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Howie Leess
- From: Jordan Hirsch <trombaedu...>
- Subject: Howie Leess
- Date: Tue 26 Aug 2003 19.59 (GMT)
I played for a number of years with Howie, first for the Messengers,
then Neshoma, and for Satmar bandleader Ben Zion Moshe Rosenberg as
well as the odd Klezmer date.
Howie and I played all over New York, as well as a number of "out-of
town" gigs, where he was a kind and delightful traveling companion.
While he was well known and acclaimed for his rhythmic saxophone
accompaniments, he was an excellent harmony section player, who could
play any chair in a horn section with a sensitive ear and smooth,
seamless harmonies. From about 1983 until 1988, I probably did forty to
fifty gigs a year with him. In all that time, an unkind word never
crossed his lips. He was a good musician and a real gentleman. I miss
him and will remember him fondly.
Jordan Hirsch
Pete Rushefsky wrote:
>
>
> Sadly, the great New York saxophonist/clarinetist
> Howie Leess passed away on Saturday in Rochester,
> NY. I'm sure Henry Sapoznik and others could do a
> much better job with an obituary to this master
> musician and wonderful human being than I could,
> but I'll give a try:
>
> Howie studied reed instruments with Shloimke
> Beckerman as a child and then went on to play and
> record with the likes of Naftule Brandwein, Dave
> Tarras, the Epstein Brothers, Rudy Teppel, as well
> as many of the best Society Bands of the times
> such as Lester Lannan's Orchestra.
>
> In recent years, he was an important link for
> younger generations of klezmorim, recording the
> seminal Klezmer Plus! album with Sid Beckerman
> (Shloimke's son), appearing many times at KlezKamp
> and as a featured artist on last year's Yiddish
> Radio Project tour.
>
> His ability to create beautiful harmonic and
> counterpunctual tenor sax lines was only matched
> by the love and kindness with which he shared his
> art.
>
> Howie is survived by his wife Shirley, two sons
> and a bunch of grandchildren.
>
> I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to
> play with him and develop a friendship with him
> and Shirley after his move to upstate NY in the
> late 1990's. I will miss him very much.
>
> May his light in Gan Eyden burn brightly.
>
> Pete Rushefsky
>
>
>
---------------------- jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org ---------------------+
- Howie Leess,
Jordan Hirsch