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Thursday, December 30, 2004
Another star passes
Today we mourn the death of the great jazz clarinetist Artie Shaw. The AP's Jeff Wilson writes the obituary:
Artie Shaw, the clarinetist and bandleader whose recording of "Begin the Beguine" epitomized the Big Band era, died Thursday at his home. He was 94.Shaw was among the handful of musicians who truly shaped jazz, and for that all Americans should be thankful. Listening to his recordings of "Begin the Beguine" or "Stardust" today is as rewarding to the listener today as it was nearly 70 years ago. Artie Shaw will be missed.
Shaw had been in declining health for some time and apparently died of natural causes, his attorney and longtime friend Eddie Ezor said. Shaw's caregiver was with him when he died, Ezor said.
At his peak in the 1930s and '40s, Shaw pulled in a five-figure salary per week and ranked with Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller as the bandleaders who made music swing. But he left the music world largely behind in the mid-'50s and spent much of the second half of his life devoted to writing and other pursuits.
Image from Downbeat.com
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