Charlie Mariano
November 12, 1923 – June 16, 2009
Charlie Mariano was a gifted alto saxophone player who is best remembered for his work with Stan Kenton and Charles Mingus. In later years, he played in the German jazz rock band, Colours. Charlie Mariano died of cancer at the age of 85.
Ella Fitzgerald
April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996
With a career that spanned nearly 60 years and achievements that included thirteen Grammys, there is no doubt that Ella Fitzgerald was one of the most important voices in popular music. After making her singing debut at the Harlem Opera House at the age of 17, Fitzgerald quickly earned a spot at one of the Apollo Theater’s famed amateur nights and handily took first prize. Within a year, she was singing in front of the Chick Webb Orchestra, staying with him until he died in 1939. She subsequently took over the band with which she had recorded upwards of 150 songs. In 1942, Fitzgerald signed a solo deal with the famed Decca label where she stayed until she moved over to the legendary Verve Records. By now she was one of the most popular vocalists in the world. Fitzgerald continued to record and perform throughout the ’80s, but due to poor health, made her last record in 1991 and final performance in 1993. Ella Fitzgerald suffered from diabetes in her final years, and succumbed to it on June 15, 1996.
Victoria “Busi” Mhlongo
October 28, 1947 – June 15, 2010
Known as the “Reigning Queen of Zulu music,” Busi Mhlongo was a respected South African singer-songwriter and producer whose music included elements of West African, jazz, reggae, rock, funk, soul and gospel. Over a career that spanned the better part of four decades, Mhlongo built an international fan base while working with the likes of Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela. Busi Mhlongo was 62 when she died of breast cancer on June 15, 2010.
Art Pepper
September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982
Art Pepper was one of West Coast Jazz’s great saxophone 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.
John “Wes” Montgomery
March 6, 1925 – June 15, 1968
The brother of fellow jazz greats, Buddy Montgemery and Monk Montgomery, Wes Montgomery was an acclaimed jazz guitarist whose style of playing strongly influenced the likes of, not only jazz artists like Pat Metheny an George Benson, but also such rock greats as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix and Joe Satriani. A relative late-comer to music, Montgomery taught himself to play the guitar at the age of nineteen, and although he could not read music, he had the uncanny ability to learn by ear. Throughout his short career by jazz standards, Montgomery was known to astound the likes of John Coltrane (who asked him to join his band), and Cannonball Aderley (who helped him get his first record deal) with his supurb playing. Wes Montgomery died of a heart attack at the young age of 45.
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