Sussex County-Norfolk City Virginia USGenWeb Archives Obituaries.....Gwaltney, Thomas O. III, 2003 

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THOMAS "TOMMY" OLIVER GWALTNEY, III 

Thomas Oliver "Tommy" Gwaltney III, internationally known American jazz 
clarinetist, recording artist, and beloved father and grandfather, passed 
away Feb. 11, 2003 in the nursing unit at his residence, Atlantic Shores 
Retirement Community.  Born Feb. 28, 1921, Tommy was the son of Thomas 
Oliver Gwaltney Jr. and Annie C. Gwaltney.  He is survived by his son, 
Thomas Oliver Gwaltney IV; his son's wife, Jill Marie Gwaltney; and grandson, 
Thomas Oliver Gwaltney V all of Virginia Beach.  Part of a large Virginia 
family of Gwaltneys, who lived in Wakefield and throughout Hampton Roads, 
Tommy grew up in Norfolk.  He graduated from Maury High School and from 
Hampden Sydney College, Hampden-Sydney, Va. and attended New York University's 
School of Journalism.  He served with the U.S. Army, playing as a clarinetist 
in the U.S. Army Band.  After service, Tommy became a full-time musician and 
joined the Washington D.C. jazz scene.  In the mid-1960s, he founded 
Washington's famed Blues Alley, a nightclub where many of the era's jazz 
greats played, and where he reintroduced the jazz world to the talents of 
singer Maxine Sullivan.  In the late 1960s, he began a long association with 
the Manassas Jazz festival.  He played with Bobby Hackett, Charlie Byrd and 
other critically acclaimed musicians.  He made two records, "Great Jazz," 1962 
and "Singin' the Blues," recorded live at the Manassas Jazz Festival in 1982. 
He was an arranger or featured performer on clarinet, alto sax and vibraphone 
on more than 25 jazz albums.  He is remembered for frequent performances of 
the Tommy Gwaltney trio in Norfolk concerts and night clubs.  In 1992, Tommy 
established the Thomas O. Gwaltney III Scholarship at Hampden Sydney College, 
to be awarded to students who demonstrate financial need.  He will be 
remembered with affection by jazz musicians, by fans, by friends throughout 
Norfolk and Washington and by all who knew him.  His memory will live on in 
his son's heart for the legacy of the love of life, music, and family that he 
passed on so vibrantly and generously.  A funeral will be held at H.D. Oliver 
Funeral Apartments, Virginia Beach Chapel, Laskin Road, today at 11 a.m. 
Interment will be at 1 a.m. Saturday in Wakefield, Va. at the family burial 
site.


"Tommy" Thomas Oliver GWALTNEY, III, jazz clarinetist & recording artist, 
Army Band veteran, 
b. 28 Feb 1921, d. 11 Feb 2003, Virginia Beach, 
interred in Wakefield Cemetery*, 
H.D. Oliver Funeral obit 

*His parents are also buried there.  Wakefield list, an extension of 
   the Southampton County Historical Society {SCHS} Cemetery Project: 
   http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/sussex/cemeteries/wakefd.txt 

NOTE: 

Jazz Musician.  Appeared on CBS Good Morning Show and Steve Allen Show. 
Owned a nightclub called Blues Alley in Washington.  This club was the hottest 
jazz club in the nation, frequented by the likes of Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra.

His father's obit ("Richmond Times-Dispatch," Jan. 26, 1948, p. 14) 
   gives her as Mrs. Charlotte Grubbs Herring of Dendron; obit posted at: 
   http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/sussex/obits/g435t2ob.txt 


Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by 
Mrs. Bruce Saunders (bs4403@verizon.net), 
and re-formatted by File Manager. 

file at: 
http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/sussex/obits/g435t3ob.txt