Ten Tucson musicians will be inducted into the Tucson Musicians Museum during the Fifth Annual "Celebration of Music and Culture" today.
The 2011 inductees are:
• Blues guitarist Bryan Dean, a Tucson native who has worked with local artists including Tony and the Torpedoes, George Howard, Heather Hardy and the late, great Sam Taylor; and opened for some big-name blues purveyors including John Mayall, Little Feat, Tinsley Ellis and Smokin' Joe Kubec.
• Country bass player and singer Toni Clark-Fathera, who started her career soon after relocating to Tucson from her native California in 1956. She has performed with Louie Leon's orchestra and George Ritchie and the house band at the Tucson Gardens. During the Vietnam War, she toured with a trio to entertain troops. For decades, she was Dean Armstrong's duo partner in his long-running gig at Lil' Abner's, where she still performs with his old band, the Arizona Dance Hands.
• Mariachi trumpeter Jose Yebra, a jovial musician who has become part of the fabric at La Fuente Restaurant. He's been performing at the restaurant since the early 1960s and includes in his career working with Mariachi Los Cardinales de Tijuana, lead by José Santana, father of the legendary rock superstar Carlos Santana; and appearing with Elvis Presley in the movie "Fun in Acapulco" with Mariachi Los Vaqueros of Los Angeles.
• Gospel drummer Carl Cherry II, a Texas native who discovered his career while attending the University of Arizona on a jazz scholarship in the early 1980s. He became such an in-demand musician that he left college to pursue a full-time music career. In addition to working with local bands, including reggae giants Neon Prophet, he has played all over the world with artists from bass virtuoso Brian Bromberg to Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter Bruce Hornsby. He has been performing gospel since 1991 and is a full-time worship pastor at Tucson's Pantano Christian Church.
• Classical musician Richard J. Leek, who starts his 45th year as a bassist with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and has played bass 43 years with the Tucson Pops Orchestra. His other passion is fostering children.
• Jazz saxophonist Mike Kuhn, an awarding-winning instructor at Pima Community College who has backed Sam Moore, the Temptations, Dizzy Gillespie, Bob Belden and Buddy Guy. He also teaches at Cochise College and is part of the Southwest Soul Circuit, featuring Kevin and Tanisha Hamilton.
• Folk fiddler/mandolin player Tim O'Connor, who has been performing since he was 11. Throughout the 1980s, he was a regular on the bustling Tucson resort circuit, appearing with a number of renown Tucson bands including Chuck Wagon and the Wheels, Rancho Deluxe, The Desert Riders and The Round Up Band.
• Rock guitarist/pianist Howe Gelb, who has taken Tucson's desert rock sound all over the world. He was a co-founder of the post-punk band Giant Sandworms with the late Rainer Ptacek, but his claim to fame comes in his music, songs that impart his impressionist imagery of the world delivered in a compelling, personal narrative.
• Scottish bagpipes player and fiddler William Don Carlos, who is the Pipe Major of the Seven Pipers, Tucson's oldest Scottish pipe and drum band. He teaches both pipes and fiddles to Tucson students.
• Jazz clarinetist and bassist Dave Plank, who played clarinet with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra before switching to bass and playing with the Jazzberry Jam and the John Denman Quartet. He also is a composer whose works have been performed by the TSO, Tucson Pops Orchestra, Queensland Australia Pops Orchestra and the Southern Arizona Symphonic Winds.
Musicians being inducted posthumously:
• Rock bassist/vocalist, Gerald Ptak, who died in June.
• Rock bassist/vocalist Ricky Dean "The Pilgrim" Pegram, who died in July.
Musicians being honored in memoriam are Chuck Morrow, Dean Armstrong and Plato Jones, who all died this year.
Sunday's event, a fundraiser for the museum's mentoring program, is from 4 to 7 p.m. at JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort, 3800 W. Starr Pass Blvd. Tickets are $40 and are available at 17th Street Market, 840 E. 17th St.; and The Chicago Store, 130 E. Congress St. and 7030 E. Broadway. Details: www.tucsonmusiciansmuseum.org or 258-8631.
