Jazz Legend James Moody Dies at 85

Jazz legend James Moody, whose 1949 hit “Moody’s Mood for Love” became a classic American anthem, died Thursday in San Diego. He was 85. The cause of death was pancreatic cancer, which he had battled for the past 10 months. Moody, an accomplished saxophonist, flutist, composer, and band leader, first became known as member of the Dizzy Gillespie’s all-star big band in 1946. He recorded his mega-hit “Moody’s Mood for Love” in 1949, a remix of the 1935 ballad “I’m in the Mood for Love” that featured a prominent saxophone solo. In addition to "Moody’s Mood for Love" being inducted into the Grammy Artists’ Hall of Fame in 2001, Moody also was awarded the 1998 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters honor and a 2007 Kennedy Center Living Jazz Legend Award. Moody and his wife did not disclose his cancer until November, and he performed his last concert in January.