Celebrated Portland jazz musician and educator Thara Memory died Saturday, June 17, 2017, at age 68. Memory was indicted on 10 counts of sex abuse in February 2017.
John Rosman / OPB
Celebrated Portland jazz trumpeter and bandleader Thara Memory has died. He was 68. His long-time assistant confirmed Memory's death came on Saturday night.
Memory played with distinction on bandstands in Portland and elsewhere and mentored students as auspicious as Esperanza Spalding. But he spent the last months of his life under a cloud of legal trouble. He was indicted on 10 counts of sex abuse after four female accusers alleged that Memory's conduct toward them was inappropriate. Some of the accusers were minors at the time of the alleged crimes.
Memory's health was failing for several years. He suffered from diabetes and kidney problems.