanley and Charlie Guiton. Also surviving is his dear friend Bette Swartfigure of Latham.

    Funeral services will be on Monday at 9 a.m. from the Philip J. Brendese Funeral Home, 133 Broad St. (Rte. 32), Waterford and at 9:30 a.m. in St. Mary of the Assumption Church, Waterford. Interment will be in St. Mary's Cemetery, Waterford. Relatives and friends may visit at the funeral home on Sunday from 4-7 p.m. Those who wish may make memorial contributions to St. Mary of the Assumption Church Restoration Fund, 119 Broad St., Waterford, NY, 12188. To express your sympathy or share a treasured memory, please visit: Brendesefuneralhome.com
   Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY on Feb. 16, 2018

Stanley C. Muraski

WATERFORD - Stanley C. Muraski of 1st St. died Tuesday February 13, 2018 at St. Peter's Hospice. Funeral services will be Monday at 9 am from the Philip J. Brendese Funeral Home, 133 Broad St. (Rte. 32), Waterford and at 9:30 am at St. Mary of the Assumption Church, Waterford. Interment will be in St. Mary's Cemetery, Waterford.Relatives and friends may visit at the funeral home on Sunday from 4-7 pm.

   Published 2/16/2018 in The Record, Troy, NY

Parsons, George M. "Skip" 

FEURA BUSH  --  Skip Parsons, age 86, entered into eternal life Thursday, April 21, 2022. Born in Albany, he was the son of the late Charles and Edith Zirolla Parsons. Skip was the founder and band leader of Skip Parsons' Riverboat Jazz Band for over 65 years. Beloved husband of Linda Parsons; loving father of Stacey Plante and her husband David and Jill Wilson and her husband Gregory; cherished grandfather of Alex and Josh Plante. Skip is also survived by cousins and many friends. A funeral Mass will be celebrated 10 a.m., Thursday, April 28, at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, 35 Adams Place, Delmar. Relatives and friends are invited to visit with Skip's family on Wednesday, April 27, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Applebee Funeral Home, 403 Kenwood Ave. Delmar. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers donations in Skip's memory may be made to the American Diabetes Association, 50 Colvin Ave., Albany, NY 12206 or to The American Heart Association, 4 Atrium Dr., Albany, NY 12205 To leave the family an online condolence please visit applebeefuneralhome.com.

    Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY on April 24, 2022

Partch, Ronald H.

   Ronald H. Ron Partch, 87, of Coburg Village, formerly of High Mills Rd., Burnt Hills, NY, died peacefully on Wednesday, January 8, 2014 at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady surrounded by his loving family.
   Ron was born on December 13, 1926 in Madrid, NY and was the son of the late Maurice and Vera M. (Flack) Partch. He was a graduate of Madrid High School and served in the US Navy during World War II. He was honorably discharged in 1946 and received the Asiatic Pacific Victory Medal. He earned his degree in teaching from the State University at Potsdam, NY, where he performed with the Varsity Big Band. Ron was a middle school math and science teacher at the Scotia-Glenville School District until he retired in 1981.
   Ron loved his family and his music. He was an accomplished and talented jazz musician, performing trombone and string bass with numerous musical groups dating back to the early days of live, local television. He was a regularly featured artist on The Earle Pudney Show on WRGB. He performed with several local groups including the Bob Whitman Trio, The Charlie Doyle Quintet, The Jody Bolden Duo, The Bill Pearson Headliners Big Band, Sophisticated Jazz, Mellow Tones Big Band and the Shenendehowa Big Swing Band. He also performed locally with Tony Bennett at the Saratoga Kool Jazz Festival and on the Lac Du St. Sacrement cruise ship on Lake George. Ron served as vice president of the Saratoga Musician's Union and arranged national musicians for performances at SPAC with his dear friend and partner, Lew Petteys.
   In addition to his parents, Ron was predeceased by his beloved sisters, Thea Rutherford and Muriel Besaw. He is survived by his beloved wife of 59 years, June L. (Anderson) Partch. He is the devoted father of Ron (Deb) Partch of Toronto, Ontario, Karen (John) Nagy of Rexford, NY and Kristin (Bob Sparadeo) Partch of Randoph, VT. Ron is also the beloved grandfather of Meghan, Kelsey, Sean and Trevor. He also leaves behind several cousins, nieces and nephews.
   A memorial service will be announced in the Spring of 2014 and held at the Burnt Hills United Methodist Church on Saratoga Rd., Burnt Hills, NY. There will be no public calling hours. Following the service in the spring, Mr. Partch's cremains will be brought to the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery in Schuylerville where he will remain in the columbarium wall to rest with his fellow veterans.
   In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in his name to the Wildwood Foundation, 2995 C. Curry Road Ext., Schenectady, NY 12303. With confidence, the family has placed their trust in the loving care of the Townley & Wheeler Funeral Home, 21 Midline Road, Ballston Lake and they encourage you to view and leave messages on Mr. Partch's Book of Memories at www.TownleyWheelerFH.com
   Published in the Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY) on Jan 9, 2014 [Source]

