Jazz Pianist Dorothy Donegan Dies

Wednesday, May 20, 1998; 4:36 p.m. EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) --Jazz pianist Dorothy Donegan, known for her flamboyant performing and dextrous mixtures of musical styles, has died of colon cancer. She was 76.

Donegan died Tuesday night at her home in Los Angeles, surrounded by friends, family and colleagues, said her goddaughter Beth Ross.

"She had energy up until the end. With musician friends around, she threw up her hands," Ross said, referring to Donegan's habit of making exaggerated hand motions while playing.

Donegan last performed in the fall before becoming too ill to play. She underwent surgery in September.

While she was know for her jazz skills, Donegan also excelled at ragtime, boogie-woogie, gospel, blues, and classical music, and sometimes blended touches of various styles in the same song. Fans were treated to her visual antics at her live performances, including playing complicated pieces with only her left hand.

Born in Chicago, Donegan studied music at the Chicago Conservatory, Chicago Music College and University Southern California. She appeared in the film "Sensations of 1945," which also featured performances by Cab Calloway and Woody Herman, and later appeared in and toured with the Broadway show "Star Time."

Among her albums were "I Just Want to Sing", "Dorothy Romps --A Piano Retrospective," and "Live at the 1990 Floating Jazz Festival."

Donegan received an American Jazz Masters fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1992.

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