Jane Little dies after 71 years of Atlanta Symphony membership

Photo by Dustin Chambers

This story has been reported widely already, but 87-year-old Atlanta Symphony bassist Jane Little passed away this month after performing with the Atlanta Symphony for more than 71 years.  She collapsed during the encore of a concert.

The 4’ 11” bassist was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records earlier this year as longest serving member of an orchestra.  Jane joined the Atlanta Symphony in 1945 when she was just sixteen.

As soon as I heard about Jane’s Guinness record, I put Jane on my “to interview,” but sadly I never got a chance to chat with her for the podcast before she left us.

One of the things I love most about doing the podcast is how it creates an oral history of the music world in general and the bass in particular.  I’m trying to connect with as many of our older bassists as possible  in part for this reason. I only wish I’d gotten off my duff and scheduled something with Jane.  She seemed like a cool lady!