CELEBRATING AMAZING LIVES
Jerry Hayden, 87, of Chicago and Scottsdale, passed away peacefully in his
sleep on December 7, 2020. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Marilyn. He
earned a Mechanical Engineering degree from Bradley University and an MBA
from Northwestern University. For 35 years he was president of Peacock
Engineering Company in Itasca, Illinois selling packaging services first to
Caterpillar for their farm equipment then later for food products. Jerry was a
longtime financial supporter of Illiana Jazz.
Siegfried J. Seifert, 89, of St. Joseph, formerly Chicago Heights, IL., passed
away peacefully on Friday, December 11, 2020. Siegfried was born on February 16,
1931, in Saxony, Germany. He married the former Ursula Sinkwitz in February of
1951. Siegfried worked as a Tool & Die Maker at Ford Motor Company for over
thirty years. He loved music, arts and was a founding member of the Illiana Jazz
Club. Siegfried is survived by his wife of 69 years, Ursula Seifert.
Richard Karner, drummer for the Salty Dogs Jazz Band in the mid 1950’s,
passed away at home, March 12. He was 85. A native of Lafayette, Indiana, Dick
joined the band in 1953 and played on the Salty Dogs first commercially released
recording, a 1954 EP, called The Salty Dog Express. For the next several years, he
performed with the band on Purdue’s campus and at Chicago nightclub venues such
as The Blue Note, Hunt Club, and the Sabre Room. For the remainder of his life,
Dick devoted much time and energy into his passion for early jazz, by forming his
own production company, TradJazz Productions, which issued many CDs, much of
the material secured from rare, private, or personal tape recordings.
Sammy Nestico died on January 17, 2021 at age 96. He began writing
arrangements while still in high school learning trombone in the school band. He
began working as a trombonist for his local radio station in Pittsburgh, WCAE,
while he was 17, the beginning of a long career in music. He would play trombone
for Tommy Dorsey, Woody Herman, Gene Krupa, and Charlie Barnet, but it is for
his arrangements that he will be remembered. From 1967 until Basie’s death in
1984 he was the primary arranger for Basie’s popular band. He also arranged for
the U.S. Air Force and Marine bands.
Snooky Young died in of a respiratory ailment in Newport Beach in 2011 at
the age of 92. He was survived by his wife of 72 years. His first gig with a big
band occurred in 1939 with Jimmy Lunceford, who used him as lead and solo
trumpet. Snooky’s ability to do the high ones brought a lot of praise and
respect from both his peers and the audiences. Knocking out high Cs night
after night required strong chops. Later, he worked with Basie through the
’40s and later from ’57-62.
