Died On Ths Date (March 13, 2008) Wilfred Middlebrooks / Jazz Bassist
themusicsover Wilfred Middlebrooks
July 13, 1933 – March 13, 2008 
Wilfred Middlebrooks was a one-time bassist for Ella Fitzgerald. Middlebrooks began playing bass at a very young age and by the time he was just 15, he was traveling the region as part of a vaudeville troupe. During his early 20s, he moved to Los Angeles where he began making a name for himself in the jazz community. By the time he was 25, he was performing live and recording as part of Fitzgerald’s band with whom he’d stay for many years. Wilfred Middlebrooks died in his home from heart failure on March 13, 2008.
If jazz had a Mount Rushmore, Charlie “Bird” Parker would be front and center. Parker was a highly influential saxophonist and band leader who launched his career in 1937. And when jazz branched off into bebop during the 1940s, Parker rose to the top. Many of Parker’s songs have since become jazz standards, and just his image alone, has become synonymous with “hip.” Unfortunately as his fame and fortune grew, so did his use of drugs, alcohol, and ultimately, heroin. On March 12, 1955, Charlie Parker died of pneumonia and a bleeding ulcer, reportedly brought on by years of substance abuse. And even though he was just 34, the coroner apparently wrote down that he was in his 50s or 60s.
Harold McNair was a respected jazz flautist and saxophonist who followed a less-than-traditional way to jazz greatest. Born in Jamaica, McNair spent the early years of his career making Island music. He also sang Calypso. McNair recorded his first album, 1960’s Bahama Bash, in Miami, Florida, and in 1960, he moved to Europe where he toured with Quincy Jones before settling in London. He also played on the scores of several Paris films and television programs. Soon, McNair joined up with 
Johnny Alf was a Brazilian singer and pianist who is rightfully considered the “Father of Bossa Nova.” During his formative years of learning to play music, Alf took a particular liking of the jazz of early America. He later married that music with the Latin rhythms he grew up with to form a new style, soon to be called Bossa Nova. His “Rapaz de Bem” and “O Tempo e o Vento” are considered the birth of Bossa Nova. Johnny Alf was 80 years old when he died of prostate cancer on March 4, 2010.