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Very, very sad news today, as Dallas has lost one of its greatest jazzers and finest people: Marchel Ivery. His wife confirms he died this morning at Presbyterian Hospital, just one day after checking in. He’d had a fever for two days and was diagnosed with pneumonia; he died around 11 this morning. His friends and family describe his death as nothing less than a “shock,” as Ivery was in good health only a few days ago. He turned 69 on September 13.
“It’s a tremendous loss,” says Mark Elliott, who released three of Ivery’s albums on his defunct Leaning House label. “Not only was he a great musician but he was a great person too. I’m gonna miss him.” Elliott says he saw Ivery only a few weeks back, when the Texas tenor led an after-hours jam session with Wynton Marsalis, following Marsalis’ September 19 performance at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.
Ivery’s wife says no funeral has yet been planned, but when it takes place it will be at Golden Gate Funeral Home. We will have more later in the day, including some of Ivery’s music and reminiscences from his friends and colleagues. — Robert Wilonsky
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