sheldonm Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 I see that record producer and host Mort Fega died on 1/21. I don't recall seeing anything on the board about this and don't know much about Mort other than I've seen him on some of the old broadcasts I have. He was 83! Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 RIP... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 Sorry to hear the news. In addition to his record, radio and notes reputation, he seemed to be a really fine guy. At some time in my "internet life" he sent me an email saying I was the only name he recognized online. We had a short exchange, but I found him to be one of the "good guys". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Fitzgerald Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 (edited) I had some correspondence with him at various points and he also contributed to the Gryce book. Here are three obits - I had not known about his extraordinary military experience. ===================== Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel Jennifer Peltz Staff Writer Mort Fega walked into a New York City-area radio station one day in 1955 with an opinion. He walked out with a job. During the next nearly 35 years, the former rope-products salesman built his personal interest in jazz into a career. He was host of radio shows in South Florida and elsewhere, produced records and emceed concerts. Mr. Fega, who lived west of Delray Beach since 1986, died Friday of complications from surgery. He was 83. Mr. Fega grew up listening to Benny Goodman, Harry James and other big-band giants in New Rochelle, N.Y., said his wife, Muriel. But when he told a local radio station it needed a jazz show, his only credential was interest. Nonetheless, the station manager allotted him an hour on Saturday afternoons. It grew into three hours. Then into a six-night-a-week show on a New York station, WEVD. Mr. Fega's Jazz Unlimited was defiantly eclectic. A typical show might include big bands and bebop, comedy and spoken word, said one of his sons, Roger. "He was very strict about guarding his reputation as being someone who played what he wanted to play," Roger Fega said. As Mr. Fega's career took him to other stations in New York, Phoenix and Hartford, it also took him backstage and into the studio. He started a record label, Focus Records, and produced albums by singer-pianist Bobby Dorough and vocalist Carmen McRae, among others. Meanwhile, he produced and was host at concerts at some of music's most revered venues, including the prominent Newport Jazz Festival, Harlem's Apollo Theater and Carnegie Hall, Roger Fega said. Even after retiring in Florida, Mr. Fega could be found on the air. His Focus on Jazz was broadcast from 1987 to 1989 on WXEL-90.7 FM, the Boynton Beach-based public radio station. "He was someone who turned a passion into his life for a while and made it happen," Roger Fega said. In addition to his wife and son Roger, Mr. Fega is survived by three other sons, Russell, Douglas and Kenneth, and eight grandchildren. The family is planning an April memorial service for Mr. Vega, who flew 29 missions over Europe as a B-17 captain during World War II, at Arlington National Cemetery. Jennifer Peltz can be reached at jpeltz@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6636. ======================== Mort Fega, 83, Jazz Radio Broadcaster All About Jazz, January 27, 2005 Mort Fega, radio broadcaster, jazz record producer, journalist and teacher, died Friday, January 21 at Hospice of Palm Beach in Bethesda Memorial Hospital, Boyton Beach, Florida. According to the family, the cause of death was complications following surgery. Mr. Fega was born on July 4, 1921 in New Rochelle, NY. He began his career in broadcasting in his hometown at radio station WNRC, where his Saturday afternoon jazz program garnered a loyal following. In 1962, he moved to WEVD, the radio voice of The Forward Newspaper, where he broadcast his program of modern jazz and spoken word six evenings a week. At the time, radio stations were permitted to broadcast the same content on both AM and FM frequencies. Consequently, Fega had listeners as far north as Canada and throughout New England. The show was called "Jazz Unlimited" and was one of the few radio programs that featured modern jazz. A typical show included big bands and bebop, comedy and the word jazz of Lord Buckley and Ken Nordine and vocalists like Blossom Dearie and Joe Williams. He produced and emceed concerts at Newport, Carnegie Hall, Randall's Island and the Apollo Theatre. After leaving WEVD, he continued broadcasting jazz from WBAI, WRFM, and WTFM in New York City, and then on KXIV in Phoenix and WWUH in Hartford. He retired to Florida where he had a five-hour Saturday evening program at NPR station WXEL and taught a History of Jazz course at Palm Beach Community College. In addition, he wrote a weekly column for the Palm Beach Post. Fega began Focus Records to recognize under-appreciated talents like guitarist Chuck Wayne and singer/pianist Bob Dorough, and to record musicians he favored such as Carmen McRae and Earl "Fatha" Hines. During World War II, Mr. Fega captained a B-17 Flying Fortress. He and his crew flew 29 missions over Germany and occupied France and were part of the first daylight bombings of Berlin. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his efforts. Mort Fega is survived by his wife of 60 years, Muriel (Praete), and four sons, Russell of Altadena, CA, Douglas of Carefree, AZ, Kenneth of Sedona, AZ, and Roger of Amherst, MA, and 8 grandchildren. ========================================== New York Radio Host, Palm Beach Post Columnist by Pilar Ulibarri Palm Beach Post, January 28, 2005 Mort Fega's incredible ear for music led him to emcee several concerts at such places as Harlem's Apollo Theater, New York City's Carnegie Hall and Rhode Island's Newport Jazz Festival. Mr. Fega, former New York radio personality, Palm Beach Post jazz columnist, local host of "Focus on Jazz" on WXEL-FM 90.7 and Palm Beach Community College jazz history appreciation professor, died last Friday of complications from back surgery. He was 83. His radio career began in 1955 in his hometown of New Rochelle, N.Y. "He couldn't take listening to the bad music on the radio anymore," his wife of 60 years, Muriel Fega, said Thursday from home in suburban Delray Beach. "So he walked over to the local radio station and told the station manager, 'Your music is just horrible.'" That landed him his first on-air job: a one-hour Saturday show that soon became a three-hour show and later turned into a full-time gig in New York City. But his career in music really began in the 1930s when he first heard Benny Goodman's music and "just fell in love," said Muriel Fega, the other love of his life and sweetheart since ninth grade. And it wasn't just his ear for music, but his listening skills that made him popular with jazz greats such as Miles Davis, Billie Holiday and Carmen McRae, who he produced an album with when he owned Focus Records. Dizzy Gillespie would eat dinners at the Fegas' and buy them presents when overseas. "I was friendly with most of the giants in jazz," Mr. Fega said in 1994. "I've had a most fortunate life experience in theater and on stage." He also touched everyday people, who he'd make CDs and tapes for from his 20,000 recordings, one of which was always playing in one or another room in his house. "He loved sharing his knowledge with everyone, especially with young people," said Muriel Fega, noting a week-old letter written to her husband by his cousin's grandson, Paul Daniel, who lives in Maryland: "Although you may not realize this, you are the single most influential person in my life.... Music has saved my life on more than one occasion as well as enriched it from the time you taught me about it.... I cannot begin to tell you how much you have influenced my personality, political views, sense of spirit and worldview.... You are a diamond in this rough world." Besides Muriel, Mr. Fega is survived by his four sons, Roger, Russ, Kenneth and Douglas; and eight grandchildren. An April memorial service will be held in Arlington National Cemetery for Mr. Fega, who flew combat missions over Europe in World War II, participating in the first daylight raid of Berlin. Edited January 31, 2005 by Michael Fitzgerald Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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