Obituary of John Leslie Bennett
Portland musician and teacher John Leslie Bennett passed away on February 2, 2022, due to heart failure.
He was born in Wallace, Idaho on Sept. 11, 1933 and graduated from Washington High School in Portland.
He earned a bachelor of arts in music and Russian language and literature in 1955 at Lewis and Clark College and later a master’s in Russian language and literature at Indiana University.
He pursued further Russian studies in Russian at University of Washington, finally returning to Portland to teach music at Oregon Episcopal School and, later, Russian, at Lewis and Clark.
Bennett was recognized for his piano performances of early American ragtime. His repertoire also included standards of the forties and fifties. For many years, friends gathered at Libbie’s restaurant in Milwaukie for his Tuesday night jam sessions. He also presented a solo program on ragtime in Portland Public Schools, sponsored by The Young Audiences program.
He led the Swipesy Cakewalk Ragtime Band, as well, and was a member of The Black Swan Band, with Kit Johnson, conductor, and Marilyn Keller, lead singer, appearing at numerous jazz Festivals in Washington, Oregon, and Northern California. He especially enjoyed accompanying banjoists Cindy, Craig and John McKinley in engagements around the Portland metro area and Lake Oswego.
Continuing his interest in Russian language and culture, Bennett was a board member of the Portland-Khabarovsk Sister City Association, once traveling to the Russian Far East city with a PKSCA delegation. In 1968, he was faculty leader of a Lewis and Clark College student group to the then-Yugoslavia as part of the college’s Overseas Study Program.
As a volunteer, Bennett often interpreted during medical appointments for the Portland community of elderly Russian immigrants.
As a soloist, he performed in Portland-area elder-care facilities a program of old-time favorites, frequently taking audience requests for selections. He seldom was stumped to come up with the right tune and, as a soloist, always played in the original key. As a volunteer, Bennett often interpreted during medical appointments for the Portland community of elderly Russian immigrants.
He enjoyed travel to Europe, especially France and Spain.
In addition to his wife Ann, he is survived by three children: Douglas, Fort Lauderdale, FL; Christina, Warrenton , VA., and Sam, Portland.
In place of floral tributes, the family encourages family and friends to consider contributions to the Portland-Khabarovsk Sister City Association.
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