
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 4, 1995                   TAG: 9501040100
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

SWING PIANIST JESS STACY IS DEAD AT 90

Jess Stacy, one of the leading pianists of the swing era and long a mainstay in Benny Goodman's orchestra, died Sunday at the Hospital of the Good Samaritan in Los Angeles. He was 90.

The cause was congestive heart failure after a brief illness, said his wife, Patricia.

Stacy was a widely admired musician, even if he never received as much attention as some of his peers. His light, pensive touch, along with his lyricism, set him apart and made him a pianist who required careful listening. But his harmonic knowledge and his rhythmic grace made him a valuable asset to many bands.

He spent his career - truncated by a decision to leave the music industry in the late 1950s - working with Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Bob Crosby, Tommy Dorsey, Gene Krupa and other band leaders.

He also recorded and played with a constantly changing group of Chicago Dixieland musicians who were affiliated with Milt Gabler's Commodore label.

- The New York Times

by CNB