Joseph Aglialoro – Saxophone

Jerome Ashby – French Horn

Leo Ball – Trumpet

Evelyn Blakey – Vocalist

Henry F. Bloch – Bass/Conductor

Arthur A. Bloom – Clarinet/Copyist

George J. Gaber – Drums/Conductor

May K. Harrow – Piano

Roger Hartman – Saxophone

Herman B. Jenkins – Trumpet

Ralph Kessler – Piano/Arranger

Charles Macey – Guitar

Beverly Mann – Harp

Earl May – Bass

Marjorie Neal – Cello

Ronald W. Noll – Piano

Edward L. Ross – Accordion

John Sbano – Saxophone

Edward N. Scott – Piano

Dan Shilling – Drums

Paul Swain – Saxophone

Rudy (Harry) Tepel – Saxophone

Eleanor Waalen – Violin

Jerome Ashby

Jerome Ashby, 51, a French hornist who joined Local 802 in 1974, died on Dec. 26.

Mr. Ashby earned a chair with the New York Philharmonic in 1979 and served as associate principal horn as well as principal Wagner tuba.

A native of Charleston, South Carolina, he attended the High School of Performing Arts in New York and then Juilliard. Mr. Ashby was an active recitalist and chamber musician and served on the faculties of Juilliard, the Curtis Institute, the Aspen Music Festival School and the Manhattan School of Music, where he was a founding teacher of the school’s graduate program in orchestral performance.

He is survived by his wife Patricia, mother Miriam, daughters Elizabeth, Juanita, Violeta and Melody, and grandson Jerome.

See President Landolfi’s tribute to Mr. Ashby, and Wilmer Wise’s letter in this issue.

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Leo Ball

Leo Ball, 80, a trumpeter and a Local 802 member since 1959, died on Dec. 15.

Mr. Ball’s musical career in New York City began when he arrived here following Navy service in World War II. He played with Xavier Cugat, Billy May and Perez Prado, and was musical director for Paul Anka.

Mr. Ball went on to become one of the city’s better-known trumpet players and was a familiar figure at jazz clubs and other venues. In a profile in the July 2006 issue of Allegro, he was interviewed by Bill Crow and talked openly of his life and career. Allegro also frequently published profiles written by Mr. Ball, who enjoyed interviewing some of his own heroes, including Joe Bennett, Chris Griffin, Marty Napoleon, Bucky Pizzarelli, Joe Wilder, Lew Anderson, Joe Temperley and Bobby Pring.

For 20 years, Mr. Ball served as the administrator of Local 802’s payroll service, Legit 802.

Present at his memorial service was his former wife, jazz singer Nancy Marano, with whom he maintained a close relationship. Other performers included Gene Bertoncini, Marty Bound, Barry Bryson, Jerry Dodgion, John Mosca, Carlene Ray, Ali Ryerson, Joe Temperly, Richie Vitalie and Jack Wilkins. 802 Recording Vice President Bill Dennison praised Mr. Ball’s contributions to the union, his ever-present smile and good humor, and his courage in continuing his work and making others feel comfortable as he faced his terminal illness, describing Leo as a “mensch.”

Besides his former wife Nancy, Mr. Ball is survived by his brother Charles, daughters Joanna Ball and Sondra Sherman, son Ben Ochart and five grandchildren.

Read Bill Crow’s extensive profile of Leo Ball, “A Trumpeters Tale” in the July 2006 issue.

To read the interviews that Mr. Ball conducted with notable jazz musicians, click on “Local 802 News,” then “Publications and Press Releases,” then scroll down and select “Allegro interviews” from the drop-down “Search for subject” menu. Click on “Find articles” to see a list of interviews.

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Beverly Mann

Beverly Mann, 82, a harpist and pianist who joined Local 802 in 1944, died on Dec. 10.

Born in New York City, Ms. Mann was a graduate of the High School of Music and Art. She later earned her degree at Juilliard.

Ms. Mann was the original harpist for the Broadway production of “The Fantasticks” and performed in many other Broadway musicals. She also played in small ensembles and accompanied singers, voice teachers and choral societies. She was the harpist for the daily radio show given by the Stork Club.

After moving to Seattle in 1976, Ms. Mann relinquished the harp for the piano, her first love. She performed with the Seattle Symphony, the Seattle Opera and the Northwest Chamber Orchestra. She also enjoyed performing at small venues.

As a gifted piano teacher, Ms. Mann’s philosophy was “There is enough beautiful music in the world that you should never be forced to play anything that you don’t absolutely love.”

Ms. Mann was preceded in death by her husband of 43 years, trumpeter Arthur Statter, who was also a Local 802 member.

