On May 11, 2020, H. Christopher Klein – musician, composer, artist, painter, pianist, flutist, saxophonist, bon vivant and an apple from a tree – was called to his Heavenly Father and all the Angels and Saints awaiting his arrival.
A 45-year New Orleans native, Christopher is survived by his parents, Henry L. Klein and Kim Manzella Klein, his step-mother, Julie S. Klein, his brother, Jonathan Kendrick Klein, his loving aunts, Hedy Klein Boelte (Gerald A. Boelte) and Judy Landrieu Klein (the late J. Bernard Klein), his loving uncles Roy Rallo and Sal Manzella, his niece Samantha Smith-Klein and many nieces and nephews.
Other angels in Heaven greeting Christopher with open wings include his paternal grandparents, Henry C. and Leticia V. Klein, maternal grandparents, Salvador L. Manzella and Gloria Y. Manzella and Christopher’s beloved great-grandmother, Juanita C. Vial.
Christopher was a well-known and beloved musician who played throughout New Orleans – from Tipitinas to Jazz Fest to Frenchman Street. His Jazz and R&B reached from San Francisco to Puerto Rico and to the Virgin Islands. His first gig, 25 years ago with Dr. John for New Orleans Artists Against Hunger and Homelessness, started his career and the rest is history. His pointillism portraits of Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Opera Great Placido Domingo were just a part of Christopher’s tributes to the Visual and musical Arts. His list of followers, friends and admirers is endless. His band-members at Chris Klein and the Boulevards will never forget or be forgotten. From Christopher’s autobiography came the description, and we quote: “I tried to come up with a word that would encompass what we do, what style we play. I call it JAZZ-BLUES-SOUL-FONQUE.”
All services are private at this time.
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