Alan Frederickson, one of the founders of the Queen City Jazz Band, died of respiratory problems in Bremerton, Wash., on March 21. He was 83.
Frederickson, a trombonist, also was the group’s “witty, informative and entertaining raconteur,” according to a Denver Post review in 1966.
A celebration of his life is planned for 6 p.m. Sept. 30 at the Red Lion Grand Ballroom, 3200 S. Parker Road.
The Queen City Jazz Band, which is more than 50 years old, had a 14-year run (until 1972) at Monvue Village, West Alameda Avenue and South Garrison Street. The band also played at Zeno’s in Larimer Square, said longtime Queen City pianist Hank Troy.
Frederickson made his own playing as dramatic as possible.
But he was known for his storytelling, jokes and “the reading of the word.” That involved his melodramatic reading of “something like a John Deere tractor manual, and people would die laughing,” said Bob Cooke, who played trumpet in two stints with Queen City.
Though the 1966 Post review called Frederickson clever and entertaining, he also was sometimes “impossible to work with” because of his “narcissism,” said Cooke, of Fort Collins.
“But it’s a hard, demanding profession, and we all have some narcissism in our personalities,” he added.
The late Zeke Scher, a huge fan of the band, did a history of the group in 1976 for The Post’s Empire magazine.
Scher wrote that there “were mutinies and frequent turnovers” in the band, and Frederickson was “the first to admit he was impossible.”
But he was the main reason many fans came to hear the band, which still plays regular concerts here and in surrounding states. The band has made 25 recordings and four videos and has played jazz festivals here and in Europe.
Frederickson left the band in 1980 to take a world cruise after leading it for 22 years.
The band was founded in the Lakewood living room of Jeanne and the late Harney Peterson. Frederickson and Bill Murray were looking for a place to jam, and Harney Peterson was a jazz buff, though he didn’t play.
He provided recordings of traditional jazz, “which the players then mimicked,” said Jeanne Peterson.
Alan Frederickson was born near Cylinder, Iowa, on March 10, 1927.
He earned his architecture degree at Iowa State University and practiced here and in Evergreen.
He married Juanita Greenwood in November. For many years, she was the band’s accountant. In addition to her, Frederickson is survived by his daughter, Nancy Squire-Evans of Nederland; sons Marc of Florence, Ore., and Douglas of Cayuga, Calif.; and a stepdaughter, Regina Lawrence of Baton Rouge, La.
Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to a reporter’s error, the time and location of Frederickson’s memorial service was incorrect. The memorial is planned for 6 p.m. Sept. 30 at the Red Lion Grand Ballroom, 3200 S. Parker Road.
