Malvin Massey Jr.'s Obituary
On Memorial Day 2022, residents of an East Memphis neighborhood stepped into their front yards, drawn by the haunting tones of a lone saxophone. As Malvin Massey Jr. played “Taps,” his neighbors paused to reflect, the music serving as a gentle reminder of the day’s true significance.
A longtime DJ, radio personality and pillar of the Memphis jazz community, Massey spent 71 years bringing music and beauty into his city, nation and world.
With his smooth voice and natural charisma, Massey spent his career promoting an awareness of and appreciation for jazz. His grandmother taught him to play the piano, and his junior high band teacher inspired him to master the sax. In high school, he joined the Neu-tros, which played gigs in Memphis and the surrounding states.
After graduating from Hamilton High School, Massey served four years in the Air Force, a stint that took him from Great Britain and Turkey to Thailand. Later, in a nod to his aeronautical experience, Massey would assume the on-air handle “Pilot of the Jazz Jet.”
In 1974, he played in the Memphis State University Jazz Band as well as with the Eddie “Pug” Dandridge Quartet. Massey began volunteering for the university’s jazz station, WUMR, or U92, in 1988—the same year that he earned a broadcasting certificate from Columbia School of Broadcasting. He filled every role at the station—serving as volunteer DJ, music director and program director. Meanwhile, he worked at WCRV, a Christian talk radio station, where he gained expertise in recording, editing and audio software.
While volunteering at U92, he met his “co-pilot,” Phyliss, and the couple ultimately chose a wedding date that reflected the station’s call letters: 9-2-92. For decades, the Pilot of the Jazz Jet closed every show with these words: “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift—that’s why it’s called the present. From the pilot and the copilot and Miss Ruthie (his deceased daughter), have a good day.”
In 2009, Massey became general manager of WUMR, one of eight 24/7 all-jazz stations in the U.S. He served as teacher, mentor and role model to scores of broadcasting and journalism students—always determined to give everyone their best chance at success.
In addition to interviewing many of the world’s preeminent jazz musicians, Massey worked with industry leaders nationwide to identify and promote new and established artists. He was also a member of Germantown Performing Arts Center’s Jazz Advisory Board.
Under his leadership, WUMR evolved from a tiny station with a limited scope to a nationally known resource that streamed mainstream, contemporary, fusion and new-age jazz worldwide. In his spare time, he emceed innumerable jazz shows and advised professionals throughout the national and global jazz community.
After his retirement in 2020, Massey co-hosted the Kudzukian network’s “Riffin on Jazz” talk show and podcast. He also served as president of the Highland Area Renewal Corp. and discovered a talent as a gardener, nurturing plants as carefully as he had always nurtured the people around him.
Massey is survived by his wife, Phyliss; siblings, Norma Montgomery, Clifton Massey and Mark David Massey (Angela); his daughter, Kristina Massey Sullivan; grandchildren Donte Sullivan, Makiyah Brown, and Mardrell Brown Jr.; and a host of nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his parents, Malvin Massey Sr. and Sarah Franklin Massey; and his daughter, Charity Ruth Massey.
Visitation will be held Wednesday November, 2, from 5:00 until 7:00pm at Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5668 Poplar Avenue, with services on Thursday November 3 at 2:00pm at Memorial Park Funeral Home. Graveside services will follow at Memorial Park.
To view webcasted services please click on link below.
http://webcast.funeralvue.com/events/viewer/80563/hash:12F6092DECD253F2
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