Died On This Date (November 1, 2008) Rosetta Reitz / Founder of Rosetta Records
themusicsover Rosetta Reitz
September 28, 1924 – November 1, 2008
Rosetta Reitz was a much-respected feminist and music authority who formed her own label, Rosetta Records in 1979. The label specialized in lost recordings of female blues artist from the 1920s to the 1960s. Over the years, she released sides by the likes of Ida Cox, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey and Mae West. Her packages were noted quality remasters, extensive liner notes and rare historical photos. Reitz curated the Newport Jazz Festival’s “Women of Jazz” tributes in 1980 and 1981. The programs included performances by Big Mama Thornton, Nell Carter and Koko Taylor. Rosetta Reitz was 84 when she passed away on November 1, 2008.
Xavier Cugat was a musician, singer, songwriter, band leader, cartoonist, and actor whose various careers ran some 65 years. Born in Spain, he moved with his family to Cuba where he was trained on the violin. In 1915, his family moved again, this time settling in New York City. His first band of note, the Gigolos, was a popular Tango band in New York. During the ’30s, Cugat became the leader of the house band at New York’s fames Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. It was around this time he got into acting, so he spent much of the next three decades flying back and forth between New York and Los Angeles to work at th hotel and make movies. He also did some time as the cartoonist for the Los Angeles Times. Cugat made several hit records during the ’40s, most of them popular Latin dance tunes of the day. Xavier Cugat died of heart failure at the age of 90.
Don Cherry was a highly regarded avant garde jazz trumpeter who is came to prominence during in the late ’50s while playing with Ornette Coleman. His resume, both in the studio and on record, includes a who’s who of the greatest jazz musicians of the ’60s and ’70s. It included 