Pratt, Bobby

Bobby Pratt, 67, Dies; A Jazz Instrumentalist
   Bobby Pratt, a jazz pianist and trombonist, died on Friday at St. Clare's Hospital in Manhattan. He was 67.  The cause was heart and kidney failure, said Chuck Folds, a friend.
   Mr. Pratt first made his reputation playing the trombone. He left his home in Schenectady, N.Y. in 1942 at the age of 16 and moved to New York, where he began a long apprenticeship with some of the major bands of the day, including those of Charlie Barnet, Johnny Richards, Georgie Auld, Stan Kenton and Raymond Scott.
   In 1950 dental problems forced him to take up piano, and for the rest of his career he played both instruments, becoming the consummate versatile New York musician and appearing in clubs all over the city. At one time he had nine regular jobs.
   Mr. Pratt was part of the swing movement of the 1940's, playing with Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Sid Catlett and others, and took part in early be-bop jam sessions with Charlie Parker. As a result his style was an amalgam of various schools.
   In 1967, Mr. Pratt started a long association with Jimmy Ryan's, a nightclub on West 54th Street. Mr. Pratt was the club's house pianist. When Roy Eldridge arrived there in 1969, Mr. Pratt took up trombone and stayed until the club closed in December 1983.
   From the 1980's into this decade Mr. Pratt worked at various clubs, including Cajun and Arturo's in Greenwich Village.
   He is survived by a brother, Norman, and a sister, Marlene Pachucki, both of Schenectady; and a stepdaughter, Sharon Sprague of Goshen, N.Y.
   Published in the New York Times on 1/10/1994.  [Source]

Pratt, Norman H.

SCHENECTADY

   Norman H. Pratt, 72, of Ontario Street died Tuesday in St. Clare's Hospital after a short illness.

   He was born in Schenectady and was an Army veteran of World War II. He served in New Guinea and the Philippines and received the American Service Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Service Medal, the Philippines Liberation Medal and the World War II Victory Medal. Mr. Pratt worked at the Watervliet Arsenal and retired in 1980. He was an inspector.

   He was a trombone player with the Skip Parson's Riverboat Jazz Band and a member of the Musicians Union Local 85.  He was a member of the U.S. Army Band while in the service and was a member of American Legion Post 1091.

   Survivors include his wife, Helen Pasquini Pratt; four daughters, Noreen Pratt of Aspen, Colo., Mary Ann Pratt-Stark of Guilderland, Patty Fusco of Rotterdam and Colleen E. Bardascini of Schenectady; a sister, Marleen Pachucki of Rotterdam; and five grandchildren.

   Services will be held at 9:45 a.m. Friday in the DeMarco-Stone Funeral Home, 1605 Helderberg Ave., and at 10:30 a.m. in St. Madeline-Sophie Church. Burial will be in Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery, Niskayuna.  Calling hours will be 6-9 p.m. today in the funeral home.

   Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  3/17/1994.  72 Section: CAPITAL REGION, Page: B10.  [Source]

Pring, Robert Edward "Bobby"

Area Death Notice
   Pring, Robert E., 84, of Delray Beach, died Wednesday. Edgley Cremation Services, West Palm Beach.
      Published in The Palm Beach Post (Florida) on July 10, 2009 [Source]

Purificato, Ralph J. Jr.

BRUNSWICK

   Ralph J. Purificato Jr., 71, of Lord Avenue, died Wednesday at his residence, after a long illness. 

   Born in Troy, he was son of the late Raphael J. Purificato Sr. and Regina Corrnachio Purificato and husband of Joan Kelly Purificato. He had resided in the Troy area all his life and was a graduate of Troy High School. Mr. Purificato was a musician from the age of 13. He was a free lance percussionist and drummer, both playing and teaching drums in the local area. He was a communicant of Our Lady of Victory Church in Troy and a life member of the Musicians Union. He was also an avid woodworker. 

   Survivors, in addition to his wife, include a son, Stephen M. Purificato of Brunswick; a daughter, Paula Buchanan and her husband, Terrance of Brunswick; and two grandchildren, Brian and Elizabeth Buchanan of Brunswick. He was predeceased by three brothers, Raymond, John and Anthony Purificato; and a sister, Emma Romano. 

