Dave Carpenter was a much respected jazz bassist who, most recently was playing in a trio alongside Peter Erskine and Alan Pasqua. Born in Dayton, Ohio, Carpenter first took up the trumpet but switched to bass by his early teens. After graduating from college, he played with three of jazz’s then living greatest talents, Buddy Rich, Maynard Ferguson and Woody Herman. By the late ’80s, Carpenter was living in Los Angeles working in the studio with the likes of Ringo Starr, Celine Dion, Herbie Hancock and Barry Manilow. Dave Carpenter suffered a fatal heart attack in his home on June 21, 2008. He was 48.
Art Pepper was one of West Coast Jazz’s greatsaxophone players of the ’40s and ’50s, sharing the stage with the likes of Benny Carter and Stan Kenton, and later, Buddy Rich. Unfortunately, Pepper was addicted to heroin and served approximately twelve years spread over four separate terms throughout the late ’50s and early ’60s, even serving two in San Quentin. No doubt due to these breaks in his career, he was never able to reach the heights he might have. Art Pepper died of a brain hemorrhage at the age of 56.
Jimmy McGriff was a jazz organist that was known for his talent on the Hammond B-3. Very gifted as a child, McGriff learned the piano at five years old and by the time he was a teen, he was also playing the saxophone, vibes, drums and bass. Although he didn’t take up the Hammond B-3 organ until in his twenties, he would be come the instrument he was most closely associated with. Over the course of his career, McGriff played with the likes of Jimmy Smith, Junior Parker, Buddy Rich, and Carmen MacRae. He died of Multiple Sclerosis on May 24, 2008.
Buddy Rich was an American jazz drummer who was considered by many to be the greatest drummer, period. His power and speed were unmatched. He was the backbone behind classic recordings by a who’s who of popular music, including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Tommy Dorsey, Louis ArmstrongandOscar Peterson. His television appearances were frequent and ranged from sitting in with Johnny Carson’sTonight Show band to having a “drum off” with The Muppet Show’s“Animal.” Buddy Rich passed away from a heart failure while being treated for a malignant brain tumor. He was 69.
Mitchell “Herb” Ellis
August 4, 1921 – March 28, 2010
Herb Ellis was a jazz guitar virtuoso who, over the course of a career that spanned some 50 years played with the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Jimmy Dorsey, Dizzy Gillespie, and Buddy Rich. His most celebrated collaborations however, were with Oscar Peterson, in whose trio he performed from 1953 to 1958. Herb Ellis died of Alzheimer’s disease on March 28, 2010. He was 88.