John Bunch - It's Love in the Spring (2018)

From the 1980s into the 2000s, John Bunch was often employed by young mainstream stars such as Scott Hamilton and Warren Vache and recorded for Concord, Chiaroscuro, and Arbors. His well-received recordings during the 2000s included A Special Alliance (2002, Arbors); An English Songbook (2003, Chiaroscuro); Tony's Tunes (2003, Chiaroscuro); At the Nola Playhouse: Salutes Jimmy Van Heusen (2006, Arbors); and Plays the Music of Irving Berlin (Except One) (2008, Arbors). With Bucky Pizzarelli and Jay Leonhart, Bunch also co-led New York Swing (a group also sometimes known as the John Bunch Trio), the band with which he played his last gig on March 11, 2010. Bunch appeared in many solo concerts during his life, including Carnegie Hall and most of the world's capitals, and made many television appearances in the U.S. and abroad. He conducted the bands of Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, Count Basie, and Buddy Rich, along with the London Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Cleveland Orchestra. His original compositions have been recorded by Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Joe Morello, and Warren Vache, Jr. John Bunch died of melanoma in Manhattan on March 30, 2010, at the age of 88. ~ Scott Yanow