[Dixielandjazz] Re: Billy Maxted

Bill Haesler bhaesler@nsw.bigpond.net.au
Sat, 09 Nov 2002 08:36:44 +1100


Dear Steve and friends,
I recall that when Billy Maxted died in Sept last year, there was a lot abo=
ut it
on the DJML
There was also an obit in the Riverwalk 'Jazz Me News' as under:
Note quotes from some of our DJML mates.

CLASSIC JAZZ ARRANGER BILLY MAXTED DEAD AT 84

Maxted, a Big Band era jazz musician who wrote for Benny Goodman and played
with Glenn Miller, died Thursday at the Fort Lauderdale, FL Health and
Rehabilitation Center. He was 84.

Born in Racine, WI in 1917, Maxted lived in Long Island, NY for much of his
life until he moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1961. While living in New York,
Maxted was a fixture at Nick's in Greenwich Village.

Florida musician Will Connelly mentions =B3Billy's heroic [WWII] service as a
carrier-based Navy fighter pilot in the Pacific. Billy will be forever
memorialized by the legacy of the great--and still played [arrangements] he
wrote for Goodman, Bob Crosby and other leaders.=B2

Don Ingle writes: =B3My friend, teacher, and mentor Red Nichols told me
several times that Billy Maxted was the finest piano man and arranger that
ever worked for him=8ABilly's playing was fine, but it was his arranging
skills for a small band that made him stand out. Today I would compare him
to John Sheridan with [Jim] Cullum's band as one who could write BIG for
small groups.=B2

Kind regards,
Bill.