   Funeral service will be held Saturday at 9:30 a.m. from the Bryce Funeral Home, Inc., corner of Pawling Avenue at Maple Avenue, Troy and at 10:00 a.m. from Our Lady of Victory Church, Troy, where a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated. Relatives and friends may call at the funeral home Friday from 3-5 and 7-9 p.m. Interment, St. Mary's Cemetery in Troy. 

   Contributions may be made, in memory of Mr. Purificato, to Our Lady of Victory Church, 55 North Lake Ave., Troy, NY 12180 or The Community Hospice of Rensselaer County, 295 Valley View Blvd., Rensselaer, NY 12144.

   Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  6/30/2000.  Section: CAPITAL REGION, Page: B6.   [Source]

Rancourt, Maurice Andre "Mo"

   Maurice Andre "Mo" Rancourt, 76, a well- known resident of Main Street in Bennington, Vermont died Sunday, November 25, 2018 at his residence following a brief illness. He was born in Bennington, Vermont on January 30, 1942. He was the son of the late Henry and Lucille (Yandow) Rancourt.

   Maurice received his education in Bennington where he attended Sacred Heart School and was a 1960 graduate of Bennington Catholic High School where he played football and was selected to the Shrine Team. He married Eloise M. Main of Bennington, VT in 1965. In 1966 he graduated from Saint Michael's College in Winooski, VT. In his earlier years, Maurice was employed at GMAC in Burlington, VT. He later worked for the Prudential Insurance Company after moving to Bennington in 1970 where he and his wife purchased their first home on Lyons Street. He worked at Prudential until his retirement.

   Mo was an accomplished, passionate musician. He played the trumpet with several area musicians and bands in the Bennington area, the Berkshires, the Catskills, Albany and Schenectady, and was also a member of the New York Musician's Union. In the 1970's and 80's he played the trumpet and sang in his band, Common Courtesy. He also played in a Dixieland band, Sage City Symphony, the Burlington Jazz Festival, and annually for Norman Lear in Shaftsbury. Mo was well known for playing Taps at area funerals since his teenage years. He was also known for singing Louis Armstrong's,"What a Wonderful World" and enjoyed a recent cameo on youtube performing his rendition.

   Mo was a member of AA since October 7, 1972, and over the last 46 years had sponsored many friends in need. Mo was quick to find the humor in the moment, knew how to tell a good story, and could easily charm his way through any given situation. He also thoroughly enjoyed attending Mount Anthony High School sporting events. He sang the national anthem at both the boys' and girls' varsity basketball games.

   Survivors include his children: Sharon Rancourt Watson of Bennington, VT, Mark Rancourt of Bennington,VT, Jennifer and her husband/son-in-law Randy Schilling of Washougal, WA, Kristin Rancourt-Miner of Nottingham, N.H. and Michelle Squires of Burlington, VT. He leaves four grandchildren: Logan Miner of Salem, VA, Thea and Nicholas Pappas of Bennington, VT, and Isabella Stone of Burlington, VT. He is survived by a brother, Roger Rancourt of Brunswick, Maine and a sister, Lillian Scrivens of Shaftsbury, VT along with several nieces, nephews and cousins. His cat, Sweetie, was adopted by his daughter Kristin. He was predeceased by three sisters, Claire Hide-Bonefant, Paulita Croker and Marie Krawczyk.

   The funeral mass will take place at Sacred Heart Saint Francis de Sales Church in Bennington on Saturday, December 1, 2018 at 12:00 p.m. where the Liturgy of Christian Death and Burial will be offered. The burial will take place in the family lot at Saint Francis Xavier Cemetery in Winooski, VT on Monday, December 3, at 12:00 p.m. Friends may call at the Mahar and Son Funeral Home on Friday, November 30, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

   If friends desire, contributions in memory of Maurice A. "Mo" Rancourt may be made to either AA in Bennington or Sacred Heart Saint Francis de Sales Church through the office of the Mahar and Son Funeral Home, 628 Main St., Bennington, VT 05201. Guest book condolences may be made at www.maharandsonfuneralhome.net
   Published in Bennington Banner on Nov. 28, 2018     [Source]

Saunders, Thomas

   Thomas Saunders: Legendary cornetist put Downriver on the jazz map

   Musician Thomas Saunders left a legacy of jazz Downriver after playing at an area hotel for 12 years.

Saunders, a well-known cornetist in the Detroit-area jazz community, died Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010. He was 71.

A resident of the Detroit metropolitan area his whole life, Saunders was born in Detroit on April 21, 1938.

He began playing jazz when he was 7 years old and asked to borrow his brother’s cornet. He never gave it back, according to his biography.

  His passion for jazz took off from there and he eventually performed at national and international jazz festivals.

