REMEMBERING - New Jersey Jazz Society

JerseyArticlesJazzBIG BAND IN THE SKYcontinued from page 10group theSnowflakes.An admirer ofKenton singers AnitaO’Day and JuneChristy, Connorrecalled, “I hadmy sights set onsinging withKenton.” While appearing with Jerry Wald’sband, she got her wish, receiving a phonecall to join Kenton in 1952, with whom sherecorded her biggest hit, “All About Ronnie.”Connor went solo in 1953 and signed withBethlehem Records for two years. She thenmoved to Atlantic, and enjoyed worldwidesuccess as one of their biggest album sellers,having two chart singles in the late ’50s.They were the songs “Trust In Me” and thetitle cut from the album “I Miss You So.”Connor switched to Roulette and ABC-Paramount and was highly praised for her1966 appearance at the Austin Jazz Festival.Following a period of semi-retirement,Connor made a comeback in the mid-’70s,cutting albums with Kenton and MaynardFerguson. She continued recording into the’80s, ’90s, and 2000s for such labels asProgressive, Contemporary, High Note andEnja, and touring throughout the world,including Carnegie Hall in New York, theKennedy Center in Washington, D.C. andtop venues in Japan, where she was hugelypopular. Her last appearance was at theIridium jazz club in New York City in 2004in a split engagement with her idol AnitaO’Day. — Alan Eichler■ Lawrence Lucie, 101,guitarist, Dec. 19, 1907,Emporia, VA – Aug. 14, 2009,New York, NY. Prior to hisdeath at a Manhattan nursinghome on August 14, LawrenceLucie was the last livingmusician to have recorded withJelly Roll Morton. His longmusical career began in theearly years of jazz and theguitarist worked with a starstuddedlist of the music’s icons,including Duke Ellington, BillieHoliday, Fletcher Henderson, Benny Carter,Louie Bellson and many others.He was a member of Louis Armstrong’sband for four years in the early 1940s,during which time he served as best man atthe trumpeter’s marriage to fourth wifeLucille. He also performed at the ApolloTheater the first night the venue was openedto black audiences.“The most amazing thing about him is howmany great musicians he worked with,” commentedDan Morgenstern, director of theRutgers University Institute of jazz Studiesat a celebration of Lucie’s 100th birthday.“It’s like a whole living history of jazz.”Lucie studied banjo, guitar and violin in hisboyhood years and performed in a band ledby his father. He moved to New York City atage 19 and embarked on a musical careerthat lasted a remarkable 79 years. He was arhythm player who rarely stepped into thesolo spotlight, but his steady beat kept himin demand for recording sessions andearned him a seat in top bands.Later he performed and recorded with hiswife, singer Nora Lee King, and the couplehad their own Manhattan cable televisionprogram for many years. He taught music atManhattan Community College for 30 yearsand was a member of the New York JazzRepertory Company and the Harlem Jazzand Blues Band. He also performed withPanama Francis and the Savoy Sultans inthe 1980s and ’90s and had a long-standingSunday night solo spot at Arturo’s, aGreenwich Village Italian restaurant wherehe performed until 2005.Asked once about the secret of his long life,Lucie remarked: “I didn’t have but onewoman at a time. I didn’t drink a lot ofwhiskey. I did what my father told me to do.”— Tony Mottola■ Eddie Higgins, 77, pianist, Feb. 21, 1932,Cambridge, MA – Aug. 31, 2009, Ft.Lauderdale, FL. Higgins was an elegantplayer who is best known for a long run ashouse pianist atChicago’s formerLondon House jazzclub from the late1950s to the late1960s. He had movedto Chicago fromMassachusetts tostudy at the NorthwesternUniversitySchool of Music.He was known for sophisticated harmonics,an extensive repertoire and a knack forplaying in almost any style.“When he played at the London House, a lotof times the main act did not want to followhim — or shouldn’t have,” former Chicagopianist Judy Roberts told the ChicagoTribune. (Roberts took over Higgins’s gig atthe London House in 1969.)“He was brilliant and had tons of chopswithout being flamboyant,” Roberts said.“He had gorgeous facility, and he was highclassall the way. He never resorted to anycheap tricks…He was flawless.”At the famed London House, Higginsshared the bill with all the greats, includingOscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz,Erroll Garner and many others. Suitablyimpressed, several invited him torecord, including ColemanHawkins, Lee Morgan and JackTeagarden.In 1970 Higgins moved toFlorida and thereafter split histime between there and CapeCod, where he played the localclubs and enjoyed sailing andtennis. He also performed widelyon the jazz festival circuit inJapan and Europe, and recordedseveral best-selling albums forthe Japanese Venus label.— Tony Mottola JJ12_________________________________ October 2009