Among the Bay State’s renowned jazz native sons are Ted and Dick Nash of Somerville, Massachusetts. Ted was born in 1922, Dick in 1928. The boys were separated early in life after the deaths of their parents, and Dick was raised at the Kurn Hattin Homes for Children in Westminster, Vermont, where he was graduated in the Class of ’42. Ted died last year at age 89 after a successful career as a saxophonist and woodwind player working primarily in the Hollywood studios, and Dick, who’s just turned 85, enjoyed a similar career. His trombone is heard on dozens of movie soundtracks, including “Farewell My Lovely,” and “The Pink Panther,” and the brothers Nash are on many dates by Sinatra, Ella, and scores of other singers.
Dick Nash is returning to Kurn Hattin this week where he’ll be feted and featured on Wednesday night at the school’s annual Jazz Invitational. We’ll hear Dick in tonight’s Jazz a la Mode on mid-fifties recordings he made with Ted, whose namesake, Dick’s son Ted, is the 53-year-old saxophonist and composer Ted Nash, a longtime member of both the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and the Jazz Composers Collective.
Here’s Dick in a 1980 performance of “I Cover the Waterfront.” While you’re enjoying the music, read a few of the comments from trombonists and friends who speak with reverence and respect for one of Kurn Hattin’s living legends.