MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT) -- WMOT is saddened to report that overnight Jazz host Bob Parlocha died this past weekend.
Estin Usher of radio station WFMT says in an email that Parlocha died of a heart attack Sunday. He had reportedly been in poor health for about a year. He was 76 at the time of his death.
Parlocha’s shows as heard on WMOT are produced by the Jazz Network based at WFMT in Chicago. Parlocha had been with the network since 1995.
One of the things that made Parlocha’s show special was that he was himself an accomplished Jazz musician. He played the tenor and soprano saxophone in bands alongside a number of legendary artists over the years.
Here he is talking about an early soprano sax influence, Steve Lacy.
“He was the first guy I heard play a soprano saxophone. I wasn’t into Sidney Bichet at that time and Coltraine hadn’t picked it up yet so that was my first contact with it. He was kind of different because he didn’t play any other instrument but the sax.”
Bob Parlocha’s distinctive voice will continue to be heard for some time on WMOT as the Jazz Network continues to draw on his archived shows. The network says it will also begin introducing new hosts in the coming weeks.