John Avanzino – Saxophone

Michael Brecker – Saxophone

Adolph Daidone (Al Duffy) – Violin

Kenny Davern – Saxophone

Edward G. Feldbauer – Bass

Marilyn Gibson – Violin

Stanley Hnetinka – Drums

Bob Kalin – Drums/Arranger

Mitchell Kay – Drums

Marguerite Kuehne-Fischer – Violin

Morris Newman – Bassoon

Frank Paone – Violin

Bernard Portnoy – Clarinet

John Rossi – French Horn

Joseph Scariza – Saxophone

Jack “Red” Snyder – Drums

Bernard Sperber – Piano

Vrolyk Vroman – Piano/Arranger

Avram Weiss – Violin

Michael Brecker

Michael Brecker, the jazz saxophonist, died on Jan. 13. He had been a Local 802 member since 1971.

Michael Brecker was born in Philadelphia and exposed to jazz at an early age by his father, an amateur jazz pianist. He began studying clarinet, then moved to alto saxophone in school, eventually settling on the tenor saxophone as his primary instrument. After only a year at Indiana University, Mr. Brecker moved to New York City in 1970. He first made his mark at age 21 as a member of the jazz/rock band Dreams — a band that included his older brother Randy, trombonist Barry Rogers, drummer Billy Cobham, Jeff Kent and Doug Lubahn.

After Dreams, he worked with Horace Silver and Cobham before once again teaming up with brother Randy to form the Brecker Brothers Band.

Mr. Brecker collaborated with James Taylor, Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Donald Fagen and Joni Mitchell. During the early 80’s he was also a member of NBC’s Saturday Night Live band. He also played sax briefly on Frank Zappa’s live album “Zappa in New York.”

After a stint co-leading the all-star group Steps Ahead with Mike Mainieri, Mr. Brecker recorded a solo album in 1987, where he played the EWI — the Electronic Wind Instrument.

He continued to record albums as a leader throughout the 1990’s and 2000’s, winning multiple Grammy awards.

Mr. Brecker had been diagnosed with the blood disorder myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Despite a widely-publicized worldwide search, he was unable to find a matching stem cell donor.

He is survived by his wife Susan, children Jessica and Sam, brother Randy and sister Emily Brecker Greenberg.

Edited from Wikipedia.

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Adolph Daidone (Al Duffy)

Adolph Daidone — professionally known as Al Duffy — died on Dec. 22. The violinist was 100 years old and had been a member of 802 since 1924.

He was born in Brooklyn and was a resident of Freehold, New Jersey, since 1978.

Mr. Daidone was a nationally renowned violin virtuoso whose career spanned several decades of entertainment in radio, recording, and stage. He was awarded the Philco Radio Hall of Fame Citation for outstanding artistry. He played for the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, Bell Telephone Orchestra with such luminaries as the Dorsey Brothers, Bobby Hackett, Dinah Shore, Jimmy Durante and many others.

He is survived by four children: Vincent and his wife Barbara, Theresa Kimmel and her husband Monroe, John and his wife Elna, and Louis and his wife Teri; eight grandchildren; and eleven great grandchildren.

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Kenny Davern

Kenny Davern, 71, a saxophonist and clarinetist and an 802 member since 1951, died on Dec. 12.

At 16, Mr. Davern joined Local 802 as a baritone saxophonist. Soon after, he was playing with Jack Teagarden, Phil Napoleon, Pee Wee Erwin, the Dukes of Dixieland, Red Allen, Ralph Sutton, Yank Lawson and Dick Wellstood.

When a spontaneous coupling with fellow reedman Bob Wilber at Dick Gibson’s Colorado Jazz Party turned out be a huge success, one of the most important jazz groups of the 1970’s — Soprano Summit — was born. Co-led by Wilber and Mr. Davern — both switching between the clarinet and various saxophones — they enjoyed a very successful string of record dates and concerts. When the group disbanded in 1979, Mr. Davern devoted himself to solely playing clarinet, preferring trio formats with piano and drums. (The group re-surfaced in the 1990’s as Summit Reunion.)

Mr. Davern also loved playing with guitarists; some included Bucky Pizzarelli, Howard Alden and James Chirillo.

Although he played in many traditional jazz and swing settings, in 1978 Mr. Davern collaborated with avant-garde players Steve Lacy, Steve Swallow and Paul Motian on a free-jazz-inspired album entitled “Unexpected.”

In 1997, he was inducted into the Jazz Hall of Fame at Rutgers University.

Mr. Davern is survived by his wife Elsa Green, stepchildren Mark Lass and Deborah Wuensch, and four step-grandchildren.