Saunders was one of a few remaining full-time jazz musician’s in the area. In 1962 after returning from a three-year stint in the Navy, Saunders quit his job and went on tour to become a full-time musician.  In the 1960s, Tom Saunders’ Surf Side Six musicians became known around the area. They played at the Presidential Inn, now the Holiday Inn in Southgate, six nights a week for 12 years.

   After the decline of jazz nightclubs in the late 1980s, Saunders made the transition to a solo artist and bandleader. Area attorney Edward Zelenak used to watch Saunders during his time at the Presidential Inn, and over time they became friends.  “He was, in my opinion, one of the best trumpet players in the United States,” Zelenak said.

He remembers Saunders telling jokes to the audience and his ability to sense what would be the best song to play next.  “Tom had a gregarious personality and a stage presence that continued on,” Zelenak said.  He said Saunders is a piece of the music past that will not be seen anymore.  He said Saunders put Downriver on the map as a place to go for great entertainment.  “The likes of the entertainer in that style, you won’t see for a long time,” Zelenak said.

   Rich Cieslowski, owner of A&R Music in Lincoln Park, filled in with Saunders as a drummer under the name Rich Michaels.  “He had a great sense of humor,” Cieslowski said. “He was kind of a comical guy at times.”

He said Saunders will be missed since Dixieland, a New Orleans and Chicago inspired jazz style, is a fading style.

   Saunders’ funeral service was Wednesday at Chas. Verheyden Funeral Homes Inc. in Grosse Pointe Park. Burial was to be at Christian Memorial Cemetery in Rochester Hills.

   Published in The News-Herald  (Michigan)  2/24/2010.  [Source]

Scannell, Thomas J.  (1921-2013)

   PHILMONT–Thomas J. Scannell, musician and World War II pilot, died January 12 after an extended illness. He was 91.

    Born in Montclair, NJ in 1921, he was the son of Helen and Ignatus Scannell.

    He graduated from Stuyvesant High School in New York City and attended New York University before entering the Army Air Force as a cadet. Mr. Scannell was an Air Force captain and pilot of a B-24. He flew 43 missions over the islands of the Pacific.

After the war, Mr. Scannell moved to his family’s farm in Ghent, where he lived for many years. He met and fell in love with Gloria Walker and the couple wed in 1948. He worked for the State of New York, retiring as grounds supervisor of the Empire State Plaza. For 38 years he played trumpet in Skip Parsons River Boat Jazz Band.

    Mr. Scannell is survived by: his loving wife of 63 years; seven children, Michael (Joan) Scannell, Mary Anna Scannell, Jeanne Scannell, Nessa Warner, Patrick (Phyllis) Scannell, Althea Bilodeau and Helen (Brett) Mongillo; sister, Margaret McGrath; brothers, Bob and Bill (Marcia) Scannell; 12 grandchildren, 6 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. Mr. Scannell was predeceased by two brothers, James and John.

    A private service will be held for the family. Contributions in Mr. Scannell’s memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation.  Arrangements are with the French, Gifford, Preiter & Blasl Funeral Home, Chatham. Online condolences may be sent to www.frenchblasl.com.

   Published in The Columbia Paper (link) 1/13/2013.

Sewell, Irving G. 

SAND LAKE - Irving G. Sewell, 83, of Teal Road Sand Lake died Wednesday, November 14, 2012, suddenly at Samaritan Hospital. 

   Born in Troy, he was son of the late Michael Sewell and Violet Waterbury Sewell and husband for 56 years of Cynthia (Cindy) Sewell. 

   Survivors in addition to his wife include his children, Michael Sewell, Brunswick, his favorite daughter, Marjorie (Maggie) Sewell, Averill Park and Norman Sewell, Sand Lake; a brother, Douglas (Lillian) Sewell, Stuart, FL; his grandchildren, Keith Molitor and Irving and Jamie Sewell. He was predeceased by a sister, Patricia Bernier and a brother, Roland Sewell. 

   Memorial service will be held Saturday at 1 PM at Salem United Methodist Church Shaver Road West Sand Lake. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made in memory of Irving G. Sewell to the charity of one's choice. For a private family guest book and service directions, visit www.brycefh.com.  

   Published in The Record (Troy, NY) on November 16, 2012.

Skrika, Richard Stephen "Rich"

GANSEVOORT  --  Richard S. Skrika, age 69, lost a most courageous battle with lymphoma on Monday, February 6, 2017 surrounded by his family at Saratoga Hospital. Born June 10, 1947, in Perth Amboy, NJ, Richard is the son of the late Steve Skrika and Margaret Nagy Skrika.

    A member of the National Honors Society, Richard graduated from Perth Amboy High School in 1965. He continued his education, earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1969. His professional career began in the HVAC industry, and he retired in 2011 as a Mechanical Engineer for LJ Early Co.

