Ira Sullivan R.I.P.
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Ira Sullivan, a fantastic Jazz multi-instrumentalist died on September 21 at age 89. A year and one half ago I saw him him play Trumpet, Flugelhorn, as well as every variety of Saxophone and flute known to man during a performance in Florida. He was a great musician and a nice individual. He was very approachable.
Below is a link to an article from the Chicago Tribune reporting his death and summarizing his career. Also there are two videos below, the first featuring Ira Sullivan on Soprano Saxophone and the second on Flugelhorn. -
I was first introduced to Ira on the tune "It Could Only Happen To Me" from his Horizons album. He plays somewhat rubato on trumpet then it goes into a soft straight ahead, medium tempo on tenor sax. A friend was sandbagging me and didn't tell me it was Ira an both trumpet and ax. He played both with equal mastery. Great player who always had a lot to say in his playing.
