[Dixielandjazz] John LaPorta - obit.

[Stephen Barbone]

Tired tonight and hazy as to whether this appeared on the DJML last week
or not. LaPorta may not have been a Dixieland player, but he was one
hell of a clarinetist / composer / arranger etc., in a variety of
musical settings. He was with Woody Herman and that's OKOM for some of
us.

Sadly,
Steve Barbone

SARASOTA, Fla. - John D. LaPorta, a classically trained clarinetist who
performed with the stars of early modern jazz before beginning a long
teaching and composing career, died here on Wednesday, his family
announced. He was 84.

Mr. LaPorta played and recorded with many prominent jazz musicians,
including Kenny Clarke, Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Dizzy Gillespie,
Buddy Rich and Miles Davis. From 1944 to 1946 he was a performer and
composer for the Woody Herman Orchestra. He also performed with Leonard
Bernstein,  Igor Stravinsky, Leopold Stokowski and the Boston Pops.

Mr. LaPorta composed jazz and classical works in many genres, including
film soundtracks, and published some 200 compositions. Born on April 13,
1920, in Philadelphia, he received a bachelor's degree in music in 1956
and a master's degree in music education in 1957 from the Manhattan
School of Music.

Mr. LaPorta taught at the Berklee College of Music in Boston for more
than 35 years and was a founding member of the National Association of
Jazz Educators, now the International Association of Jazz Educators. In
2001 he published an autobiography, "Playing It by Ear" (North  Country
Distributors).

His survivors include his wife, Virginia; his daughters Donna Marks of
Newburyport, Mass.; Karen Burnham of Evans, Ga.; Jeanette McCarthy of
Winchester, Mass.; his son, John Jr., of Beverly, Mass.; a brother,
Salvatore; a sister, Rose Vissichelli; and five grandchildren