    Richard was an avid Dixieland jazz pianist with a professional career spanning most of his life. Equally as passionate, was his love for his car, and all the shows, awards, travel, adventures, and most of all, friends, Richard and Marlene shared with that one of a kind vehicle. His brave and spirited battle with Lymphoma, and the quality of life he experienced through it all, will always be an inspiration. His strength, integrity, and hard work will continue to encourage and hearten those who knew him and he will be greatly missed by all.

    Richard is survived by his loving wife, Marlene Walter Skrika, Brother Raymond Skrika, sons, Peter Skrika, Erich Skrika, daughter Amanda McCormick; and grandchildren, Hunter Marie and Max McCormick, as well as many friends and extended family. He is preceded in death by his parents.

    A Holy Catholic Blessing and Memorial of Life Service will be held on Sunday, February 12, 2017 at the Saratoga-Wilton Elks Lodge 161, 1 Elks Ln, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866. Calling hour is from 2-3 pm, with Blessing, Service and Celebration beginning at 3 pm. Arrangements are under the direction of Compassionate Funeral Care, Inc, 402 Maple Ave., Saratoga Springs, NY 12866. If you wish to express your online condolences or view the Obituary, please visit our website at www.compassionatefuneralcare.com

Published in The Saratogian on Feb. 10, 2017
 

Slovak, Joseph, MD

NISKAYUNA

   Joseph Slovak, MD, 87, of Niskayuna, died Sunday at home after a long illness. 

   Born in Schenectady, Dr. Slovak was a graduate of Schenectady High School. He received his AB from Union College in 1931, receiving his MD from Albany Medical College in 1934. Dr. Slovak did his general internship from 1935-1937 and his surgical residency from 1937-1939 at the Poly Clinic in New York City. From 1934-35 Dr. Slovak served as an instructor in anatomy in Albany Medical College. He was a self employed physician for over 39 years. Dr. Slovak was director of emergency services in St. Clare's Hospital from 1978-1984 and from 1984-1987 he assisted in surgery and in the emergency room in St. Clare's Hospital. Dr. Slovak was a member of Reggie's Red Hot Feet Warmers, Dr. Spring's Rehabilitated Dixie Land Jazz Band, Skip Parsons Riverboat Jazz Band and had also played nationally in New York City with jazz bands, including Eddie Condon. He was a former member of the New Storyville Stompers and the Ninth Airforce Gremlins Band. Dr. Slovak served with the Army during World War II where he received a bronze star in the Battle of the Bulge. Dr. Slovak was a fellow with the American College of Surgeons and a diplomat with the American Board of Surgery. 

   His wife, Virginia Mayer Slovak, died in 1992. Dr. Slovak is survived by three children, Peter M. Slovak of Rotterdam, Serena K. Colletti of Modesto, CA and Susan L. Slovak of Latham; and four grandchildren. 

   At Dr. Slovak's wishes, funeral services will be held privately. Interment, Memory's Garden Cemetery, Colonie. 

   Contributions may be made to the St. Clare's Hospital Foundation or to the Ellis Hospital Foundation. Arrangements by the Bond Funeral Home, Schenectady.

   Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  on 3/10/1998.  Section: Capital Region, Page: B7.  [Source] 

Spring, Leroy  (Social Security Death Index)

Stahl, Jack G.  (1933-2016)

       Jack G. Stahl, 82, of Oneonta, passed away on Thursday, March 24, 2016 at his residence. Jack was born on November 25, 1933 in North Fenton, NY, the son of the late Gilbert and Tressa (Snow) Stahl.

    He married Jennie Wakin on July 8, 1956 in Oneonta. Jack was a musician who played the piano. He served his country in the Army where he was assigned to a military entertainment unit and played throughout Europe. He played piano since he was three years old and studied piano for eight years under Frances P. Kelly. He played throughout New York and New Jersey in many local establishments. He was a member of St. Mary's Church, a life member of the Musicians Union Local 380 and 443, and was a member of the Sixth Ward Athletic Club.

    Jack is survived by his wife of 60 years, Jennie Stahl of Oneonta; his sons, John M. Olden-Stahl and his wife, Susan of Poolesville, Maryland and Richard J. Stahl of Oneonta. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Dr. Natalie Olden-Stahl Boone and husband, Matthew, Julia Olden-Stahl, Aaron Stahl and wife, Jessica, and Cameron Stahl; his great grandchildren, Madeline and Lenora Boone, and Logan and Mason Stahl; his brothers and sisters, Irene Foster (Richard), Jane Treadwell, June Hanley (Robert), Jean Pelham, James Stahl and Rex Stahl (Judy) and many nieces, nephews and cousins. He was predeceased by his parents and sisters, Marie Mika, Grace Donahue and Gail Hendershot.

