Saxophonist Gerry Niewood among passenger list buffalo plane crash

Rochester native Gerry Niewood, whose jazz saxophone was a familiar sound for four decades in venues ranging from the downtown Rochester Shakespeare Lounge to "Saturday Night Live," was among the victims of Thursday night's Continental Airlines crash.Niewood, who was 65, was on his way to Buffalo to play in last night's Chuck Mangione concert at Kleinhans Music Hall. The two had known each other since childhood, both growing up in the Clinton and Joseph avenues area

"Of all the musicians I had ever known, he had one of the best attitudes I've ever encountered," said Jeff Tyzik. Now the principal pops conductor of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Tyzik first saw Niewood playing with Chuck Mangione in 1969. "He was totally thrilled and happy to be a working musician," Tyzik recalled, "whether it was with Chuck, or out playing in the horn section with Paul Simon, or during the holiday sitting in the pit with the Radio City Orchestra."

Mangione released a statement through his family: "I'm in shock over the horrible, heartbreaking tragedy of the crash of Flight 3407, which took the lives of my dear friends and band members Gerry Niewood and Coleman Mellett," he said. "I am grieving and praying with their families and friends. That's all I can say for now."

Mellett, also killed in the crash, was a New Jersey player who had performed in the area several times over the last few years, most notably at Mangione's three sold-out Friends and Love reunion shows at the Eastman Theatre in 2007. Mellett's wife, jazz singer Jeanie Bryson, is the daughter of Dizzy Gillespie, whom Mangione met as a young jazz student and often cited as a primary influence on his own career.

Niewood - who played alto, tenor, baritone and soprano sax, as well as piccolo, clarinet and alto and bass flute - was a Rochester native who lived in New Jersey. He began playing sax at age 8 and was soon in a number of jazz bands, including a 10-piece band with Mangione while they were students at Franklin High School. Mr. Niewood moved on to the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he earned a degree in industrial relations. But he soon returned to Rochester and music, picking up a bachelor of music degree in 1970 from the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music while playing in bands such as Herbie Gale & the Five Gales.

"I just followed the path of least resistance and got back into music," Niewood told the Democrat and Chronicle in 1977. "And I've never worried about another career since."

He released several albums as a leader, but none sold well. Instead, Mr. Niewood carved out a prosperous career as a hired gun on reeds, and a reputation as a significant talent awaiting discovery.

Niewood played on several Mangione albums, including the 1970 Friends and Love: A Chuck Mangione Concert, which launched Mangione's career. Mr. Niewood also appeared in the three Friends and Love reunion shows, an event that reunited some of the local legends of that scene: the singer-songwriters Don Potter and Bat McGrath, drummer Steve Gadd, bassist Tony Levin, trumpeter Lew Soloff and, of course, the two Mangiones, Chuck and Gap.

The last time Niewood played a concert here was at last year's Rochester International Jazz Festival.

At the time of his death, Niewood was living in Glen Ridge, N.J., with his wife, Gurly. They met at the Eastman School of Music, where she was a piano student. Besides son Adam, the two have a daughter, Elisabeth.

In Buffalo, last night's Buffalo Philharmonic concert with Mangione was postponed.

Flight 3407 passenger and crew list

Here are some Names of people killed in crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407. The names have been provided by airline officials, relatives or friends.

Crew members:

-- Capt. Marvin Renslow, pilot, of Lutz, Fla.

-- Rebecca Shaw, first officer, of Maple Valley, Wash
-- Matilda Quintero, flight attendent.

-- Donna Prisco, flight attendent.

-- Capt. Joseph Zuffoletto, off-duty crew member.

Passengers:

-- Alison Des Forges, of Buffalo, considered one of the world's leading experts on the genocide in Rwanda.

-- Beverly Eckert, of Stamford, Conn., whose husband died in the World Trade Center attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

-- Ron Gonzalez, of New Brunswick, N.J., director of a youth services program.

-- Ellyce Kausner, student at Florida Coastal School of Law.

-- Maddy Loftus, of Parsippany, N.J. Headed to Buffalo for weekend reunion of women hockey players.

-- Coleman Mellett, guitarist in jazz musician Chuck Mangione's band.

-- Lorin Maurer, who worked raising money for Princeton University's athletics department.

-- Gerry Niewood, saxophonist and member of jazz musician Chuck Mangione's band.

-- Mary Pettys, of West Seneca, N.Y. She was heading home after a business trip for her job as a software director for an insurance firm.

-- Jean Srnecz, of Clinton, N.J. Senior vice president of merchandising at Charlotte, N.C.-based Baker and Taylor.

-- Susan Wehle, of Amherst, N.Y. Was cantor at Temple Beth Am in Williamsville.

-- Clay Yarber, of Riverside, Calif., member of several Tampa Bay, Fla.-area bands over the past several decades.