Edited from Wikipedia.

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Marilyn Gibson

Marilyn Gibson-Malosh, 55, a violinist and violist and an 802 member since 1975, died on Dec. 15.

Ms. Gibson was a well-known, busy freelance violinist in New York City for over 30 years, performing with many orchestras including the Opera Orchestra of New York, American Ballet Theatre, Queens Symphony, American Symphony and on Broadway.

A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, she was also a sought-after teacher at the School for Strings, Long Island University and Montclair State University among others.

Ms. Gibson was also very active in chamber music performances in New Jersey with the Herrick Trio, and was a published author and frequent lecturer.

She spent the final year-and-a-half of her life in Florida with her husband of 22 years, Timothy Malosh.

Besides her husband, she is survived by her father Robert N. Gibson, stepmother Mary Gibson and brothers Robert Jr. and Jeffrey.

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Bob Kalin

Bob Kalin, a jazz drummer, composer, and arranger, and an 802 member since 1935, died one year ago on Jan. 25, 2006, four weeks short of his 95th birthday.

Mr. Kalin was 14 years old when he began his musical career, playing drums with a band in a Catskills summer resort. He continued to work as a jazz drummer — with a detour into political organizing for five years — until shortly after the birth of his second daughter in the mid-1940’s. At that time, he opened up Academy Music Studios, which became one of the largest private music schools in Brooklyn.

Mr. Kalin also continued working as a composer and arranger until his retirement in 1976. He was a great supporter of unionism throughout his life.

“Bob’s unquenchable spirit, wit, and love of life will be sorely missed and always remembered,” wrote his daughter Ruth, in an e-mail to Allegro.

In addition to his daughter, Mr. Kalin is survived by his other daughter, Judy, a clarinetist and 802 member; son-in-law Steve Freeman, who is the bass clarinetist with the New York Philharmonic; and grandsons Eric and Gene, a third generation 802 member.

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Morris Newman

Morris Newman, 80, a bassoonist and an 802 member since 1943, died on Oct. 9, 2006.

Mr. Newman started his career in music at age 17, playing first bassoon for the Kansas City Philharmonic. He ended it last April in a performance at Carnegie Hall with the Senior Citizen Orchestra of New York. In the 63 years between, he played with the New Orleans Opera Orchestra, the Mexico City Symphony, the Symphony of the Air, the Musica Aeterna Orchestra, the Long Island Philharmonic, the Robert Shaw Chorale, the Queens Symphony and the City Center Opera. As a chamber musician, he performed and recorded with the New Art Wind Quintet, the Festival Winds and the New York Chamber Soloists. And he can even be heard on Pink Floyd’s album “The Wall.”

In the 1960’s, Mr. Newman got in on the ground floor of the early music scene in New York, performing and recording with pioneering groups like the New York Pro Musica and the Krainis Consort. He was a founding member of Trio Flauto Dolce, the Renaissance Quartet and Ensemble BREVE, in which he performed with his wife, flutist and recorder player Deborah Booth, for 25 years. He mastered baroque and Renaissance recorder, rackett, krummhorn, shawm and dulcian.

For more than 40 years, he taught bassoon, recorder, and chamber music at Columbia University. With his musicologist brother Joel he founded, directed and taught at the Provincetown Collegium.

Mr. Newman is survived by his wife Deborah, children Joel David Newman and Martha Newman, brother Joel, and sisters Dorothy Swayze and Phoebe Sheres.

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John Rossi

John Rossi, 79, a French hornist and an 802 member since 1952, died last year on March 27, 2006.

Born in Washington, he studied violin with his father who played first violin in the National Symphony Orchestra.

While still a teenager, he worked as an usher at Constitution Hall and thus began his love for opera and symphony.

At this time he switched to French horn and also worked in the shop of Alberto Moglie, where he began his lifelong study of great Italian string instruments. Mr. Rossi became one of the foremost restorers and a renowned expert of modern Italian violins.

After serving in the Coast Guard band during World War II, he played with the National Symphony.

In 1952, he came to New York and began a long career in opera, symphony and recording, performing under Leopold Stokowski, Sir Thomas Beecham, Max Rudolf, Erich Leinsdorf, Karl Bohm and many others. He played many musical shows and on broadcasts, including the Bell Telephone Hour and U.S. Steel broadcasts. For 30 years, he played first horn on summer concerts with the Goldman band.

Mr. Rossi is survived by his companion Assunta Dell’Aquila (a member of Local 802), as well as his son Jonathan and daughter Aleta.

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