Joseph Dixon; Performer in Leading Jazz Bands
Joseph Dixon, 81, a jazz musician who played with some of the genre’s greatest bands during his 50-year career. Dixon learned the clarinet at age 8 and was performing publicly four years later. As a clarinetist and saxophonist, he played on more than 100 recordings by the time he was 21. In 1936, Dixon joined the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. He also played with Bunny Berigan, Fred Waring’s Pennsylvanians and Eddie Condon’s band. He served in the Navy in World War II. In 1977, Dixon became director of jazz studies at Adelphi University in New York, where he taught clarinet, saxophone and flute, as well as the history of jazz. He directed the Nassau County Jazz Festival and organized the Nassau Neophonic Youth Band. He also played with the CBS staff band and the NBC Orchestra. In Oceanside, N.Y., on May 28.
Bert Dorsey Hammond; Black Activist
Bert Dorsey Hammond, 73, a black activist whose credits ranged from being the first African American teacher at Oxnard High School to receiving a Kellogg grant for study of the impact of urbanization in three West African cities. While in Oxnard, Hammond coached a California Interscholastic Federation championship track team, headed the city’s first Community Relations Commission and was treasurer of the Ventura County NAACP. He moved to Claremont and worked in various civil rights positions and in 1971 became director of the Urban Affairs Center at Cal Poly Pomona. He also served on the editorial board of the Pan Africanist, hosted Africa-oriented shows on public radio, and was part of Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley’s Task Force on Africa while also working with the Republic of Liberia to develop a Polytechnic University in Sinjie. In Pomona on Friday of a heart attack.
Ginette Mathiot; Author of French Cookbook
Ginette Mathiot, 91, the best-selling French author of millions of cookbooks sold worldwide. Her “Je Sais Cuisiner†(I Know How to Cook) was a bible for generations of French homemakers preparing everything from lobster bisque to crepes Suzette. First published in 1932, it sold more than 5 million copies, and was translated into English, Spanish, Russian, Swedish, Serbo-Croatian and Japanese. She also published a variety of books on bread, pastry and canning--even recipes for camping trips. Her success was due in part to how she stressed classic French repertoire while seeking to keep food costs down. Mathiot’s approach was teaching would-be cooks the basics of food preparation, gradually readying them for more complicated recipes. Recipes were clear and precise, down to the “take out the cake, turn off the oven.†Mathiot was an inspector-general of France’s homemaking academy and a member of the French Legion of Honor. She frequently accused the cooking establishment of being sexist, chiding the male-dominated profession. As top French baker Lionel Poilane put it: “Since she couldn’t get out of her kitchen, she brought the world into it.†On Sunday in Paris.
John Nassikas; Chaired Power Commission
John Nassikas, 71, former chairman of the Federal Power Commission whose policies led to deregulation of the natural gas industry and the swing from gas to electric power. Appointed by President Richard Nixon to head the commission that regulated the nation’s utilities and gas industries, Nassikas argued during his tenure from 1969 to 1975 for less government regulation and a greater reliance on market forces. Despite opposition from Democrats and consumer groups, he orchestrated a doubling of natural gas rates with the argument that producers had no incentive to explore because of low prices. He predicted that despite higher prices, consumers would eventually benefit because more plentiful supplies would drive the price down. His policies helped lay the foundation for gradual deregulation of the natural gas industry in the 1980s by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which replaced the Federal Power Commission. In Washington on June 9 of a heart attack.
Lewis Young; Former Editor of Business Week
Lewis Young, 73, a former editor in chief of Business Week magazine who was among the first financial journalists to pay close attention to technology and computers. He was trained in engineering and physics, and was one of the first business magazine editors to give prominent coverage to technology, electronics and computers. During his 15 years as Business Week’s top editor, he also coordinated the magazine’s coverage of big economic stories, including the mid-1970s recession, the Arab oil embargo and the New York City financial crisis. He left Business Week in 1984 to start the magazine Far East Business in Hong Kong. He also served as editor in chief of Electronics Magazine. In 1989, Young joined Cahners Publishing, where he directed Asian operations and served as editorial director of Cahners’ Electronic Business Asia. At the time of his death Young was editorial director of Electronic News. In New York on Friday of a heart attack.