    Friends may call on Thursday, March 31, 2016 from 10 to 11:30 am at the Lester R. Grummons Funeral Home, 14 Grand Street, Oneonta. A funeral mass will follow at Noon in St. Mary's Church, 39 Walnut Street, Oneonta with Rev. David Mickiewicz, pastor, officiating. Interment will be in the Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Emmons. Condolences to the family may be made online by visiting our website: www.grummonsfuneralhome.com. Arrangements are by the Lester R. Grummons Funeral Home of Oneonta.
    Published in Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin on Mar. 29, 2016

Todd, Seymour C.

Seymour Todd, Jazz Musician

ALBANY -- Services will be held this morning for Seymour C. Todd, of 260 N. Pearl Street, who died Monday.

    Mr. Todd, a native of Bennington, Vt., was a jazz musician.  He played piano for about 15 years with Skip Parsons' Riverboat Jazz Band in Albany.  Earlier, he lived in Buffalo, where he played the tuba with various local bands.

    As a saxophonist, he toured with a group known as the Musical Spillers.  He also worked with trumpeters Jonah Jones and Rex Stewart later in his career.

    He is survived by a sister, Dorothy Todd, of Buffalo.  

    Services will be held at 9 at Marshall Tebbutt's Sons funeral home, followed at 10 by a service at Graceland Cemetery, Delmar.  The Riverboat Jazz Band will play at the cemetery.

   Published in the Schenectady Gazette (NY), August 28, 1985     

Vadala, Frank P.

TROY

   Frank P. Vadala, of South Lake Ave., formerly of Lansingburgh died Wednesday, June 11, 1997 at the Eddy Memorial Geriatric Center, after a long illness. 

   Born in Troy, he was the son of the late Joseph and Minnie Potenza Vadala, and the widower of Constance `Annie` Parella Vadala, who died in 1982. A lifelong Troy resident, he attended Lansingburgh High School. He worked as a clerk for the NY State Dept. of Labor, in Albany, for 23 years. Mr. Vadala was a well-known area musician, having played the violin for over 65 years. He was a member of the Albany Symphony Orchestra for 40 years. He was the musical contractor and booking agent for the Starlite Music Theater and the former Coliseum Theater in Latham for many years. He was a member of the Executive Board of the NY State Conference of Musicians, a life member of the former Troy Musicians Union (now merged with Albany) where he served as the Secretary and Business Agent for many years and local 802 American Federation of Musicians of Greater NY. He played violin with the Radio Clubmen on the radio during the 1940s, during recent years he was a strolling violinist for many area social events and parties. 

   Other memberships include the Troy Lodge of Elks, Troy Knights of Columbus, and retired member of the Civil Service Employees Association of Albany, and Our Lady of Victory Church in Troy. 

   Survivors include a brother, Joseph D. Vadala; two sisters, Mary Bleibtrey and Florence Mazzeo, and his dear friend, Virginia Riedy, all of Troy. 

   Funeral services will be at 8:45 a.m. Friday from the McLoughlin & Mason Funeral Home, 8-109th St., corner of 3rd Ave., Lansingburgh, and at 9:30 in Our Lady of Victory Church. Burial will be in St. Mary's Cemetery, Troy. Calling hours will be 4 to 8 p.m. Friday in the funeral home. 

   Memorial contributions to Community Hospice of Rensselaer County, 8 South Lake Ave., Troy, NY 12180, would be appreciated.

   Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  6/12/1997.  Section: CAPITAL REGION, Page: B15  [Source]

Waldburger, Richard "Dick"   (obituary substitute)

11/03/2018
     We were saddened to learn of the recent and unexpected death of Release the Penguins longtime bass player Richard Waldburger. The November 3 Release the Penguins concert is canceled.
     Richard Waldburger was a native New Yorker who performed regularly at the legendary Eddie Condon’s Jazz Club as well as at numerous other venues in the New York City area. He appeared as a featured performer at various jazz festivals around the United States and on national television and radio shows, and played with such jazz luminaries as John Bunch, Joe Bushkin, Mark Shane, Ken Peplowski, Doc Cheatham, Bucky Pizzarelli, Vince Giordano, Warren Vache, Kenny Davern, Bob Wilber, and Scott Hamilton. He appears on recordings with Condon’s Hot Lunch, the Ed Polcer/Jim Galloway Big Five, Ramblings with the 7th Sound and Gee Baby, featuring singer Judi Marie Canterino. Aside from playing the bass, Richard performed as a pianist and was a composer of numerous original pieces, including two musical comedies. Richard moved to the Berkshires in 2002 and played frequently with many top-flight area musicians like Lincoln Mayorga, Mike Schiffer, Rob Putnam, and, of course, his quartet-mates in RTPJQ – Joe Gold, Brian Burke, and Gary Miller.
     Release the Penguins has been a favorite of Sandisfield Arts Center audiences over the years, and Richard's passing is a great loss for the Berkshires jazz community.     [Source]
 

Ulrich, John J.

