In Memory of Jazz Great James Moody: March 26, 2010- December 9, 2010

“My sweet, darling, precious husband died today at 1:07pm after a 10 month fight with Pancreatic Cancer.”  Linda Moody, wife of sax master James Moody, announced her husband’s passing in an open letter to friends and fans on www.jamesmoody.com  this past Thursday, December 9, 2010.  He was 85 years old. 

James Moody, known simply as Moody to his friends and family, was born in Savannah, Georgia on March 26, 1925.  A young Moody got his start performing on alto saxophone at the age of 16 when his uncle gave him the instrument as a present.  Since that time, he went on to become one of the most well respected voices on tenor, soprano, and alto saxophones, as well as on flute. 

Moody’s career began following a three year stint in the U.S. Air Force (1943-1946), when he earned a spot in trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie’s Big Band shortly after he’d been discharged from service.   This was the start of a great professional opportunity that blossomed into a beautiful friendship which spanned more than fifty years.  As a result of his association with Gillespie’s band, Moody had an opportunity to learn valuable lessons from the man that he would later refer to as a musical mentor and friend about developing his improvisational skills and stage presence. 

Moody debuted as a band leader in 1948 with the release of James Moody and His BeBop Men (Blue Note).  In 1949 he moved to Europe and recorded what would become his biggest hit, “I’m in the Mood for Love,” an improvisation of the popular Jimmy McHugh tune of the same name.  A few years later, Moody returned to the U.S. and hired singer Eddie Jefferson to pen lyrics to the hit song.  Singer King Pleasure began to perform the song and recorded it as “Moody’s Mood for Love,” adding another layer to the songs popularity.  Moody soon began to sing the song himself, a bold move considering the fact that he was born partially deaf.  In 2001, the song went on to be entered into the Grammy Awards’ Hall of Fame.

In addition to having a song entered into the Grammy Awards’ Hall of Fame, Moody was also a four time Grammy Award nominee (his most recent nomination came this year for his recording, Moody 4B), a 1998 NEA Jazz Masters Award winner, an International Jazz Hall of Fame inductee, a 2007 Kennedy Center Living Legend Jazz Award honoree, and he had a discography that included well over fifty albums.  But of all his accomplishments, Moody’s most revered was his 21 year marriage to his third wife, Linda.  The two lived together in San Diego, CA. 

A public service will be held on Saturday, December 18, 2010 at Greenwood Memorial Park (12:30pm) in San Diego and at Faith Chapel (2pm) in Spring Valley.  The Moody family has requested that donations be sent to the James Moody Jazz Scholarship for Newark Youth Fund in lieu of flowers.  The address is: P.O. Box 338; Morristown, NJ  07963-0338.

In addition to Linda, Moody is survived by his brother Lou; daughter Michelle Moody Bagdanove; sons Patrick, Regan, and Danny; as well as four grandchildren, one great grandson, and millions of jazz fans around the world.