Final Cadence

Trombonist and arranger Keith Davy ’60 of Brooksville, FL, passed away on January 6, 2010. He was 76. In 1953 Davy joined the U.S. Air Force and was assigned to the 508th and 3505th Air Force Band squadrons and played for President Dwight D. Eisenhower. He worked as a professional musician for more than 30 years. Davy is survived by his wife, Yvette; daughter Shawn Weyant; stepson Craig Segar and his wife, Theresa; stepdaughter Laurel Butler and her husband, Shawn; and granddaughters Amber and Nicole Butler.

Michael Cardoza ’68 of Hingham, MA, died peacefully on May 17 after a long and courageous fight with multiple illnesses. He was 64. In addition to his studies at Berklee, Cardoza also studied music and engineering at the University of Massachusetts and Massasoit College. He played keyboards professionally and performed frequently with his wife, whose stage name was Nancy Carr. He served as the Boston Bruins organist for three seasons. He is survived by Carmen, his wife of 30 years; stepdaughter Amanda Pascarella; and stepson Christopher Captezuto.

Composer, saxophonist, pianist, educator, architect, and painter Ernest Wiehe ’73, died June 3 in his homeland, Mauritius (an island 500 miles from Africa’s East Coast), after a courageous battle with cancer. He was 66. Wiehe had performed with his quintet just weeks prior to his death.

After finishing his Berklee studies, Wiehe became a Berklee faculty member, founded the Boston Jazz Orchestra, and played freelance gigs with Cab Calloway, among others. In 1978 he returned to Mauritius and supported his musical endeavors by selling his impressionist paintings and working as an architect. He drew on the sounds of his Indian Ocean island country to create a musical style that integrated jazz with Indian, Creole, and European elements of the Mauritian culture. Additionally, Wiehe scored the film Benares; released several self-produced albums; and penned arrangements for the Cambridge, MA, ensemble Pocket Big Band. Wiehe leaves his wife, Kathryn, and daughters Emilie and Elsa.

David Klein ’85 of Baltimore, MD, died on April 2 following a lengthy illness. He was 55. After earning his degree in music composition, he earned a master’s at Johns Hopkins University and worked in a supervisory position at the Baltimore City Health Department until illness necessitated early retirement. He loved film, opera, and literature and was an active member of St. Mark’s Lutheran church. He is remembered for his intelligence, wit, and kind and generous ways. Klein is survived by his partner, Harold R. Sachs; mother, Dorothy Klein; two brothers; and a sister.

Matthew Charles Caspeny Langdon ’90 of Pasadena, CA, died March 28 of a rare form of meningitis. He was 40. He played the drums for the Grand Traverse Highlanders and various bands throughout the years and attended Northwestern Michigan College and Pasadena City College. A world traveler, he backpacked through Europe and visited Morocco, Japan, Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. For the past three years, Langdon was a waiter at Café Santorini in Pasadena. He is survived by his mother, Sandra E. Langdon; sister Laurie Dwyer; brother Jeffrey; and nephews Jacob and Jackson.

Songwriting Department Associate Professor Henry Gaffney of Sharon, CT, passed away on May 23 after a struggle with lung cancer. He was 61. Gaffney’s musical career spanned nearly four decades, earning him gold and platinum records for his work.

Gaffney wrote for artists such as Roberta Flack, the Pointer Sisters, the Four Tops, Judy Collins, Jennifer Warnes, and Glenn Campbell, and worked on the Emmy Award–winning television series Fame. Gaffney also composed, arranged, and produced the original score to Sidewalk Stories, the 1988 winner of the Prix du Public award at the Cannes Film Festival. He joined Berklee’s Songwriting Department in 1995 and taught songwriting, lyric writing, song production, and a Paul Simon course that he designed. Gaffney also served on the faculty at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, where he helped to develop the songwriting wing of the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music.

“Henry’s approach to teaching was markedly personal and very effective with a great many students,” Berklee President Roger Brown noted. “He was a source of inspiration and creativity, a subject that was always highlighted in his teaching. He believed that the art and craft of songwriting is one in which words and music have to be addressed and taught as a unit and that the magic takes place in the interaction of these two elements.”

Gaffney is survived by his wife, Lisa; twin sons Julian and Devin; sisters Mary Stonitsch and Cathy Gaffney; and brother Ed Gaffney.

Word has also reached us that Larry Shaw ’75 of Merrick, NY; Julianne Wattles ’79 of Boston, MA; and David Wilczews of Stockholm, Sweden, have passed away.