''West Coast'' trumpeter Jack Sheldon died on 27 December. He was 88. A playing partner of Art Pepper, Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan, Sheldon was born in Jacksonville, Florida and lived for much of his life in Los Angeles. His heyday was the 1950s. Influenced by Dizzy Gillespie he toured a good deal with big bands led by the likes of Benny Goodman and Stan Kenton. In LA he worked on a lot of films and for TV famously on Johnny Mandel’s 'The Shadow of Your Smile' heard on The Sandpiper (1965). On TV he spent 18 years on the Merv Griffin Show and became known for his singing in addition to the much loved sound of his trumpet. Funeral services are to be held at Forest Lawn in Cypress, California, on Friday 10 January.
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