Life Member. Trombone
7/4/1936 – 7/15/2019
by Paul Gormley, Life Member
I met Slyde in 1988 on bus trip to Lake Havasu with the Capp/Pierce Juggernaut big band. Before we arrived back in L.A., Slyde had invited me to come to his and Yolee’s Lake Sherwood home for dinner. This was the beginning of a warm friendship that continues. Continue reading
Life Member. Trombone
4/30/1943 – 1/11/2020
by Tom & Lila Peterson
This note is in celebration of the life of Rick Culver. I met Rick in 1967 when we were in the Army Special Services band at Fort Meade Maryland. It didn’t take long to become good friends and that friendship has lasted over the years. Continue reading
Life Member. Trombone
7/4/1936 – 7/15/2019
by Chuck Findley
We have lost a fantastic person and musician loved by everyone.
Slyde was my brother-in-law and husband of my wife Zelee’s sister Yolee, and father to their son Josh. Continue reading
Life Member. Vibraphone/Percussion
9/2/1932 – 12/15/2019
by Stu Goldberg, Life Member
It is with great sadness that I write this remembrance of mallet virtuoso and exotic percussion innovator Emil Richards. Continue reading
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