Obituary: Goodbye Uncle Ted

My uncle Ted died on Thursday, may 12. Who was my uncle Ted? Ted Nash (my namesake) was one of the greatest saxophone player appear on the scene during the era of swing band, solo star pillar in the Les Brown band at the end of the 1940s.

He loved playing and learning and in his early years always sought opportunities where the action was, playing serious was happening. After a concert with the "Milkshake band", as the Brown band called affectionately, he would head to the clubs where greats such as Bird, Lester Young, and Lionel Hampton were playing end sets and sit in. During this period, he became quite well known as a soloist, finishing 4th in the tenor saxophone Downbeat critics poll (behind Lester Young).

He was also known for his use of the altissimo register (something rarely addressed at the time). In 1949, he wrote a book entitled high harmonic for the Saxophone, a book which is still available today. In fact, many people think that it is my book (wish I could take credit for it!). Even with his success as a jazz player, he had threw his vest on the Los Angeles studio scene thriving and settled there soon after its passage with the Brown. He had a remarkable career doing TV, films and recordings - he was almost all Henry Mancini soundtrack made since the 1950s in the 8Os. Frank Sinatra in an interview said Ted Nash has been his favorite saxophonist. In fact, Sinatra would hire him to set up a quartet play parties at his house, with guests such as Humphrey Bogart and Judy Garland, who eventually always sitting in the group.

In the 1980s, disappointed by the change in the quality of the stage of commercial music, my uncle retired very young (in his sixties) and appreciated his retirement playing tennis, spend time with his wife and walking on the beach front of his nice house in CarmelEn California.

Five years earlier, in the middle of writing a book, a memory of his trip music, he suffers an attack which seriously reduced its ability to complete the final chapters. I'm flying from New York several times to work with him on the book, now finished. It is an interesting, often humorous a life rich in musical and personal experiences. All we need is a Publisher...

Although his to settle in the studios largely withdrawn from the public scene, I always run in people asking to express how he inspired the. On my recent release, "The Mancini project," I pay tribute to Ted Uncle (and my father Dick Nash) in many respects, but particularly by playing his interpretation of the bridge on Dreamsville using the same increase, expression and phrasing. Of course, I did not seem to be him - which would be impossible - but he felt certain that good try!

I'll write a more in the article in depth on Ted Nash, who will appear here and in all the words of Jazz at the end of the month.

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