Popular band leader dies

For a decade-and-a-half jazz fans flocked to Sisters to enjoy the music of The Chicago Six.

The swing jazz band was a perennial favorite at the Sisters Jazz Festival, contributing to the festival's signature tradition. In a sense it is fitting that the Sisters Jazz Festival passed into history at the same time the leader of The Chicago Six, Bob Finch, died at 82, in January.

"Anyone who attended the Jazz Festival in Sisters will remember Bob Finch," said longtime Sisters resident Sylvia Cara.

Cara recalled Finch's dry sense of humor and the audience-pleasing interplay between the band leader and singer Eve Evans.

"They would just bring the house down every time they performed here," Cara said. "It was the way that he presented himself and The Chicago Six that brought them back for 14 years."

Finch played bass and was noted as a teacher in his native San Diego. He formed The Chicago Six with like-minded musicians to emulate the sounds of a Chicago speakeasy in the 1930s.

But as much as the joy he brought through the music, Sisters festival-goers remember a friendly spirit.

"He was just a wonderful guy," Cara said. "A great sense of humor. A fabulous sense of humor."

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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