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Ken Hitchcock, in a file photo from 2016.

A studio and touring great who settled at Smith Mountain Lake has died.

Ken Hitchcock, a world-class woodwind multi-instrumentalist best known for his saxophone work, died unexpectedly Aug. 31, while overseas on vacation with his wife, singer Sue Halloran. He was 66.

His resume included gigging and recording with Charles Mingus, Aretha Franklin, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Steely Dan, Tony Bennett, Liza Minnelli, Michael Jackson, Michael Buble, Ella Fitzgerald, Elvin Jones, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Diana Krall, Louie Bellson and Buddy Rich. He performed in many Broadway shows and recorded multiple movie, TV and commercial soundtrack dates, according to his online biography.

He was known in the Roanoke area for work with such acts as JStop Latin Soul, the Boptet, and a longtime project with Halloran, String of Pearls. 

"He was a giant in the New York music industry for decades and his influence here in SW Virginia will be felt for decades to come," members of The Boptet posted on their Facebook page. "He is an exceptional musician, he is our friend and our mentor and he will be missed more than words can say."

Hitchcock, a McLean native, and Halloran, of Milwaukee, met while they were living in New York City. They played together with iconic artists including Nancy Wilson, Cab Calloway, Tito Puente and Sarah Vaughn, according to their shared website. The couple moved to Wirtz about 2016, for a slower pace of life, but they did not retire. String of Pearls, Halloran's New York vocal group, performed several times in the region.

Hitchcock, who graduated from The Juilliard School in 1978, was comfortable in any musical style and is listed atop the credits for Mingus' phenomenal 1979 jazz-fusion album, "Me, Myself An Eye," among many heavyweight sessions.

He worked from his more recent home base with Hoppie Vaughan & the Ministers of Soul, Lenny Marcus and the Sway Katz Big Band.

None of the above was atop Hitchcock's list of career highlights. Shifting to first person on his online bio page, he wrote: "I just want to say that this first CD release, 'I Can Cook Too' with my wife Sue, the love of my life, has been the most fulfilling achievement of my career!!"

He recently completed work on an album with JStop Latin Soul, an Afro-Cuban fusion band that Joel Stopka leads. Stopka wrote on the band's Facebook page that it was the group's first album, and it turned out to be Hitchcock's final session. See and hear him with that act in a July performance at Staunton's Jazz in the Park, via bit.ly/jstopvideo.

"Ken was a kind, sensitive, passionate musician and friend," Stopka wrote in a message exchange. "Thinking of his accomplishments makes me dizzy. He went so far in the music world, letting his love and joy for music carry him, literally, to ends of the earth, performing with all the 'heavy-hitters' … Yet what I will remember most of all is how generous and sensitive a musician and friend he was. Ken was always eager and excited to help any musician, on any level, who wanted to learn. He was a teacher at heart. Always with a kind word first, then a lengthy explanation of how you can do better.

"Ken was constantly looking to learn and grow himself. He approached music with excitement and wonder, always looking to push it farther, faster, tighter. He helped me find joy in music again. He was patient with me on my journey to know music better, yet always pressing me to be great now. His willingness to dig in and work to make any performance masterful, even when it was a very small show in a very small place, was so admirable. He always brought his best.

"This man played with the greatest musicians all over the world, yet he put equal time and love and effort into every performance, large or small. He was a great role model to look up to, a great mentor to learn from and a great friend to live life with, and I will miss him deeply."

Yet another of the Roanoke area's top musicians, Brian Mesko, performed frequently with Hitchcock, including in the JStop project. Mesko has spoken with Halloran since his death and wrote in a message exchange that Hitchcock, who had diabetes and wore an insulin pump at all times, was in Ireland on a church trip when he had a reaction to something he ate there. Hitchcock and Halloran thought it was food poisoning, and she went on a day trip with the group, but he quit responding to her texts. She returned to find him barely alive, and a medical team could not save him.

Halloran thinks that Hitchcock suffered a diabetic coma, but it will take weeks before they know for sure, Mesko wrote.

"He was a good friend and always tried to be upbeat and positive and connective," he wrote. "He had a high standard that pushed those around him to do their best."

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Tad Dickens is the features editor for The Roanoke Times.

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Ken Hitchcock, in a file photo from 2016.

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