REMEMBERING - New Jersey Jazz Society

JerseyArticlesJazzBig Band in the SkyThe New Jersey Jazz Society mourns thepassing of former president Ed Metz, Sr.■ Edwin Irvin Metz, Sr., 74, pianist,bandleader, composer/arranger, June 14,1935, Bath, PA – September 1, 2009,Allentown, PA. By every measure — as anengineer and businessman, as a family man,and as a jazzman — Ed Metz, Sr. lived a lifeof extraordinary accomplishment. As ayoung engineer he was on the cutting edgeof technological innovation as part of theteam that developed the first computer; butas a musician, Ed was strictly a traditionalist,who worked tirelessly to keep Chicagostyleswing and New Orleans jazz alive.The eldest of three boys, Ed grew up inBath, Pennsylvania and attended CentralCatholic High School in Allentown wherehe met Johanna “Joey” Kulowitch, whowould later become his wife of 52 years.He studied physics at St. Joseph’s Universityas a scholarship student and it was there hebegan his musical career, composing theuniversity’s fight song and serving as musicaldirector for student musical theaterpieces. At the time he also began his jazzcareer, honing his piano playing skillstouring with The City Line 5.After graduation, Ed began his career as anengineer at the Philco Corporation, where heworked on the production of the first computer,and married his childhood sweetheart,Joey. Concurrently he became an activepiano sideman on the Philly jazz scene.In 1966 Philco was sold to the Ford MotorCompany and Ed and Joey moved with theirthree young sons to Ann Arbor, Michigan.There he joined a group of entrepreneurs toform a data management company calledCyphernetics and jumped into the Detroitjazz scene, including playing with the NewMcKinney’s Cottonpickers among others.Cyphernetics developed many products thatwere well ahead of their time, and whoseconcepts are contained in many of the mostimportant PC applications, even today. In1976 the company was acquired byAutomatic Data Processing and Ed and hisfamily moved to Montville, NJ where helived for the next 30 years.After Ed left ADP he became involved incorporate mergers and acquisitions, servingon the boards of a half dozen technical firmsand finally retiring in 1998. But he neverretired from music, and often traveled oftento perform at jazz festivals around thecountry working with Dixieland and Swingbands, particularly Swing’n Dixie and,beginning in 1991, with the Bob Crosby BobCats where he served as leader and arrangeruntil the time of his death. A family affair,his sons, drummer Ed, Jr. and bassist Tim,regularly performed in the group.Ed became an active member of the NJJS,joining the Board of Directors in 1993 andserving as a member of the EducationCommittee. He served a term as vice presidentof the Board in 1994 and as presidentin 1995. He also served as vice president ofthe American Federation of Jazz Societies.Ed performed several times at NJJS events,including with Bobby Levine and hisDixieland All-Stars at the BridgewaterManor in 1989 and at “Spring Into Spring”in 1990, at the Society’s Annual meetingwith sons Ed, Jr. and Tim in 1995 and againwith his sons and Alan and Warren Vaché atJazzfest in 2002. Most recently Ed led theBob Crosby Bob Cats at Jazzfest in 2008.In addition to being a fine pianist, Edwas a prolific music writer, composing anastounding 500 original songs and writingmore than 1,000 big band arrangements.Among Ed’s many perfomance highlightswas an appearance at President RonaldReagan’s second Inaugural Ball at theKennedy Center.Donations in Ed’s memory may be made tothe American Diabetes Association,Northern NJ Office, Center Pointe II, Suite103, 1160 Route 22 East, Bridgewater, NJ08807. — Tony Mottola[Thanks to Joanne Day, Joe Lang, DonRobertson and the Metz family for assistancewith this obituary.]■ Chris Connor, 81, vocalist, Nov. 8, 1927,Kansas City, MO – August 29, 2009, TomsRiver, NJ. Legendary jazz vocalist ChrisConnor, who first came to prominence withthe orchestras of ClaudeThornhill and StanKenton and went onto record dozens ofsuccessful albums andsingles, died on Saturdayevening, August 29 at theCommunity MedicalCenter in Toms River, NJfollowing a long boutwith cancer. She was 81. Among her manyhits were “All About Ronnie,” “Trust in Me”and “I Miss You So.” Nearly her entirerecorded legacy has been reissued on CD,including such classic albums as The GeorgeGershwin Almanac of Song, Witchcraft andLullaby of Birdland.Chris Connor was among the most popular’50s vocalists, famous for altering rhythmson ballads, using little vibrato except onspecial occasions, and a husky, lush soundand she continued to record and performsuccessfully throughout the world for thenext 50 years.Born Mary Loutsenhizer in Kansas City, MOon Nov. 8, 1927, Connor studied clarinet foreight years as a child, then began singing inher late teens. She was the vocalist with alarge band at the University of Missouri ledby Bob Brookmeyer modeled after theKenton band. After working with a group inKansas City, Connor moved to New York in1949. She sang with Claude Thornhill,Herbie Fields and Thornhill again in theearly ’50s, performing with Thornhill’s vocalcontinued on page 1210_________________________________ October 2009