Jazz advocate and founding member of the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, Phoebe Jacobs died peacefully in her sleep at the age of 93. I was very fortunate to have gotten to know Phoebe in the last few years. She was a pistol, and left a lasting impression on everyone she met. Her love of the music and jazz education was infectious. You can hear her talk about the Foundation and Louis at http://louisarmstrongfoundation.org

Phoebe Jacobs was the Executive Vice President of the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation. Bronx-born, Jacobs got her start as a coat check girl at Kelly's Stables in New York City. Since that time she spent her career in Jazz as a Press Agent, Manager, and Record Executive who has guided the careers of many pioneers who hold her in high esteem. She was a close confidante of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Sy Oliver, Eubie Blake, Mercer Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Peggy Lee. Phoebe dined alongside Presidents Kennedy, Reagan, Nixon, and Bush at the White House. She traveled the globe with Lucille Armstrong to promote Louis Armstrong and Jazz. Phoebe had been tooting the horn for Jazz so long and so magnificently that she is - like jazz - a true American-born phenomenon.