The last two months of 2013 left us with heavy hearts as the news of the death of many jazz giants (as well as many cinema people), though not quite unexpectedly, reached us. Yesterday, in the recent chain of deaths among jazz greats, Doug Ramsey announced Herb Geller's passing in Hamburg at the age of 85:
"We have word from Herb Geller’s family that the venerable alto saxophonist died on Thursday in a Hamburg, Germany, hospital. He succumbed to pneumonia. Geller had been under treatment for the past twelve months for a form of lymphoma...Geller remained not merely active but energetic until fairly recently, performing in clubs and at festivals throughout Europe. He had lived in Hamburg since 1965. Until his mandatory retirement at age 65 he was a key soloist with the NDR Big Band, then spent much of the next 20 years touring and recording in a solo career."
