ARNI CHEATHAM

CHEATHAM, Arni Beloved Boston musician and photographer who played with multiple jazz ensembles over more than 50 years, died, October 22, at age 79. The cause of death was extensive atherosclerosis. His longtime life partner, Dotty Guild, was by his side at Brigham and Women's Hospital as he began his journey to Heaven. Arnold B. Cheatham was born in 1944 in Chicago and served in the U.S. Army, before arriving in Boston in 1969. He worked with the Boston Consulting Group for more than 20 years. Outside of this work, his lifelong passions were music and nature photography. In the 1970s, Arni studied at Berklee School of Music with jazz great, Charlie Mariano. Arni performed extensively with the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, the Makanda Project and other ensembles including, Search, Smoke and Thing. He was key to the founding of the Boston Jazz Coalition. He was also an educator, conveying his musical passion and skill to young people from preschool to high school, through his and Bill Lowe's program, JazzEd and JazzBoston's Riffs & Raps program. He was honored in 2013 as a "Jazz Hero" by the Jazz Journalists Association and JazzBoston. In addition to Dotty; Arni is survived by his brother, Raymond of Dubuque, Iowa; sister-in-law, Peggy Cheatham of Chicago and countless friends in the Boston music and art communities and in the Piano Craft Guild, formerly known as the Piano Factory, his home for the past 40 years. Arni's spirit will live on in his many jazz recordings and photographs. Visitation Hours will be held Thursday, October 26, 6 to 9 pm, and a Funeral Service on Friday, October 27, at 10:30 am, both at the Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Brookline, MA. Following the Funeral, interment will be at The Gardens at Gethsemane Cemetery in West Roxbury. Donations in memory of Arni may be made to Rosie's Place, 889 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA, 02118 and/or the Holy Transfiguration Monastery, 278 Warren St., Brookline, MA, 02445.

View the online memorial for Arni CHEATHAM