|
Biography
The legacy
of jazz musician Rich Matteson will be heard when
others perform. Mr. Matteson, who founded the
award-winning University of North Florida jazz
program in 1986, died June 24, 1993 after a long
illness. He was 64.
Mr.
Matteson jokingly called himself the best jazz
euphonium player in the world because he was the
only one. But he'll be remembered as a man who
loved music and loved teaching it, and for taking
the instrument to new levels of acceptance, having
played with jazz greats Duke Ellington, Louis
Armstrong, Count Basie, Clark Terry, Louis Bellson,
and many others.
Mr.
Matteson was honored frequently by the
International Association of Jazz Educators and is
a member of its Hall of Fame. He was a founding
member of the Tubists Universal
Brotherhood
Association, won the Homer Osborne Award, and was
honored as an Ambassador of Jazz by Walt Disney
World. Last year he was Down Beat magazine's
Lifetime Achievement Award winner. "I guess
Gabriel will have to move over," said Harvey
Phillips, with whom Mr. Matteson formed the
Matteson Phillips Tubajazz Consort. They played
all over the world.
Mr.
Matteson made his biggest mark as an educator. He
began as an associate professor at the University
of North Texas, and he gained recognition for the
many master classes that he conducted throughout
the world. He was brought to Jacksonville when
philanthropist Ira Koger asked him to head the new
department at UNF. Bunky Green, who succeeded Mr.
Matteson as director of jazz studies at UNF,
recalled how Mr. Matteson disliked mediocrity.
"For Rich, a C wasn't good enough. He'd
advise that a student take the class over
again." As a player, Mr. Matteson was an
inspiration, said guitarist Jack Petersen.
"It was just something that was there. When
he played, he made you want to play."
Mr.
Matteson is survived by his wife, Michelle "Mikki",
and four sons, Mark, John, TK, and Chris.
-Reprinted
from memorial program
|