   John J. Ulrich, age 86, passed away Tuesday, May 21, 2008, at the Sanctuary at Tuttle Crossing. Preceded in death by wife Audre (Lane), parents Jacob and Mathilda. Survived by daughter, Patricia (Lester) Larrison; grandchildren, Jennifer (Kevin) Kasnyik and Matthew (Chasity) Larrison; 3 great-grandsons, Clayton John Kasnyik, Gavin Ulrich and Koen Matthew Larrison; friends at the Sanctuary, a multitude of musician friends; and special friends, Lisa and Stan Miller.

   John was a musician's musician having earned his living from playing piano, teaching, and arranging music for 72 years. Born March 15, 1922, in Evans City, PA, his musical education began at age six. A pianist, vibraphonist, and trumpeter, he began playing professionally at age 12. He earned a BA in music education from Capital University in 1947, after serving 13 months as a pharmacy technician during WWII. High points of his career included playing with numerous locally and nationally known musicians. He served on the faculty as a jazz music instructor at Denison University and Capital University and was inducted into the Columbus Musician's Hall of Fame in 1996. John was a long time member of McKendree United Methodist Church, and loved and enjoyed his family and friends.

   Family will receive friends Monday, May 26, 2008, from 4-6 p.m. and Tuesday from 9-10 a.m. at SCHOEDINGER WORTHINGTON CHAPEL, 6699 N. High St., where a funeral service will be held 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 27, 2008.

   Interment at Kingwood Memorial Park at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Central Ohio Diabetes Association, 1100 Dennison Ave., Columbus, OH 43201 or to the donor's favorite charity in his name.

   Published in the Columbus Dispatch [date unknown, but about May 23, 2008 ] [Source]

Walsh, Gerald "Jerry"

  RENSSELAER  --  Gerald J. Walsh, 84, of Defreestville died Tuesday, September 1, 2015, at St Peter's Hospice. Jerry was born in Albany, the son of Jeremiah and Marion (Wend) Walsh. He worked for New York State for 37 years retiring in 1987 as the director of Workers' Comp. Jerry was also an accomplished jazz drummer and belonged to the Albany Musicians Association. Jerry is survived by his beloved wife of 60 years, Dorothy A. (Poitzsch) Walsh; three sons, Timothy J. (Jackie) Walsh, Daniel P. (Jody) Walsh, and Mark J. (Nina) Walsh; siblings, Marion Martin, Patricia Rudolph, Robert and John Walsh. Grandfather of Danielle, Andy, Eric, Marina, Tyler, Megan, Nino, Mario, Emily; great-grandfather of Laurel; and many nieces and nephews. Relatives and friends are invited to attend his funeral, Saturday morning at 9 from the Rockefeller funeral home, 165 Columbia Tpk., and 9:30 a.m. at the Church of St. Mary, 163 Columbia Tpk., Rensselaer, where a Liturgy of Christian Death and Burial will be celebrated. Friends are invited to attend his calling hours Friday, from 4-7 p.m. at the funeral home. Interment will be in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Rensselaer.

   Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  on Sep 3-4, 2015.  [Source] 

Willcox, Newell "Spiegle"

Jazz Trombonist Spiegle Willcox Dies At 96
by Drew Wheeler [Source, includes 2 bios]
   Trombonist Spiegle Willcox, one of the last jazz musicians whose career stretches back to the 1920s, died Wednesday (Aug. 25) of undisclosed causes. Willcox, 96, had recently received a heart pacemaker. 
Over the course of his century-spanning career, Willcox took the bandstand in the company of some of the greatest names in jazz, including Bix Biederbecke, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Eddie Lang and Joe Venuti, as well as leading his own Spiegle Willcox Orchestra in the 1930s. 
   Willcox never ceased to be an active musician, and had plans to play a series of Dixieland concerts in this country and Europe just this year. In recent years, Willcox had augmented his brass playing with singing. In a 1998 magazine interview, veteran bandleader Dick Ames said of Willcox's role in '20s jazz, "They had the hot men and the sweet men, the guys with good tone and reading skills. Spiegle was one of those guys. He was a sweet man." 
   Newell "Spiegle" Willcox was born in the upstate New York town of Sherburne on May 2, 1903, and had learned to play valve trombone by the time he was 10. He soon joined his father, Lynn Willcox, in a band in his
hometown of Cortland, New York. While still a teenager, Willcox was playing with a Syracuse, New York group called The Big Four when they were spotted by bandleader Paul Whiteman. Whiteman joined the band, later renamed the Paul Whiteman Collegians, and brought the ensemble to New York and wider popularity. 
In 1925, after nearly three years with Whiteman -- where he played beside Biederbecke -- Willcox returned to Cortland, but was soon wooed away by an offer to join the Detroit-based Jean Goldette Orchestra. Willcox took the job (replacing trombonist Tommy Dorsey), and was soon followed by Biederbecke and saxophonist Frank Trumbauer.
   Willcox's recording career started with several 1923 tracks with the Paul Whiteman Collegians. The first recorded Willcox solo can be heard on "Lonesome And Sorry," a 1926 recording by the Jean Goldette Orchestra.
Most recently, Willcox was the leader on the 1994 Challenge Records album Jazz Keeps You Young, backed by the Menno Daams Sextet. 
   Willcox spoke of his experiences with Biederbecke during the trumpet legend's final days in the 1981 documentary film Bix, and was interviewed just last year by noted documentarian Ken Burns for a new project
about jazz. 
   Willcox is survived by a daughter, Cynthia.

