JOHN BUCHER

1930 - 2020

BUCHER--John Maxwell Jr. Loving husband and father, talented and accomplished jazz musician, died on April 5th, 2020. He was 89. Born in Brooklyn, NY in 1930, he spent his early childhood in Sunnyside, Queens before his family moved to Pelham, NY, where he attended high school. He graduated from Amherst College, Class of '52, and served in US Army Intelligence during the Korean War. Having played trumpet in high school, Mr. Bucher took up the cornet in at Amherst, teaching himself Dixieland and Swing music. Together with his band called The Delta 5, he played the frat-house circuit throughout New England. After the war, he worked briefly as a writer for Time, Inc., though by the early 60's he became a stockbroker and spent the balance of his career on Wall Street. Mr. Bucher was active in New York's traditional jazz scene. His specialty was Chicago style, 1920's music and Swing music of the 30's and 40's. His playing was often compared to Bix Beiderbecke's. In addition to his own band, The Speakeasy Jazz Babies, Mr. Bucher played regularly with the Red Onion Jazz Band, Woody Allen's New Orleans Funeral and Ragtime Orchestra and The Williams Reunion Band, among others. Over a span of five decades, he could be found playing weekly gigs at Michael's Pub, The Red Blazer Too, and the Cajun. In a 1970 review of the Red Onions, New York Times music critic, John S. Wilson called Mr. Bucher "one of the finest jazz cornetists playing today, bar none--professional or otherwise". Mr. Bucher died at his home in Mountainside, New Jersey. The cause of death was heart failure. He is survived by his wife of 37 years, Vivian Bucher, and by his children and stepdaughter and their spouses; Alissa Bucher and Robert Rogers, Anne Bucher Tilghman and James Tilghman, John M Bucher III and Meryl Salzinger, Laurie Collyer and William Maltarich, four grandchildren and two step-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his brother, Robert Bucher, his first wife, Mary K. Dolan, and a stepdaughter, Susan Collyer. A memorial celebration will be announced at a future date.