Boss Brass founder Rob McConnell dies at 75

Canadian jazz great Rob McConnell, a trombonist and band leader of the Boss Brass, has died. He was 75.

McConnell passed away in a Toronto hospital Saturday after a long battle with cancer.

McConnell was a valve trombonist, arranger and composer and worked with many small jazz groups in Canada.

His leadership of the Boss Brass, a 16-piece band he formed in 1968, catapulted McConnell and Canadian jazz onto the world stage.

Flugelhorn and trumpet player Guido Basso played with Boss Brass from 1968 until McConnell grew too ill to participate last year.

"It was the only Canadian jazz band that could cross the border and play the living daylights out of U.S. musicians," he told CBC News.

Basso paid tribute to McConnell's ability as a composer and arranger.

"He heard things the rest of us didn't," he said. "It was the way he was able to take a song that you and I know well and reharmonize it get the ultimate beauty out of the melody," he said.

McConnell was also a "fabulous" player of "superb jazz at its highest level," he added.

They last played together during a Boss Brass reunion during the Toronto Jazz Festival in 2009.

On stage, McConnell was a comedian and storyteller, and his jazz arrangements often included a humorous note.

He added a saxophone section and extra trumpet to the Boss Brass in the 1970s, bringing the group to 22 members.

Multiple Grammys

They were one of Canada's most popular jazz ensembles and performed live at U.S. festivals as well as recording Juno Award winners Big Band Jazz (1978), Present Perfect (1981) and All in Good Time (1984).

McConnell recorded more than 30 albums throughout his career and earned multiple Grammys, as well as Canadian Jazz Awards.

McConnell was raised in Toronto and learned slide trombone in high school. He began his career in 1954 in Edmonton with the band of saxophonist Don Thompson.

He worked in Toronto with Alex Lazaroff's Rhythm Rockets and Bobby Gimby before moving to New York in 1964 to play with Maynard Ferguson's big band.

In addition to playing with Boss Brass, he was also part of small jazz groups with guitarist Ed Bickert other Canadian jazz talents such as Guido Basso, Ian McDougall, and Rick Wilkins.

"Rob was a world-class arranger and trombonist," Toronto guitarist David Occhipinti said in tribute to McConnell.

"Being from Toronto, I had the good pleasure of hearing him play on many occasions and was always grateful to be able to hear a musician of such integrity and quality so close to home. His beautiful writing and playing will be missed!"

He was named officer of the Order of Canada in 1998.