[Died: August 25, 1999] 

Zandri, Richard P.           

     LOUDONVILLE  --  Richard P. Zandri, 76, of E. Cobble Hill Rd, Loudonville died Friday December 16, 2011 at Albany Medical Center Hospital embraced by his loving family. Born in Cohoes, he was the son of the late Pasquale and Alice Caselli Zandri and beloved husband of Geraldine C. "Gerri" Marinucci Zandri of Loudonville. 

     Dick was a life long area resident and was educated in the Cohoes City Schools and attended RPI. He was a proud veteran of the United States Navy, Sea Bees and played the trumpet in the Navy band. Following in his father's footsteps, Dick continued the family's business and was president of Zandri Construction Corp. in Cohoes. A man dedicated to his profession and his community, Dick was instrumental in the elaborate renovation of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany and given recognition with an award in historical landmark construction. His construction talent is notable throughout the Capital District. He was a selfless gentleman, and expressed love of life by supporting numerous charitable organizations, Catholic Charities among them and was recognized by LaSalle School for boys.

     While he received many accolades for his work, he valued most the love of his family, his friends, and his community. Dick's endless knowledge and wisdom will continue to be a source of inspiration for many generations to follow. He was a board member of the Cohoes Community Center, past president of the board of directors of St. Anne's Institute, member of the Father's Association of the Albany Academy for Boys, also for the Academy of The Holy Names, life member of the VFW Post 7411 in Latham and Knight's of Columbus in Cohoes, a member of The Associated General Contractors of America and Wolfert's Roost Country Club. Dick was a professional and talented musician. He played the trumpet in many bands and venues including the High Fives and was a member of the Musician's Union. Dick was an avid skier and a NY Giant's fan. Locally, Dick could often be seen at the Siena Basket Ball games. He enjoyed his many vacations to Lake Placid and Cape Cod with his much loved family. He was a devout and active communicant of St. Pius X Church in Loudonville. 

     "I did my best, that's all you can do. I have no regrets" 

     In addition to his wife Gerri, he is survived by his devoted children, Liza A. Tougher and her husband Robert of Delmar, Dina M. Astemborski and her husband Paul of Niskayuna and Vincent A. Zandri of Loudonville; cherished grandchildren, Mary Kristina Wasserback and her husband Justin, James N. Tougher and his wife Meredith, Pamela Tougher, 1st Lt. Stephen P. Astemborski, United States Army, Kendra L. and Courtney E. Astemborski, Jack, Harrison and Ava Zandri; loving sisters, Maria (Zandri) Bertrand Pucci and her husband Joseph of E. Greenbush and Debra (Zandri) McFee and her husband Scott of Troy; cherished cousin, Assemblyman Ronald Canestrari of Cohoes and several nieces and nephews. 

     A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday morning at 11 o'clock at St. Pius X Church in Loudonville. Interment with military honors will be in Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery in Niskayuna. Relatives and friends are invited and may call at St. Pius X Church, 23 Crumitie Rd, Loudonville, NY 12211 on Monday from 4-8 p.m. A very special thank you to the Colonie Rescue Squad and Police, to the ER staff at Albany Medical Center and especially to Father Bob and Father Michael Farano. Those wishing to remember Dick in a special way may make memorial contributions to St. Pius Parish Memorial Fund 23 Crumitie Rd, Loudonville NY 12211 or to the Capital City Rescue Mission, 259 S. Pearl St. Albany NY 12202 Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Fitzgerald Funeral Home, Ltd 105 Vliet Blvd Cohoes NY.

     Published in the Times Union, Albany, NY  12/18/2011.

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