John Von Ohlen

John Von Ohlen (May 13, 1941, Indianapolis, Indiana – October 3, 2018) was an American jazz drummer who worked for Woody Herman in 1967 and 1969 as well as with Stan Kenton from 1970 to 1972.{{cite web |title=John Von Ohlen |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/john-von-ohlen-mn0000193327 |website=AllMusic |accessdate=16 December 2018 }} He began playing trombone in middle school and played in band through high school.{{Cite web|url=https://www.moderndrummer.com/article/march-1985-john-von-ohlen/|title=John Von Ohlen|website=Modern Drummer Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-27}} He graduated from North Central High School in Indianapolis in 1960.{{Cite web|url=http://northcentralhighschool.net/indianapolis-in/alumni/5268542/john-von%20ohlen.html|title=John Von Ohlen - North Central High School - Indianapolis, IN|website=northcentralhighschool.net|access-date=2020-04-27}} He briefly attended North Texas State University in Denton, Texas and returned to Indianapolis.

Von Ohlen led the Blue Wisp Big Band in Cincinnati from 1980 to 2018{{cite web|url=http://bluewispbigband.com|title=The Blue Wisp Big Band - Cincinnati's premier big band|website=Bluewispbigband.com|accessdate=3 October 2018}} and his own groups under his name; they ranged from quartets to big band. From 1967 to 1968, he toured with Billy Maxted’s Manhattan Jazz Band. In the 1980s and 1990s, Von Ohlen was a member of a big band led by the pianist Steve Allee.Leonard Feather & Ira Gitler, The Encyclopedia of Jazz in the Seventies (1976) {{ISBN|0-8180-1215-3}}Biographical Dictionary of Jazz, by Charles Eugene Claghorn (1911–2005), Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (1982)The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Third edition, Eight volumes, edited by Colin Larkin, Muze, London (1998) {{ISBN|1-56159-237-4}}The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, First edition, Two volumes, edited by [http://www.personal.psu.edu/bdk4/ Barry Kernfeld] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330160553/http://www.personal.psu.edu/bdk4/ |date=2012-03-30 }}, Macmillan Press, London (1988)The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Edited by [http://www.personal.psu.edu/bdk4/ Barry Kernfeld] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330160553/http://www.personal.psu.edu/bdk4/ |date=2012-03-30 }}, St. Martin's Press, New York (1994)The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Second edition, Three volumes, edited by [http://www.personal.psu.edu/bdk4/ Barry Kernfeld] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330160553/http://www.personal.psu.edu/bdk4/ |date=2012-03-30 }}, Macmillan Publishers, London (2002)

Von Ohlen died on October 3, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio at the age of 77.{{cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/10/03/john-von-ohlen-acclaimed-jazz-drummer-dies-at-77.html|title=John Von Ohlen, acclaimed jazz drummer, dies at 77|website=Bizjournals.com|accessdate=October 3, 2018}}