Jump to content

Those who have passed away this year in the world of jazz in 2013


Hardbopjazz

Recommended Posts

Virginia Wicks...publicist/agent dies at age 93. I can't recall exactly when we began to have talks [which I thought to record, but didn't; learned so much on every occasion ]. She was affiliated with not only musicians, but many star entertainers.

I was a newcomer to college radio, and each time we spoke she spent time with me as if I were from the NY Times or a major TV outlet. She introduced me to Eldar's music on one of our first calls, when he was 15, and I believe he did his first radio interview with us on KSJS.

He first client was Nat King Cole dating back to 1944 in NY

Some excerpts of an article when she died in March:

"Among those she represented in jazz were Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, Josh White, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Norman Granz and his Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts and Verve Records, Lionel Hampton, jazz critic Leonard Feather (and his daughter, Lorraine) , George Shearing, Al Grey, Julie London, Charlie Barnet, Annie Ross, Jon Hendricks, James Moody, the Lionel Hampton and Newport Jazz Festivals, Jean Bach’s documentary film A Great Day In Harlem and Eldar Djangirov, the jazz piano phenom who at age 19 in 2005 dedicated his recorded composition “Lady Wicks” to his pro-bono publicist and friend.

Other clients included Rock Hudson, Shari Lewis, Eartha Kitt, Cornel Wilde, Theo Bikel, Jayne Mansfield, Marilyn Monroe, Harry Belafonte, Jean Pierre Aumont, Grace Kelly, the Hi Lo’s, John Ireland, the Clara Ward Singers, Dorothy Dandridge, Polly Bergen, Joel Grey, Salvador Dali, producer/director Herb Ross, Diahann Carroll, Pat Carroll, Orson Bean, Howard Keel, Arlene Dahl, Red Buttons, the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain, and Bobby Short.

Wicks established her public relations firm in New York in the late ’40s and made her trek west in 1958.

Virginia Elaine Wicks was born in Long Beach on Dec. 9, 1920"

Edited by Mike Schwartz
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Belgian pianist and composer Kris Goessens, at the age of 46

Wow, did he really die? What happened? I heard him in the Hague in 2001, and met him here briefly. So young....

Belgian pianist and composer Kris Goessens, at the age of 46

Wow, did he really die? What happened? I heard him in the Hague in 2001, and met him here briefly. So young....

I see that it was an apparent suicide. How horrible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...