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Dobbin 'dedicated his life to music, jazz and musicians'
Pillar of the Montreal jazz community dies after suffering stroke at jazz
bar during the festival
By IRWIN BLOCK, The GazetteJuly 10, 2009

Len Dobbin, at the Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill in 2005.
Photograph by: GORDON BECK, GAZETTE, FILE, The GazetteBroadcaster Len
Dobbin, a pillar of the Montreal jazz community for more than half a
century, died early yesterday after suffering a stroke.

Dobbin, 74, who had been catching two or three shows a night at Montreal
International Jazz Festival, became ill at his favourite stool at Upstairs
Jazz Bar & Grill.

His daughters called it "The Office."

He was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital and died in intensive care
shortly after 1 a.m.

He was surrounded by his daughters Victoria, Kerry and Nina; his best
friend, singer/broadcaster Dorothée Berryman; singer Monique Fauteux;
Upstairs owner Joel Giberovitch; and Upstairs chef Juan Barros.

"Len dedicated his life to music, jazz and musicians, and his passion was to
keep the music going," Giberovitch said.

"And he was happy, he enjoyed life. He overcame his alcoholism, he was
loved, everyone knew him, and he leaves a huge void."

Pianist Paul Bley, never one to waste a note, put it succinctly in a 2005
interview:

"Len is absolutely and singlehandedly the keeper of the flame in Montreal,"
he told music journalist Juan Rodriguez.

An accountant by trade, Dobbin lived his musical passion, soaking up jazz
here and in New York City, writing about it, recording it, promoting it and
taking extraordinary black-and-white photos.

At age 15, in 1950, he helped found the New Jazz Society, his first move in
a life of promoting the music and its players.

He wrote a column for Coda magazine and other publications, including The
Gazette, was a jazz DJ for Radio McGill before what many consider his finest
gig - hosting Jazz 96 Sunday nights on CJFM from 1976 to 1994.

A year later, he was back on the air, hosting Dobbin's Den on CKUT Sunday
mornings.

In 2002, Berryman hired Dobbin as researcher for her daily jazz show on
Espace Musique.

"Immediately I thought of Len because the conversations we had been having
every week would just go on."

"He was a master, with such deep knowledge, and behind his words there was a
solid foundation.

"He was open to what was happening, in film and literature, and not
restricted to bebop, for example.

"He was a true friend, and when my mother died last October, he went to
Quebec City to be with the family," Berryman said.

André White, a drummer/pianist and jazz educator, says he used to listen to
Dobbin on Jazz 96, calling him "the first guy that educated me about jazz
music."

"For years, when groups came through town, he would know someone in the band
and they would always make sure he was in the club," White said.

"His would be the first name that musicians would know in Montreal. And he
clued me in to a host of events."

Dobbin was close to drummer Elvin Jones, singer Sheila Jordan and baritone
saxophonist Pepper Adams, whom he plugged relentlessly.

Jazz festival co-founder André Ménard found it "fitting" that Dobbin should
die during the festival, at a jazz club waiting for a gig.

"I can remember how he pushed me into doing what turned out to be Pepper
Adams's last concert, at the jazz festival in 1986. (He died Sept. 9, 1986.)

"Len was so proud to have been part of promoting this."

The rest of the festival is dedicated to his memory, Ménard said.

Kevin Dean, a trumpeter and jazz educator, recalled Dobbin's phenomenal
knowledge.

"He had a mind like a steel trap for things he heard and listened

to - he remembered who the personnel was and the tunes they played."

And Dobbin always tried to be positive. "He was one of those critics who
understood the power of the pen and the positive things you could do," Dean
said.

The family is planning a memorial evening for relatives and friends in the
next few days. The jazz festival plans a musical tribute in the weeks ahead.
Details are not yet available.

iblock@.... com

- - -

Words & Music: Read Gazette music writer Bernard Perusse's tribute to Dobbin
on the blog and share your own thoughts.

montrealgazette.com/music

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette
Len Dobbin, at the Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill in 2005.Photograph by:
GORDON BECK, GAZETTE, FILE, The Gazette

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