[78-L] Jack Tracy

[Cary Ginell]

Jazz producer Jack Tracy passed away recently at his home in Nooksack, Washington at the age of 84. Tracy was editor of Down Beat from 1953-58, but left to work as a record producer. He started with Leonard Chess in 1959 and two years later, moved on to Mercury, where he worked with artists like Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, Roland Kirk, Woody Herman, Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Terry Gibbs, and Nichols & May, among others. He wrote an anecdotal memoir in 1963 called "Laughter from the Hip." Tracy produced one of Terry Gibbs' first big band LPs, "Explosion," for Mercury, which was how I became familiar with him.

Here's a site with more info on Tracy as well as an interview.

http://jazzprofiles.blogspot.com/2009/04/jack-tracy.html

Cary Ginell