Leonard Kay Obituary

May your music play on in the hearts of those you touched here on earth...they were many, as you now play for your heavenly audience.



Len gave me my first job in advertising in 1970. I worked with he and Francine Goldfine at Arthur Mayerhoff. I will always hear his music.

Lenny's abrupt passing came as a shock to me. I know Lenny as a fellow member of Ron Surace's esteemed In Full Swing Big Band Orchestra. To my loss, I didn't take time to get to know Mr. Kay in depth, but I did get two strong impressions of his character that makes/made playing with him in the band so enjoyable. First, although Lenny's sax playing wasn't featured very much, when it was, I noticed that his soloing style was very distinct as Lenny shaped each note with expert musical style, bending into the note, or enveloping the note in a vibrato,. The man sang through the horn. That tells me that Lenny had a strong sense of musical identity and shared this gift he had. The second impression was that during impromptu joking sessions during rehearsals, especially among musicians, the humor tends to push the envelope, Lenny would sometimes delight in having the last word and push the envelope the furthest. That told me that Lenny was a deep thinker and that he dwelt on the edge of the conventional, like all artists, a revealing characteristic for a man that was mostly outwardly appearing introspective. It was good to hear the tributes to his life by Lenny's family. I didn't know he had such a life-long love for music as the family recollected. Thanks for sharing, Lenny.



--James Abe, 2nd trombone, IFS Orch.



P.S. Please check out uploaded photo of IFS Orch in Photo Gallery. (I came late for photo and am not included in photo.)

In the last year or so, Len played alongside me and my trombone in the front row of the "Dixie Downbeats" for Luther Village affairs. It was comforting to have his presence in ensembles, and to hear his smooth tones and great execution on solos. Although I didn't know him in any other context, his personality was well demonstated through his great musicality.

Sound of the Big Band will miss you-deepest condolences.

Not only was Len Kay an accomplished Sax man, he was an extraordinary Ad man. He taught me so much about advertising and media. I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for him. He frequently quoted Erwin Ephron and said, "that's the only guy that MAY know more than me".

I played with Len on November 12 with the Dixie Down Beats and he played for my son's send-off-to-the Navy Party.

I will miss his "ax" and his smiling face dearly.

Mike Maloni

(Trumpet Player & youngest member of the Dixie Downbeats)

Spouse Nona and I are very sorry to hear of Len's passing. He played his tenor sax on several gigs with our Dixie Down Beats jazz group. The latest was at the Lutheran Home on November 12. He will be sorely missed.