Nick Brignola RIP, Obit

G K

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Feb 11, 2002, 1:25:19 AM2/11/02

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He was a great player and great guy. I'm honored to have worked with him for 10 years.
George Kaye, Bass

Brignola, Nicholas T. TROY -- Nicholas T. Brignola, 65, died Friday,
February 8, 2002 at the Albany Medical Center Hospital. He was born
in Troy, NY, the son of Margaret Rubino Brignola and the late Dr.
Nicholas F. Brignola. Mr. Brignola was an internationally acclaimed
baritone saxophone player and an accomplished performer on all reed
instruments. He studied music at Ithaca College, where he joined the
jazz combo, Reese Markewich and the Mark V. The featured soloist for
the group, they won the National Jazz Fraternity's 1957
intercollegiate jazz contest and the New York Jazz Critics national
new star combo contest. In 1958, he won a worldwide contest sponsored
by Down Beat Magazine and was awarded a Benny Goodman scholarship to
Berklee College, Boston. In 1959, he won Down Beat's International
Critic's Poll as "New Star." Nicholas was a music ambassador for
Boosey and Hawks, playing Keilworth Instruments. He recorded more
than 50 CD's, both as a leader and quest artist, most recently for
Reservoir Records, Kingston, NY. He was a teacher and artist in
residence in colleges and universities in the United States and
Europe, also performing in clubs and concerts throughout the world.
He was an active member of the International Association of Jazz
Educators. Nick was named Best Baritone Saxophonist for many years in
Down Beat and Jazz Times, both on the Critic's and Reader's Polls. He
had taught at Russell Sage, RPI, St. Rose and SUNY. Nicholas came
from a musical family. His grandfather played tuba and his father
played banjo and guitar. In 1994, he was instrumental in starting a
jazz education program at The College of St. Rose which instituted a
scholarship in his name. In 1996 the saxophonist was featured in
"Nick Brignola in Concert", a locally produced special on WMHT which
was broadcast nationally. He was nominated for a Grammy as best
instrumentalist on the Album "L.A. Bound". Nick was nominated for the
Capital Area Music Association's Local Music Hall of Fame in 1995 and
was voted "Best Jazz Instrumentalist" on the BET TV network for 1997
and 1998.
He is survived by his wife, Yvonne G. Brignola; father of Jillian
Haggerty and her husband, James of Boston, MA, Kristin Walker and her
husband, Robert of Chicago, IL and Nicholas F. Brignola of
Washington, D.C.; grandfather of Hailey Walker.
Funeral service will be 1 p.m. Tuesday at Trinity United Methodist
Church, Lark and Lancaster Sts., Albany. Relatives and friends are
also invited to call Monday at the Tebbutt Funeral Home, 633 Central
Ave., Albany 4-6 and 7-9 p.m. Interment will be in St. Mary's
Cemetery, Troy.
Those who wish may make contributions to the Junior Museum, 105 8th
Street, Troy, NY 12180, The Mohawk Hudson River Humane Society,
Oakland Ave., Menands, NY 12204 or the Ronald McDonald House, 139 S.
Lake Ave., Albany, NY 12208.

Regards,
George Kaye
Ga...@att.net

George Kaye Audio Labs, Inc.
8 Broadway Alley
New York, NY 10016
212 779 3713
802 254 4553

Garden Productions Recording Studio
8 Broadway Alley
New York, NY 10016
212 779 3713
802 254 4553

Mark Kleinhaut

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Feb 11, 2002, 8:44:30 AM2/11/02

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G K <ga...@att.net> wrote:
>> This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand
>this format, some or all of this message may not be legible.

