Continued: Final Notes

Chuck Reiley, Alamo City Jazz Band Leader, Dies

by Leslie Johnson

Charles "Chuck" Reiley, 83, leader of the Alamo City Jazz Band, San Antonio, Tex., died July 29. A successful dentist, he was also an accomplished trombonist who, beginning in the 1960s, worked hard with Jim Cullum, Sr., to built a strong traditional jazz community in central Texas.

Born in Bellaire, Mich., July 7, 1925, Reiley showed an interest in music from childhood on, first learning guitar at the age of seven, then moving on to trombone. He formed his first band at age 15.

After serving in the European Theater as a member of the 34th Infantry Division during World War II, Reiley completed dental school at the University of Michigan in 1951. He then joined the Air Force, serving his internship at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. His Air Force duty was completed at Randolph Air Force Base, and he established a dental practice in San Antonio, retiring only a month before his death.

Reiley founded the Alamo City Jazz Band in 1962 and established the San Antonio Jazz Society in the early 1960s, serving as jazz society president for many years. His love of New Orleans jazz was reflected in his band's repertoire, and the band was highly respected, performing in the U.S., Mexico and Canada at jazz festivals and concerts. The band also played at five Super Bowls and on four cruises. A lengthy account of Reiley's remarkable life in jazz was published in the November 2004 issue of The Mississippi Rag.

Reiley was preceded in death by a son and is survived by his wife, Dolores, three daughters, two grandchildren, and two brothers. He is buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.

Boston Musician Dick Creeden Has Died

by Dave Whitney

Cornetist/bandleader Dick Creeden, one of Boston's most beloved musicians, died July 28 at the age of 88. He lived in Danvers, Mass., and was a long-time fixture on the New England jazz scene, playing a very tasty, melodic style of cornet, not unlike that of his good friend, the late Bobby Hackett.

For most of the 1960s and '70s, Creeden led a jazz band at the Village Green in Danvers. Musicians featured with the band included Art Bartol, clarinet; Cas Brosky, trombone; Bob Pilsbury, piano; Dave Markell, drums, and Wally Livingston, bass. The band recorded an album in 1966.

Creeden also featured many name guest stars with the band. Among them were Bobby Hackett, Lou McGarity, Peanuts Hucko, Bob Wilber, Bud Freeman, Big Chief Russell Moore, Yank Lawson, Billy Butterfield, Ruby Braff, Gene Krupa, Jerry Fuller and Tyree Glenn. Creeden was also associated with pianist Tommy Gallant's All-Stars, performing at many concerts and festivals in New Hampshire and Maine.

Creeden's wife, Marion, preceded him in death. One of the nicest guys in the business, he is survived by children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

OTHER DEATHS

by Leslie Johnson

BOBBY DURHAM, 71, jazz drummer with the bands of Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins and Oscar Peterson, died July 7 of lung cancer and emphysema in Italy.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Durham relocated to New York City after serving in the military and working in the R&B circuit in the 1950s. His first jazz record date was in 1963, backing tenor sax player Red Holloway. A memorable live recording with organist Wild Bill Davis and alto saxist Johnny Hodges led to a stint with Ellington's orchestra in 1967, followed by gigs with Oscar Peterson over the next five years. During much of the 1970s, he was part of a trio with pianist Tommy Flanagan and bassist Keter Betts accompanying Ella Fitzgerald, and he also recorded extensively for Pablo Records. His "At the Blue Note" series of recordings in the early 1990s with Peterson, bassist Ray Brown and guitarist Herb Ellis are considered classics.

Based in Italy and Switzerland for the past 20 years, Durham was in demand both in Europe and the U.S., playing with his own groups and with visiting musicians. One of his final gigs was in Dubai in June.

•••

JO STAFFORD, 90, a favorite vocalist known as "G.I. Jo" to American serviceman, died July 16 of congestive heart failure at her home in Century City, Calif.

Stafford first made her mark as a member of the Pied Pipers who sang with Tommy Dorsey and accompanied Frank Sinatra, but she later built a career as a solo performer, turning out hit after hit from the late 1930s to the mid 1950s. "You Belong to Me," her biggest hit, sold two million copies in 1952.

A versatile singer with a varied repertoire, Stafford's other hits included "Haunted Heart," "The Nearness of You," "I'll Be Seeing You," and "All the Things You Are." Her distinctive voice and pure delivery made her one of the most popular singers of the 1940s and 1950s.  

Stafford was also known for her sense of humor, recording a musical parody of "Temptation" as "Cinderella G. Stump" with Red Ingle and creating an hilarious party act with her husband, arranger Paul Weston. The two performed as "Jonathan and Darlene Edwards," an incredibly inept lounge act featuring wrong chords, unsteady rhythm and off-pitch singing, and their expertise at comedy won them a Grammy in 1961. Particularly memorable was their version of "Staying Alive," backed by "I Am Woman," recorded in 1977.

August 2008 issue | © 2008 The Mississippi Rag

P.O. Box 19068, Minneapolis, MN 55419.