OBITUARIES

16 members

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Jazz is a truly American artform whose appeal has proven to be universal since its humble beginnings in the early 20th century. The death of a jazz great can create a collective sense of loss and nostalgia, the feeling that an era has passed. This memorial group was created to honor and remember musicians, singers, composers and others who contributed to this vibrant form of expression that's still evolving today.

As our musical icons are graduating into the higher realms we want to keep them fresh in our memories.  Please join this group where you can post any obituaries of the ancestors of our tradition for all to read and learn more about them.

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  • WASHINGTON DC JAZZ NETWORK

     

    Sep 27, 2012

  • WASHINGTON DC JAZZ NETWORK

    Howard University - Department of Theatre Arts: Celebrating the Lif...

    Freeman earned an NAACP Image Award for playing Malcolm X's mentor in Lee's 1992 biography.  He also received an Emmy nomination for his role as Malcolm X in the 1979 miniseries "Roots: The Next Generations." He won a best-actor Daytime Emmy that year for his work as Capt. Ed Hall on the soap opera One Life to Live.  Read more

    Sep 27, 2012

  • WASHINGTON DC JAZZ NETWORK

    Westminster Friday evening Jazz Series


     Washington DC's the late great Jerry Gordon

    passed away Saturday, August 25, 2012

    Jazz Times Magazine

    It's no wonder why this Washington DC based guitarist was a winner in the recent Best of Jazz Search sponsored by Cognac Hennessy. His tone and lyrical approach, which owe much to Wes Montgomery, result in music that's exceedingly sweet, pretty, and swinging. Despite the obvious debt, Gordon's effortless choruses throughout his straight ahead set constantly prove that he's doing much more than copying. Beautiful, consistent playing - Jim Ferguson

    Sep 27, 2012

  • WASHINGTON DC JAZZ NETWORK

     
     
    Funeral services for Fred Begun, former National Symphony Orchestra timpanist will take place on Thursday, September 27 at 11:00 AM
    Location:   Danzanski-Goldberg Memorial Chapel
    1170 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD
     
    A memorial concert will take place at a future date. 
     
    BEGUN FRED BEGUN Fred Begun, was principal timpanist with the National Symphony Orchestra for 48 years until his retirement in 1999. He was 84 and died September 23 in Washington, DC. Fred was a world-class percussionist with a flair that set him apart. He didn't just bang the drums, he slid and swirled around them as he performed in such fashion that he might also have qualified as the symphony's unofficial principal dancer. A Brooklyn, N.Y. native, Fred came to Washington with his family in 1936 at age eight. Soon afterward, he got to know a couple of prominent jazz drummers and that was it for life: Fred Begun was a drummer. He played with bands in local DC night clubs as a teenager and went on to receive a master's degree in music from the Julliard School of Music. Fred never missed a beat: soon after graduation he successfully auditioned for the NSO's timpanist position. It was conducted anonymously behind screens such that those making judgment wouldn't have seen that he was barely more than a kid So he started out at the top and continued to rise. Fred was passionate, meticulous and gracious. He wore ascots. He wore tuxedoes so often and so easily they were as comfortable as painter's overalls (his father Israel Begun was a painting contractor.) Over the years, Fred played under the batons of (mostly last names, for the cognoscenti):Barbirolli, Dorati, Fiedler, Fruhbeck de Burgos, Gould, Leinsdorf, Mitchell, Reiner, Rostropovich, Slatkin, Steinberg, Stokowski, Stranvinski, Mazel and Leonard Bernstein. Fred gave four world permiere concerto performances for timpani with the NSO and authored the book "21 Etudes for Timpani," which is used in music conservatories worldwide.
    READ MORE HERE
     Burial will follow at Judean Memorial Gardens, Olney, MD. Charitable donations can be made to the Fred Begun Percussion Suite. 

    Sep 27, 2012

  • WASHINGTON DC JAZZ NETWORK

    All members join this group

    Thanks

    WDCJN

    Sep 27, 2012

  • WASHINGTON DC JAZZ NETWORK

    Celebration of a Life
    Memorial Service
    for our dear friend
    Harold Mann
    Sunday, March 3rd, 3pm
    Musicians & Jazz Lovers are welcome to participate and pay tribute.
     Westminster Church
    400 I St S.W., 20024-4437
    Washington DC

    Feb 22, 2013

  • WASHINGTON DC JAZZ NETWORK

    ABRAHAM S. VENABLE, 82, passed away on Thursday, February 21, 2013 in St. Paul, MN. He was called by many "one of the pioneers of corporate America and General Motors' minority business program". He retired from GM in 1990 as Executive Director of Urban Affairs, a position he had held since it was formed in 1971. Mr. Venable is survived by his wife of 60 years, Dr. Anna G. Venable, his three children, Karen, Douglas and Stephen, one grandson, Ryan and numerous other relatives. Friends may visit with the family from 10:00am until time of service at 11:00am at the Howard University Chapel on Monday, March 4, 2013. Burial Rock Creek Cemetery. Services entrusted to Marshall-March Funeral Home 

    A Member of the Washington DC Jazz Network

    "A TRUE PATRON OF JAZZ"

    He has an endowed scholarship for students in the Howard University Jazz Ensemble in his name. 

    Howard University Washington, DC 20059

    www.huje.org

    Feb 27, 2013

  • WASHINGTON DC JAZZ NETWORK

    Mar 4, 2013

  • WASHINGTON DC JAZZ NETWORK

    ABRAHAM S. VENABLE, 82, passed away on Thursday, February 21, 2013 in St. Paul, MN. He was called by many "one of the pioneers of corporate America and General Motors' minority business program". He retired from GM in 1990 as Executive Director of Urban Affairs, a position he had held since it was formed in 1971. Mr. Venable is survived by his wife of 60 years, Dr. Anna G. Venable, his three children, Karen, Douglas and Stephen, one grandson, Ryan and numerous other relatives. Friends may visit with the family from 10:00am until time of service at 11:00am at the Howard University Chapel on Monday, March 4, 2013. Burial Rock Creek Cemetery. Services entrusted to Marshall-March Funeral Home 

    A Member of the Washington DC Jazz Network

    "A TRUE PATRON OF JAZZ"

    He has an endowed scholarship for students in the Howard University Jazz Ensemble in his name. 

    Howard University Washington, DC 20059

    www.huje.org

    Mar 4, 2013

  • WASHINGTON DC JAZZ NETWORK

    RICHIE HAVENS

    Richard Pierce[1] "Richie" Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American folk singer and guitarist.  He is best known for his intense and rhythmic guitar style (often in open tunings), soulful covers of pop  and folk songs, and his opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. Read more...

    Richie Havens, Folk Singer Who Riveted Woodstock, Dies at 72

    Apr 23, 2013