Buddy Arnold dies

[brownie]

From Reuters:

Jazz Saxophonist Buddy Arnold Dead at 77

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Saxophonist Buddy Arnold, who performed with such jazz greats as Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich and Tommy Dorsey and co-founded a program to help musicians suffering from drug and alcohol abuse, died on Sunday at age 77, his publicist said.

The Bronx-born Arnold, who fought his own battle with drug addiction for years and served time in prison, died of complications from open-heart surgery, publicist Ronnie Lippin said in a statement.

Born Arnold Buddy Grishaver, he began playing the saxophone at age 9. And by the time he was 16, he was touring as a professional sideman and performing at the Apollo Theater in Harlem with bandleader George Auld. After serving in the Army during World War II, Arnold joined the band of super-drummer Buddy Rich on a West Coast tour.

Arnold earned his first recording credits in 1949 on the Mercury Records release of Gene Williams and the Junior Thornhill Band, and he toured with clarinetist Buddy DeFranco's orchestra in 1951. But he soon descended into a decades-long struggle with drug addiction.

Although he landed a recording contract with ABC Paramount in 1956 following an 18-month hospitalization, he was sentenced to prison in 1958 on an attempted burglary conviction. Pardoned two years later, he played with the Dorsey Band and toured with Stan Kenton.

He later settled in Los Angeles and recorded four albums for Capitol Records. After a brief period of sobriety he began using drugs again and in 1981 was sentenced to seven years in state prison for forging prescriptions and impersonating a doctor.

Arnold took a job in a drug treatment program after his early release from      prison and went on to establish the Musician's Assistance Program with his wife, Carole Fields, in 1992. The organization, dedicated to helping needy musicians obtain treatment for drug and alcohol addiction, has served more than 1,500 individuals during the past decade.

Arnold is survived by his wife, his son Rob from a previous marriage, and a sister, Elaine Weiner.

Arnold made only one record with ABC 'Wailing'. Excellent one. It was reissued years ago by Fresh Sounds.