New York Daily News - City News - Jazzman, 59, disappears after leaving B'klyn home

New York Daily News - City News - Jazzman, 59, disappears after leaving B'klyn homeJazzman disappears after leaving B'klyn home

By DON SINGLETON
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Jazz trombonist Charles Stephens vanished mysteriously last Saturday after leaving his Brooklyn home with his horn and hasn't been seen since, his family said yesterday.

Stephens, 59, who has played backup trombone with a galaxy of top jazz bands over the course of his 40-year career, was seen leaving his Clinton Hill home with his instrument in its case.

Family spokesman and longtime friend Marty Sonnenfeld of Community Communications said Stephens' wife, Tami, found no notation on her husband's normally well-organized calendar to indicate he had a performing or recording engagement on that date.

Furthermore, Sonnenfeld said, Stephens, a "staunchly reliable veteran musician," failed to show up for scheduled engagements on Monday and Wednesday evenings, leading the family to file a missing persons report with the Police Department.

Sonnenfeld said Stephens, a large man, had high blood pressure, but no indications of Alzheimer's disease or any other form of dementia.

"Stephens is considered a master musician," Sonnenfeld said.

"He performs frequently with such leading big bands as the Duke Ellington Orchestra and the George Gee Big Band. His 40-year resume includes touring the world and recording with such major artists as the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie's United Nations Orchestra [and] vocalists Nancy Wilson and Eartha Kitt."

"Charles is well-loved and 100% dependable," said bandleader George Gee. "It is extremely unusual for him to be out of contact with his family and friends for this long.

"The Stephens family is desperately seeking any information - including where he may have been slated to perform last Saturday, or if anyone may have seen or heard from him since then."

Anyone with knowledge of Stephens' whereabouts is urged to contact Tami Stephens at (718) 638-7903.

Originally published on August 13, 2005