><HTML>
><HEAD>
><TITLE>Nick Brignola RIP, Obit</TITLE>
></HEAD>
><BODY>

>He was a great player and great guy. I'm honored to have worked with him

fo=
>r 10 years. 
>George Kaye, Bass 
> 
>Brignola, Nicholas T. TROY -- Nicholas T. Brignola,
65, =
>died Friday, 
>February 8, 2002 at the Albany Medical Center Hospital. He was born 
>in Troy, NY, the son of Margaret Rubino Brignola and the late Dr. 
>Nicholas F. Brignola. Mr. Brignola was an internationally acclaimed 
>baritone saxophone player and an accomplished performer on all reed 
>instruments. He studied music at Ithaca College, where he joined the 
>jazz combo, Reese Markewich and the Mark V. The featured soloist for 
>the group, they won the National Jazz Fraternity's 1957 
>intercollegiate jazz contest and the New York Jazz Critics national 
>new star combo contest. In 1958, he won a worldwide contest sponsored 
>by Down Beat Magazine and was awarded a Benny Goodman scholarship to 
>Berklee College, Boston. In 1959, he won Down Beat's International 
>Critic's Poll as "New Star." Nicholas was a music ambassador for<=
>BR>
>Boosey and Hawks, playing Keilworth Instruments. He recorded more 
>than 50 CD's, both as a leader and quest artist, most recently for 
>Reservoir Records, Kingston, NY. He was a teacher and artist in 
>residence in colleges and universities in the United States and 
>Europe, also performing in clubs and concerts throughout the world. 
>He was an active member of the International Association of Jazz 
>Educators. Nick was named Best Baritone Saxophonist for many years in 
>Down Beat and Jazz Times, both on the Critic's and Reader's Polls. He 
>had taught at Russell Sage, RPI, St. Rose and SUNY. Nicholas came 
>from a musical family. His grandfather played tuba and his father 
>played banjo and guitar. In 1994, he was instrumental in starting a 
>jazz education program at The College of St. Rose which instituted a 
>scholarship in his name. In 1996 the saxophonist was featured in 
>"Nick Brignola in Concert", a locally produced special on WMHT wh=
>ich 
>was broadcast nationally. He was nominated for a Grammy as best 
>instrumentalist on the Album "L.A. Bound". Nick was nominated for=
> the 
>Capital Area Music Association's Local Music Hall of Fame in 1995 and 
>was voted "Best Jazz Instrumentalist" on the BET TV network for 1=
>997 
>and 1998. 
>He is survived by his wife, Yvonne G. Brignola; father of Jillian 
>Haggerty and her husband, James of Boston, MA, Kristin Walker and her 
>husband, Robert of Chicago, IL and Nicholas F. Brignola of 
>Washington, D.C.; grandfather of Hailey Walker. 
>Funeral service will be 1 p.m. Tuesday at Trinity United Methodist 
>Church, Lark and Lancaster Sts., Albany. Relatives and friends are 
>also invited to call Monday at the Tebbutt Funeral Home, 633 Central 
>Ave., Albany 4-6 and 7-9 p.m. Interment will be in St. Mary's 
>Cemetery, Troy. 
>Those who wish may make contributions to the Junior Museum, 105 8th 
>Street, Troy, NY 12180, The Mohawk Hudson River Humane Society, 
>Oakland Ave., Menands, NY 12204 or the Ronald McDonald House, 139 S. 
>Lake Ave., Albany, NY 12208. 
> 
> 
> 
>Regards, 
>George Kaye 
>Ga...@att.net 
> 
>George Kaye Audio Labs, Inc. 
>8 Broadway Alley 
>New York, NY 10016 
>212 779 3713 
>802 254 4553 
> 
>Garden Productions Recording Studio 
>8 Broadway Alley 
>New York, NY 10016 
>212 779 3713 
>802 254 4553 
> 
></BODY>
></HTML>
>

Sad news indeed on this cold rainy monday morning. The big band upstairs
just kicked up a notch.

--------------------Mark Kleinhaut
markkl...@hotmail.com

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Tom Walls

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Feb 11, 2002, 10:22:30 AM2/11/02

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In article <3c67cabe$1...@spamkiller.newsgroups.com>,
markkl...@hotmail.com says...

>
> Sad news indeed on this cold rainy monday morning.

Yes, it is. If it's still raining up there, Mark -- brace yourself --
there's snow on the way.
--
Tom Walls
the guy at the Temple of Zeus
http://www.arts.cornell.edu/zeus/

Joe Finn

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Feb 11, 2002, 12:18:05 PM2/11/02

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It was about a year ago when I heard Nick was ill. He had stopped playing his local monthly gig at Justin's in Albany and the word after only a little while longer was that he wasn't able to play and he didn't want to see any visitors.

Since I live in the same area as he did I got to hear him frequently over the years and on the occasions when I met him he was always friendly and in good humor. He represented to me what a musician ought to be. His great career included dozens of recordings under his own name and extensive credits as a sideman with many music legends and household names. He was a tremendous player on bari but he was equally strong on all the other woodwinds and flutes. He brought the bepop vocabulary to the bari with an energy and unmatched eloquence for which he will be undoubtedly be best remembered.

He told me a story about being in the Herman Band back in the ' 60's. It seems they were in the recording studio when they got the news that President Kennedy had been killed. He mentioned how the mood changed and how somber the session was subsequently. When I heard that Nick had died this past Friday a similar dark feeling of grief swept over me. It's a terrible thing.

One of the true greats is gone.

sgcim

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Feb 17, 2002, 4:55:52 PM2/17/02

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"Joe Finn" <J...@joefinn.net> wrote in message news:<3c67fa84 1...@corp.newsgroups.com>...
> Nick Brignola RIP, ObitIt was about a year ago when I heard Nick was

> --

Very sad news indeed. One of the greatest bari players ever.