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Earl May

The jazz bassist Earl May, 80, a member of Local 802 since 1947, died on Jan. 5.

Born in New York City, he was lucky enough to count among his teachers bass legend Charles Mingus.

Mr. May was the only bassist who played with his left hand but kept the strings in their normal order. Therefore, the high G string was closest to him and the low E was furthest away. He once told the story of doing a trio gig where the drummer was also left handed, so both the bassist and the drummer were playing “reversed.” The story goes that a musician who had smoked some pot before entering the club thought he was seeing things backward and blamed it on the pot!

You can go decade by decade through Mr. May’s career and read a who’s who of jazz.

In the 1950’s he played with Big John Greer, Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt, Joe Holiday, Tony Scott, Jackie Paris, Barbara Lea, Quincy Jones, Anthony Ortega, Webster Young, John Coltrane, Lorez Alexandria, Hal Serra and Chet Baker.

In the 60’s, he recorded with the Buddy Rich combos, Dave McKenna, Hall Overton, Charlie Rouse, Herman Foster, Shirley Scott, Stanley Turrentine, Lou Donaldson and Mose Allison,

From the 70’s through the 90’s he recorded with Johnny Hartman, Dizzy Gillespie, Billy Mitchell, Archie Shepp, the Canadian Warren Chiasson, Frank Foster, Ruby Braff, Mickey Tucker, Benny Waters, Dave Van Ronk, Marlene Shaw, Carmen Bradford, Claude Williams, Irving Stokes, Grover Mitchell and Junior Mance.

Finally, in the 21st century, Mr. May worked with Charles McPherson and Benny Powell.

This information came from an essay by pianist Pete Malinverni that was posted to the JazzWestCoast newsgroup.

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Ronald W. Noll

Ronald W. Noll, 78, a Local 802 member since 1956, died on Jan. 15.

Mr. Noll was a pianist, music supervisor, arranger, conductor and copyist. He is best known for being the music director and conductor of the Village Light Opera Group, a post he held for 50 years. Mr. Noll was considered an authority on Gilbert and Sullivan as well as American operetta.

As conductor, Mr. Noll led productions of the Manhattan Savoyards, Gloriana Productions, the Eastern Opera Theatre, the Opera Theatre of New Jersey, Opera Northeast, the Light Opera of Manhattan, the New England Light Opera, the Manhattan Singers and the British-American Light Opera Exchange in London, and others.

Mr. Noll was also music supervisor and manager of the CBS music library for 32 years. During his tenure, Mr. Noll performed sound editing for Gotham Records; wrote, edited and assembled sound cues for CBS Radio Mystery Theatre and the Play of the Week for PBS; and supplied music for all CBS shows originating in New York City. He won an Emmy Award in 1965 for “The Forgotten River — Eye on New York,” a Clio Award in 1966 for the Ted Mack Amateur Hour, and an International Broadcasting Award/Peabody Award. His soundtrack to “Commentary of the 20th Century” was featured at the New York Museum of Modern Art.

Mr. Noll was a 32nd degree mason at the Hugenot Lodge of Kutztown and the Rajah Shrine in Reading.

He is survived by his wife Sara-Ann Noll, daughter Christiane, son-in-law Jamie LaVerdiere, and his cousins.

For more information on Mr. Noll’s life, see www.vlog.org.

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Paul Swain

Paul Swain, 96, a saxophonist and an 802 member since 1941, died on Jan. 5.

As a top alto sax player in the 1930’s and ’40s, he played with Paul Whiteman, Benny Goodman, Scat Davis, Teddy Powell and Henry Halstead. In 1939, he married Alice G. Rennenberg of Louisville, and the two of them toured with bands before settling in New York City, where he worked as a performer and arranger.

Although he was sought by Glenn Miller for his overseas band, Mr. Swain was drafted into the Army during World War II and served in the Signal Corps in Europe, where he also formed his own band. Returning to New York after the war, he worked as an arranger in top radio and television programs, including Ed Sullivan’s “Toast of the Town,” the Jackie Gleason Show, and the Kate Smith, Robert Q. Lewis and Philco Radio Hour programs.

Mr. Swain later arranged for Broadway shows such as “Man of La Mancha,” “Paint Your Wagon” and “Barnum” and wrote arrangements for early pop records, including “It’s All in the Game” for Tommy Edwards and “Stupid Cupid” for Connie Francis. Working with Leroy Holmes, Cy Schaeffer, and Mitch Leigh, he wrote LP arrangements of movie scores, as well as music for many famous radio and TV commercials. In his latter years, he returned to performing, last working professionally in September 2007, just before his 96th birthday.

He is survived by his daughters Charlotte Hoare, Susan Swain and Mary Ellen Adams; son John; and 13 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

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