Aug 6 (Reuters) - Clarinetist Pete Fountain, one of the
faces of New Orleans jazz during his six-decade career, died on
Saturday at the age of 86, local media reported.
Fountain gained fame as a featured player on the musical
variety TV program "The Lawrence Welk Show" in the 1950s and
made dozens of appearances on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny
Carson.
Fountain later opened his own jazz club on Bourbon Street in
New Orleans and over the years performed for four U.S.
presidents and a pope.
Up until his retirement from public performances at age 83,
Fountain paraded each year for Mardi Gras with his "Half-Fast
Marching Club."
Fountain was born Pierre Dewey La Fountaine Jr. in New
Orleans in 1930 and began playing the clarinet as a way of
fighting chronic respiratory problems. By the time he was a
teenager, he was already performing in the city's clubs as a
professional musician.
He appeared as a recording artist on more than 100 albums.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
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