Moe Koffman; Jazz Artist Performed With Stars

Moe Koffman, 72, a Canadian jazz player best known for his breezy 1950s flute hit “Swinging Shepherd Blues.” Koffman, a saxophonist as well as a flutist, recorded dozens of albums and played with jazz stars such as Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Dorsey and Doc Severinsen in a five-decade career. For a time, he was the principal soloist with Rob McConnell’s Boss Brass. Born Morris Koffman in Toronto in 1928, he began playing violin at age 9 and alto saxophone, clarinet and flute at 13. He studied theory at the Toronto Conservatory of Music before moving to the United States for further study in the 1940s. Before the 1958 release of his signature song “Swinging Shepherd Blues,” Koffman spent time on the road working in big bands led by the likes of Dorsey and Charlie Barnet. In the mid-1960s Koffman made several appearances as a soloist on NBC television’s “Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson. On Wednesday in Toronto after an 18-month battle with cancer.