Music maestro Russ Garcia dies at 95

A man described as a musical legend - whose 70-year career in jazz and film saw him work with the likes of Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Walt Disney and Clint Eastwood - has died at his home in Kerikeri aged 95.

Russ Garcia died on Sunday morning, with his wife Gina at his side, after a short illness. He had been in good health until a few weeks ago, when illness forced him to cancel a series of concerts in the US.

According to the customs of his Bahai'i faith he was buried in a private ceremony yesterday afternoon.

A celebration of his life is being held in the new events hall at the Turner Centre, Kerikeri, at 1.30pm this Sunday.

A jazz composer and arranger, Mr Garcia was born in Oakland, California, but left at the height of his career in 1966 to sail around the Pacific. He and his wife settled in the Bay of Islands in the 1970s.

His CV includes a list of jazz and Hollywood greats, including Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis jnr, Walt Disney, Orson Welles, Judy Garland and Charlie Chaplin.

He got his first break from former US president Ronald Reagan, then a radio show director, but was writing music even as a child. The Oakland Symphony Orchestra played one of his arrangements when he was 11 years old.

Even at the age of 95 he remained in demand and travelled regularly to the US for work. He also volunteered as a music teacher at primary schools around New Zealand.

He was honoured by the Los Angeles Jazz Institute in 2005 for his contribution to jazz; both he and Mrs Garcia received the Queen's Service Medal in 2009 for services to music.

Among those who took part in Mr Garcia's 95th birthday concert in Kerikeri in April this year was singer Tim Beveridge, of Phantom of the Opera fame, who recorded an album with Mr Garcia in Hollywood. He described him at the time as an unsung musical legend and "the last of his kind".

"He worked in an amazing era, the golden age of Hollywood music and movies, and with some of the biggest names in the business."

Opera singer Carol Maher - who moved from New Orleans to Kerikeri, figuring that anywhere Mr Garcia lived had to be a good place for the arts - said when the great performers wanted an arrangement, they went to Mr Garcia.

Kerikeri arts critic Mike Nettmann said Mr Garcia had made a huge contribution to music and the Bay of Islands community, and would be sadly missed.