Jack Long, founder of Long & McQuade music store chain, dead at 95

Jack Long, founder of the Long & McQuadechain ofmusical instrument stores, died on Sept. 4 at the age of 95. The news was shared by his family on the store's website.

"Jack lived a long and happy life, surrounded by music and family until the very end," said their statement."We are proud of the legacy he leaves and will miss him every day."

After graduating with a music degree from the University of Toronto in 1952, Long started out as a professional trumpet player. He and his future wife, pianist Carol Pendrith, would divide their time between Toronto and Montreal, performing in nightclubs before settling (and marrying) in Toronto in 1954.

In 1956, Longventured into the world of retail, opening a store selling musical instruments in two rooms on the second floor of a house situated at 100Carlton St.in Toronto.Within a year, he had rented a room to drummerJack McQuade and in 1957, they became business partners, opening a store they calledLong & McQuade Musical Instrumentson Yonge Street.

McQuade sold his part of the business to Long in 1965. By 1968,the business had expanded to include music lessons, rentals, repairs andlayaways.

There are currently more than 100 branches of Long & McQuade Musical Instruments across Canada. They cater to musicians of all stripes: "We always tried to not be a rock 'n' roll store, not be a jazz store, not be a symphonic store," Longsaid in a 2015 Toronto Biographies profile. "The whole music world is not that big. You can be all things to all people in the music world, and still be small."

Exclaim! reports that Neil Peart purchased the first drum kit he ever played with Rush at Long & McQuade.

In a post on X, Jazz FM described Long as "an effervescent champion of music in Canada." They also posted a video tribute:

According to the Juno Awards' post on X, Long "left an indelible mark on our nation."

Long & McQuade has always been known for its philanthropic support of educational and charitable music organizations. And Long personally supported the endeavours of individual musicians such as William Leathers, currently principal trumpet of the Nashville Symphony and Santa Fe Opera, who posted a tribute to Long on Facebook:

In 2013, at 12, I expressed my interest in joining an orchestra to my parents. My mom helped me find an orchestra to audition for, and we came across the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra (TSYO). At the time, I discovered that I needed a C trumpet. I only had a B-flattrumpet. My godfather helped connect me to Jack Long about a month before the audition. Mr. Long kindly offered to loan me a C Trumpet for a month so I could use it for the audition. I won the audition and became the youngest brass player to be admitted into the TSYO (I believe that record was broken last year). Jack Long sold the C trumpet to me at a discounted rate, which was a pleasant surprise to me.

In 2008, Long handed over the day-to-day operations of the business to his sons, but heremained involved as an advisor until his death.

That year, he received an Arbor Award from U of T for his contribution as a volunteer; Longwas made a member of the Order of Canada in 2014.

Longis survived by his children Steve, Jeff, Jennifer, Julianne and Catherine. He was predeceased by his wife, Carol, in 2019 and his son Jonathan in 2018. He leaves behind17 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.