Larry Adler, the President of the NHL, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, in St Thomas Hospital, London, aged 87, on 6 August , 2001. He was born 10 February, 1914.
He was the torch bearer who lit the way for many aspiring chromatic players who were inspired by his style, technique and musicality. More than just the best mouth organ player, he was the consummate professional entertainer and performer to the end. He opened many doors through which others have since passed. There can never be another.
Here is a Press Release issued on the Centenary of Larry Adler’s birth 10/02/2014.
The Fishko Files, a NPR broadcast from New York on 30 January 2014, about the life and contributions of Larry Adler
This page has been be left as it was before Larry went into hospital, where he died, to give a feeling of his desire to keep working up to the end and not to let down his fans everywhere. First, here are some links to news of his death. Let me know of any others I should add.
- BBC News of Larry’s death
- Guardian Obituary
- The Daily Telgraph review and Obituary
- New York Times Obituary
- Tributes to Larry
- Free Reed’s tribute page – Robert Barr, Colin Mort, and the Yahoo biography.
- Art Daane’s tribute page.
Larry continued to perform up to his death, aged 87, despite severe problems with gout in his fingers. His stories and jokes were as vivid as ever.
If you want to know more about Larry’s life, there are two books written in his own inimitable style. “It ain’t necessarily so“, his first autobiography written in 1987 is out of print, but I found a copy via the remainders book merchants. The more recent “Me and my big mouth” was written in 1994 and includes the making of the all star Gershwin recording session with George Martin, as well as stories from the rest of his life. It is a paperback and costs around £5.
- Larry Live in Australia 1997, is currently my favourite CDs (and one of Larry’s) as it contains all the jokes and conversation. Try eBay…
Links to videos by Larry Adler
- “Folk Song” and “Nocturne”, George Malloy, piano (1945). Two compositions by Larry Alder
- “Claire de lune”, Music for Millions (1944)
- “Summertime”, Three arrangements including Itzhak Perlman
- “Genevieve”, and the Love Theme
- “Tiger Rag”, from the Singing Marine, 1937.
Links to other pages about Larry Adler
- Biography of Larry Adler – by Don Amerman, Musician’s Guide.
- Larry Adler – 1941
- The Free-Reed Journal – A Living Legend: Interview With Larry Adler
- Simon Hattenstone interviews Adler on his 87th birthday
- Larry Interviewed on ECM, NZ, 1995
- The Genius of Larry Adler
- The Genevieve music and film web site
His final performances in 2001
- January – Larry entertained on the P&O cruise ship Aurora which sailed from the UK to Caribbean.
- February 11th – Larry’s 87th Birthday party at “The Pizza on the Park”. The concert room was named Larry’s Room in his honour. Here is a copy of the bronze displayed in the performance.
- February 23rd – Two evening performances at the Komedia club in Brighton, UK.
- March 1st – 2:15pm Channel 5 TV, Gloria Hunnicot, UK.
- March 29th – Larry recorded a TV show for Carlton TV which will be shown later in the year – May/June?
- May 3rd – Larry performed on a QE2 cruise from the UK to New York. He was taken ill.
- May – Another appearance at the Pizza on the Park, London.
- May 24th – Larry left the hospital “unofficially” to be at the Duke of Edinburgh’s 80th birthady show at the Albert Hall.
- Larry died in St Thomas Hospital, London, aged 87, on August 6th, 2001.
- September – Another cruise was being planned.