Life Member. Recorder
1/6/1926 – 4/26/2019
Born in Daytona Beach, Florida and passed away peacefully in Ojai, California. She studied at the University of Southern California, receiving her BA in 1948 and her Master in Musicology in 1958. She received a Fulbright grant to the Paris Conservatory; a Queen Elisabeth of Belgium research scholarship; studied musicology at the Sorbonne; and received the License de Concert in Clarinet. Continue reading
Life Member. Saxophone
12/16/1927 – 9/24/2019
Tony Giaimo passed away on Sept. 24, 2019, at 91 years. He was a longtime member of the American Federation of Musicians Local 47. Tony was a singer, saxophonist, and a top-tier clarinetist.
He began studying music at the age of 10, and by the time he was 14 he was playing in Manhattan clubs, alongside the likes of a 16-year-old Tony Bennett. By 15 he was traveling the U.S. as a working musician. Continue reading
It is with a very heavy heart that I let you know of the passing of our brother, Frank Amoss, on Saturday, October 5, 2019. Frank was a drummer and band leader. He was a Local 7 Trustee before he was elected as Vice President and eventually held the presidency of Local 7 for 20 years. Continue reading
Former Life Member. Saxophone
7/13/1926 – 9/5/2019
Matt Utal passed away at the age of 93 on September 5, 2019. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, on July 13, 1926 to Eunice Bloom and Louis Wattel. Eunice later moved to California and married Michael Utal, who adopted Matt in 1931. He began to study piano as a little boy. Continue reading
Former Member. Trumpet
5/30/1929 – 8/25/2019
Clora Bryant, a trumpeter who was widely considered one of the finest jazz musicians on the West Coast — but who ran into gender-based limitations on how famous she could become — died on Aug. 25 in Los Angeles. She was 92.
Read the NY Times obituary here.
Life Member. Bass
9/16/1938 – 7/6/2019
by Billboard
Gary LeMel, the longtime film music executive who was once dubbed the “Godfather of the Modern Soundtrack” for his supervision of blockbuster albums including The Big Chill, Ghostbusters and The Bodyguard, died on July 6, 2019 at age 80. He is survived by his wife Maddy and three children. Continue reading
Life Member. Orchestrator
1/22/1919 – 7/1/2019
by Ron Ramin, Local 47 Life Member
My dad, Sid Ramin (January 22, 1919-July 1, 2019), was a member of a select group of artists who have earned an Academy Award, an Emmy Award and a Grammy Award. He was a longtime member of Local 802 in NYC as well as a Life Member of Local 47. Continue reading
Life Member. Trombone
7/4/1936 – 7/15/2019
by Jack Redmond
Slyde was one of my dearest friends for more than 60 years.
We both came to town in 1958, and met on a recording session that year. The other trombone was Ray Sikora, from Canada, and the three of us became fast friends that day. Dick (he wasn’t known as Slyde ’til later) came up with the idea that none of us would accept a gig unless the other two were on it. That pact lasted about a week, until one of us got a call. Continue reading
Life Member. Saxophone
9/11/1921 – 7/6/2019
Tom “Tippy” Morgan passed peacefully on July 6, 2019 at the Ventura Cal-Vet home. Born in 1921 in St. Paul, Minnesota, he was the youngest of five boys born to John Herbert Morgan and Ida Ludell (Phillips) Morgan and discovered an early love of music. He fondly recalled teenage jam sessions at the Minneapolis home of the Pettiford family where he learned how to swing alongside future jazz legend Oscar Pettiford. Continue reading
Life Member. Piano
8/22/1937 – 7/21/2019
Dr. Michael Zearott, a longtime resident of Clarkston, WA, with a world-spanning career in the arts, died at his home after a long illness on July 21, 2019. He was 81. Continue reading