In Memoriam: Jack Sheldon (1931-2019)

ITG has learned of the passing of trumpeter Jack Sheldon, West Coast bebop trumpet player perhaps best known for his associations with the The Merv Griffin Show and the educational music television series Schoolhouse Rock.

Sheldon was born in Jacksonville, Florida, and was a prominent figure in the West Coast jazz movement in the 1950s. He sang and played trumpet on the Merv Griffin Show, and served as bandleader for The Las Vegas Show.

His voice was well known from the Schoolhouse Rock! cartoons of the 1970s and also enjoyed a career in film, including appearing in the Oscar-nominated documentary film Let's Get Lost, a film about the life of trumpeter Chet Baker. He also appeared in the 1994 film Radioland Murders, The Long Goodbye, and others.

The documentary Trying to Get Good: The Jazz Odyssey of Jack Sheldon chronicles Sheldon's life and career.

Sheldon passed away on December 27, 2019. A memorial service will be held Friday, January 10, 2020, at 2pm, at the Church of Our Fathers, in Cypress, California.

(Source: Jon Kratzer, The Hollywood Reporter, The Syncopated Times)