Wherever real jazz was happening in St. Louis, there was a strong chance Richard McDonnell was there.
McDonnell, one of St. Louis' most omnipresent jazz figures and founder of the Webster Groves-based, MAXJAZZ Records, died Saturday (Feb. 8, 2014) at St. Louis University Hospital. He was 68.
McDonnell had been attending a concert by Houston Person and the Bill Charlap Trio Friday night at Jazz at the Bistro, his third night in a row in attendance during Person’s multi-night stand, when he suffered a stroke and was taken to St. Louis University Hospital.
His son Clayton McDonnell, who ran MAXJAZZ with his father, said the family took him off life support Saturday night knowing he would not want to live in that condition.
Clayton McDonnell said his father was an organ donor; he learned Monday morning his father's liver and kidneys were given to three individuals, and that his bone marrow and tissues were saved.
Richard McDonnell's body will be cremated.
McDonnell, a Kirkwood native, started the Grammy-nominated MAXJAZZ Records in his living room while he was working as an investment banker for AG Edwards, which he eventually left behind to focus on the label full time.
The nationally-distributed label specializes in jazz music and breaks the genre down to several series including its Vocal Series, Piano Series, Horn Series, String Series and St. Louis Series.
The first MAXJAZZ record was “Two Roads" by area quartet Brilliant Corners in 1997.
Initially, the label focused on St. Louis artists but it wasn’t long before the vision broadened. “Our original intention was to concentrate on Greater St. Louis in terms of talent, and that's still an objective. But it's not my only objective” Richard McDonnell told the Post-Dispatch in 1999.
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/music/kevin-johnson/35e6fa36-6c1a-5a87-9836-b74fab8fb4ed.html
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