[Trombone-l] Buddy Childers

[Bill Dinwiddie]

> This was posted this mornign on TPIN - Trumpet Player's International 
> Network. Another loss to the trumpet and big band world. Too bad...
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Fri, 25 May 2007 01:48:17 EDT
> From: Vaxtrpts at aol.com
> Subject: [TPIN] A Sad Announcement
> To: tpin at tpin.okcu.edu
> Message-ID: <d41.984e938.3387d2a1 at aol.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
>
> It is my sad task to let all of you know that one of the greatest lead
> trumpet players in the history of big bands passed away last night.  Buddy
> Childers died after a long illness.  Buddy was a good friend and the 
> reason
> that I
> first wanted to become a lead trumpet player.  His numerous  recordings 
> with
> the Stan Kenton Orchestra were my real introduction to that  world.
> My Kenton Alumni Band actually did a concert yesterday afternoon at the
> Balboa Pavilion in Newport Beach, California, as part of the LA Jazz 
> Institute
> "Swing into Spring" weekend of 24 different big band performances.  We 
> were  the
> opening "special" concert as a tribute to Stan.  The Balboa Pavilion is
> within a couple of blocks of the old Rendezvous Ballroom, where Stan made 
> his
> debut on Memorial Day Weekend of 1941.  It was a fitting place and time 
> for  us
> to perform.  During that performance, we performed "Solo for Buddy," 
> written
> in the early 50's for Buddy Childers by Bill Holman.  Carl Saunders  and I 
> did
> it as a duet.
> We actually had Norm Tompach from Friends of Big Band Jazz call Buddy on 
> the
> cell phone so that he could hear us play this rare piece in his honor. 
> He
> was sleeping and his son didn't want to wake him up.
> Little did we know that we would perform the piece on the exact day of his
> passing.
> Rest in Peace, Buddy.  You showed us all how to play lead trumpet the 
> right
> way!

> Mike Vax