[Dixielandjazz] Jonh Levy, jazz bassist and manager, dies at 99-- NY Times 1-24-12

[Norman Vickers]

To:  Musicians and Jazzfans list;  DJML

From:  Norman Vickers, Jazz Society of Pensacola

 

See Nate Chinen's obituary of bassist/jazz manager John Levy,  New York
Times 1-24-12

 

 

  _____  

January 24, 2012


John Levy, Bassist and Talent Manager, Dies at 99


By
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/nate_chinen/in
dex.html?inline=nyt-per> NATE CHINEN


John Levy, a bassist and pioneering talent manager whose roster included
some of the biggest names in jazz, notably Nancy Wilson, Joe Williams,
Cannonball Adderley and Wes Montgomery, died on Friday at his home in
Altadena, Calif. He was 99.

His death was confirmed by his wife and business partner, Devra Hall Levy.

Widely credited as the first African-American personal manager in jazz, Mr.
Levy entered that profession by happenstance: he was a member of the
original George Shearing Quintet in the late 1940s, and by virtue of his
diligent practicality, he gradually found himself entrusted with most of the
group's business decisions. He established his management company, John Levy
Enterprises, in 1951; Shearing, the British pianist then still riding the
momentum of an international hit, "September in the Rain," became his first
client.

He would go on to represent singers like Betty Carter, Abbey Lincoln and
Shirley Horn; pace-setting bandleaders like Ahmad Jamal, Ramsey Lewis,
Freddie Hubbard and Herbie Hancock; and crossover stars like Roberta Flack
and Les McCann.

Self-taught as a businessman, Mr. Levy cultivated bonds of trust with his
clients, preferring a handshake to a formal contract. At a time when jazz
musicians were often at the mercy of inequitable deals with club owners,
record labels and publishing houses, he earned a reputation for clear-eyed
tenacity.

In dealing with artists it didn't hurt that Mr. Levy was an accomplished
jazz musician himself. In the handful of years before he became a full-time
manager, he had accompanied Billie Holiday at Carnegie Hall; worked with the
tenor saxophonists Don Byas and Lucky Thompson; and recorded in a trio with
the pianist Lennie Tristano and the guitarist Billy Bauer. He anchored
Shearing's modern but accessible quintet. And he was on one of the first
recordings by the pianist Erroll Garner.

John Levy was born on April 11, 1912, in New Orleans. His father, John, was
a railroad engine stoker; his mother, Laura, a midwife and nurse. Mr. Levy
said he was largely reared by his grandparents. When he was 5 his family
moved to Chicago, taking an apartment above the Royal Gardens, a dance hall
that featured New Orleans jazz. He became a bassist in his teens after
dabbling in piano and violin; the bassist Milt Hinton, though only a few
years older, was a mentor.

Mr. Levy found his foothold in the Chicago jazz scene while working a day
job at the post office, running a small-time numbers racket and starting a
family with his first wife, Gladys. He bought a cheap plywood bass, painted
white, that would serve him through most of his musical career. Through the
black musicians' union he landed a gig with the violinist Stuff Smith, who
ended up bringing him to New York.

The Stuff Smith Trio, also featuring the pianist Jimmy Jones, held a steady
engagement at the Onyx Club on 52nd Street, beginning in 1944; from time to
time the tenor saxophonist Ben Webster would join as a special guest.

Mr. Levy had no problem finding subsequent work, especially once he formed a
working partnership with the drummer Denzil Best, his band mate in the
Shearing Quintet. The two hired themselves out as a rhythm section.

Mr. Levy's first three marriages ended in divorce. He is survived by his
wife; his son, Michael; his daughters Pamela McRae, Samara Levy and Jole
Levy; 15 grandchildren, and many great-grandchildren. His second wife, Gail
Fisher, was among the first black actresses to have a prominent role in a
primetime dramatic series, "Mannix." She died in 2000.

In 2006, the National Endowment for the Arts recognized Levy as a Jazz
Master, the nation's highest jazz honor.